There are a handful of Raiders players who will hold the hopes of breaking out this season. I recently noted the five most likely candidates to do that in 2024. One of those potential breakout players is second-year wide receiver Tre Tucker.
He was the Raiders pick at 100 overall in the third round of the draft. Coming out of Cincinnati, he was known for his speed above all else. And early on it looked like he may not be much more than that.
Tucker failed to log a catch until Week six. And over much of the season, he had issues with drops. He just didn’t look natural or comfortable catching the ball.
Then come Week 15, things seemed to turn around for him. Almost seemingly like flipping a switch. Over the final four games of the season, he looked like a different player. He would catch 11 passes on 15 targets for 170 yards and two touchdowns.
“He’s so mature for a young player, and he showed that last year. He never really hit a rookie wall,” said receivers coach Edgar Bennett. “That’s something that was impressive with him, just his attitude, his work ethic, and his approach. I mean, he takes it seriously as though he wants to be the best, and you see it every time he comes into the building. That’s his preparation. He stayed in a routine, which was obviously helpful for a rookie player last year, but he continues to show improvements.”
Finishing like that put some hopes on him that he could keep that momentum going into his second season. On the final day of minicamp, head coach Antonio Pierce singled out Tucker as having a tremendous offseason.
“One guy that obviously stood out this offseason; Tre Tucker,” said Pierce. “Different dude. Looks different, acts different, runs different, catches the ball different. Don’t look at the size. Don’t mention that. Watch him play. He’s the biggest guy out there. Had a hell of an offseason. Came back right after the offseason program and the Super Bowl, got in here and started working. Was here every day. Blazing, we know about the speed, but everything we talked about working on, he took that to another level. You can see the look in his eye of a confident player. Of a guy that wants to constantly get better.”
While it can be difficult to see from the sideline due to the struggles at quarterback and the early stages of the installation of the new offense, Tucker has been running with the first team, lining up both inside and outside while also fielding punts.
He is looking like the third option at receiver after Davante Adams and Jakobi Meyers. They’ve noticed the strides Tucker has made to share the load at the receiver spot.
“My boy Tre, he’s catching the ball better,” Meyers said Tuesday. “He’s always been fast, so he might be a little bit slower. Don’t tell him I said that. He’s really playing good football right now. I’m proud of him, just the person he is off the field too. He shows up every day and do his work.”
Tucker was drafted as the heir apparent at the slot receiver spot. That plan was jumpstarted with the team cutting Hunter Renfrow this offseason. Possibly in part because they felt confident Tucker was ready to step up. From the sounds of it, Tucker is exceeding their hopes for him. It will be something to watch for when the players return for training camp come July 23.