For the Raiders to take the next step in their rebuild, they are going to need a few young players to take big steps forward. Tyree Wilson, Michael Mayer, and Aidan O’Connell are three players who are expected to perform better in Year 2. But there could be another breakout player from the 2023 draft class.
In a recent article by ESPN’s 32 beat writers, they each named one player who was a surprise standout during the respective team’s OTAs. For the Raiders, that player was none other than second-year receiver Tre Tucker.
Here is what Paul Gutierrez had to say about the former Cincinnati star during the offseason practices:
Tucker, a 5-foot-9, 185-pound speedster drafted in the third round last year, looked like a different player after catching 19 passes for 331 yards and two TDs as a rookie. “Don’t look at the size, don’t mention that,” Raiders coach Antonio Pierce said of Tucker, in competition to be Las Vegas’ No. 3 WR, behind Davante Adams and Jakobi Meyers.
“Watch him play. He’s the biggest guy out there. He had a hell of an offseason. … Everything that we talked about working on, he took that to another level. And you could see the look in his eye of a confident player, of a guy that’s just going to constantly get better. He’s pushing.”
Tucker has something that no other player on offense does for the Raiders; blazing speed. Davante Adams and Jakobi Meyers are two excellent receivers, but no one would mistake them for burners. That is why Tucker is such an important part of their offense.
If Tucker can take a step forward in Year 2, the Raiders will have plenty of weapons to surround whoever wins the quarterback battle. And his speed could make the offense even more dangerous. Keep an eye on Tucker throughout training camp practices as he tries to earn snaps with the first-team offense.