Offensive weapon needs strong training camp to start big year

Very few Raiders lost more in the draft more so than third-year wide receiver Tre Tucker.

Despite the quarterback play holding him back, Tucker improved in his second year in the NFL. In 2024, he caught 47 passes for 539 yards and three touchdowns. However, that did not stop the Raiders from drafting three receivers in April, and Tucker’s playing time could wind up taking a massive hit.

Should he end up fending off the rookies, however, Tucker could be rewarded by giving the Raiders a breakout season.

The improvements on offense make a third-year jump possible for Tucker.

According to Pro Football Focus, Smith posted the best deep-passing grade over the last three seasons, which should benefit Tucker and the rest of the weapons on the Raiders’ offense.

“One player who appears in both charts is Geno Smith, who accrued a perfect 99.9 deep PFF passing grade in his three seasons as Seattle’s starter. That’s music to the ears of his new team, the Las Vegas Raiders, who posted the third-worst deep PFF passing grade over that same span,” wrote PFF analyst Dalton Wasserman.

As Wasserman pointed out, the Raiders were simply unable to make the most out of a deep threat like Tucker.

Even when Tucker beat opposing defensive backs clean, neither Gardner Minshew or Aidan O’Connell had the requisite arm strength or deep-ball accuracy to capitalize. That will be no problem for Smith, giving Tucker the opportunity to work as a field-stretcher in certain offensive sets. Fourth-round rookie and offseason star Dont’e Thornton Jr. is more likely to pose a threat to Tucker’s role, so he will have to compete to keep his spot on the depth chart secure.

Should he succeed, however, he could very well reap the rewards.