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Rookie Las Vegas Raiders wide receiver Tre Tucker had a breakout game in Week 15 against the Los Angeles Chargers where he went for three catches for 59 yards and two touchdowns. The young pass catcher has game-breaking speed but the team hasn’t been able to utilize much this season.
His speed helps keep defenses honest but Davante Adams thinks that Tucker is doing more than just simply being a decoy.
“Whether it does or it doesn’t, that’s why we have him running that,” Adams said during his December 20 press conference. “He’s not on dummy routes. He’s running legit routes where he has the opportunity to make a play.”
Tucker ran a 4.40 40-yard dash before coming into the NFL and his speed clearly translates to the football field. However, there’s a lot more to playing wide receiver than being fast. Adams revealed what Tucker needs to be doing to thrive in the NFL.
“When you’re a player like Tre … what sets you apart is not going out having a 100-yard game every time because it’s not likely if you’re not the number one guy, and I’ve only had a couple of them this year,” Adams said. “It’s about capitalizing on the opportunities that you do get. If it’s one, making that catch, and if it’s two or three or four, whatever it is, just continuing to prove your worth to yourself, which ultimately does it to your teammates and your coaches as well.”
Adams is one of the best and most cerebral wide receivers in the NFL so there aren’t many better players to learn from for Tucker.
Tre Tucker Still Needs to Work on Catching the Ball
Tre Tucker seems to get open quite a bit, which is a good sign. His speed is difficult for cornerbacks to cover consistently. That said, there are a lot of speedy wide receivers in the NFL who never become impact players because they can’t catch the ball.
Early in his career, Tucker has had some difficulty controlling the ball. He almost missed out on a touchdown against the Chargers due to him bobbling the ball in the end zone. Tucker knows that it’s something he needs to work on.
“I have to do a better job focusing on the ball,” Tucker said, via the Las Vegas Review-Journal. “It’s not that I don’t trust myself, it’s just sometimes, in those situations, you kind of get googly-eyed.”
If Tucker can get his ball control in order, the sky’s the limit for how good he can be.
Aidan O’Connell Talks Tre Tucker
Tre Tucker has been helped greatly by Aidan O’Connell taking over as starting quarterback. Former starter Jimmy Garoppolo is not known to throw the ball down the field much. Though O’Connell doesn’t have a huge arm, he’s shown a much better ability to throw the deep ball than Garoppolo and he’s hit Tucker on a couple of big plays.
O’Connell had some praise for the rookie wide receiver.
“Obviously, he’s a threat whenever he’s on the field. Everybody knows about the speed, it’s no secret,” O’Connell said during his December 20 press conference. “And so, we try to utilize him as much as we can. He’s a really good player. He’s a smart player, instinctive and just naturally really blessed. So, it’s fun to watch him. I wish I could run like that. But yeah, he’s been a dynamic player for us.”
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