The Las Vegas Raiders‘ wide receiver room is one with many question marks. As a result, there are suggestions that the Silver and Black consider the veteran free-agent market to improve the group.
Nonetheless, the Raiders are banking on the players in that room to grow under new head coach Klint Kubiak. One player who could flourish is Tre Tucker.
Last season, Tucker played 618 pass snaps for the Silver and Black while posting a 65.9 overall PFF grade. Moreover, he hauled in 57 receptions on 90 targets for 696 receiving yards and five touchdowns. Tucker also averaged 12.2 yards per reception and generated 292 yards after the catch.
With Kubiak now in the mix, Tucker could fill a role that the Raiders head coach used Rashid Shaheed, whom he coached while with the Seattle Seahawks and New Orleans Saints.
In a May 26 video on the Raiders’ YouTube channel, Tucker was asked by the team’s columnist, Paul Gutierrez, about potentially playing that Shaheed role in Kubiak’s offense.
“You hear it all offseason, and you see it with some of the players’ speed and all that,” Tucker told Gutierrez. “I actually know him a little bit. He’s a great guy. But for me, another thing is you don’t want to just pencil in one guy.
“You want to be able to do it all. The nature of the business is you’ve got five or six receivers, so you don’t really have the luxury of just being at that one position. I kind of watch all of them.”
Tre Tucker Is Watching Seahawks WR Film From Last Season
Moreover, Tucker notes that he is watching film on all the Seahawks wideouts from last season to start preparing what he might do in Kubiak’s offense. Still, the Raiders’ wide receiver noted he had consumed a lot of Shaheed film, understanding that Tucker could fill that role in the scheme.
“Watching those guys in Seattle, there are things Cooper Kupp did that made me think, ‘Oh man, I’m probably going to be asked to do that.'” Tucker added. “The same goes for [Jaxon Smith-Njigba]. He does a bunch of stuff. And obviously, Shaheed, I’ve watched him since he was in New Orleans.
“I’m just picking things up from his game and seeing what I can do. He played in that scheme, so it’s a little fun to watch and see what I might be doing and what I might not be doing. We’ll see.”
Raiders HC Klint Kubiak Talks Tre Tucker
Recently, Kubiak stated that he is high on Tucker due to the speed the wideout brings, which can add an intriguing element to his offense.
“Really no surprise there from what you have seen previously,” Kubiak told reporters on May 20. “[Tucker] can run all day. He is a quiet leader, a guy who is going to be put in a leadership role. He has to be a playmaker for us, and he has been. Now let’s go see what else we can get out of him.”
It will be interesting to see if Kubiak does use Tucker like Shaheed and even expands to give his new wideout a more prominent role.
Raiders’ Tre Tucker Gets Blunt About Playing Rashid Shaheed Role