The Las Vegas Raiders have a lot of good things going for them, but there’s still a major concern on the roster. The wide receivers just don’t look that good.
Head coach Klint Kubiak recently called out the group for not stepping up, and there just isn’t that much talent at the position right now. Jalen Nailor was the only notable addition in free agency, but he hasn’t started to make much of an impact yet. Rookie Malik Benson looked great at the start of training camp, but he’s starting to struggle.
The Raiders’ problems may go beyond just having a talent issue. According to The Athletic’s Ted Nguyen, the wide receivers just seem to be out of sync.
“It seems like there is a little bit of a disconnect with the receivers right now,” Nguyen said on the “Just Win” podcast.
“Kubiak kind of commented that a receiver needs to step up. I also found out that in the joint practice against the Texans, Malik Benson ran the wrong route on Kirk Cousins’ pick-six, and obviously he had a tough game in that game, dropping two passes that should have been first down conversions on third downs. These receivers … are not just on the same page right now.”
Kubiak Believes WRs Have Responded Well
It couldn’t have been easy for the wide receivers to hear Kubiak call them out in a public way. That definitely had to light a fire under them.
The group hasn’t had a chance to play a game since being called out, but Kubiak likes how they’ve responded in practice.
“I think any position, when you go out and you have trouble with your assignments, I’m going to have an opinion about it, and it’s not just them,” Kubiak told reporters. “We’ve had plenty of other guys that have got to step up. A lot of young guys, and then guys that we’re counting on in that receiver room. I think it’s just like the (competition at the offensive guard) position in that those guys continue to make each other better, it’s competitive, and we know that all those guys are going to play.”
Tre Tucker Praises WRs Work Ethic
The Raiders’ issues at wide receiver don’t seem to have anything to do with work ethic. According to Tre Tucker, the group is working very hard every day.
“I know they’re doing everything they can do,” Tucker said of the wide receivers. “Those guys work really hard all week throughout practice and the games. I think that’s going to be very important for us, the last guys who make the roster, because they’ve got to be able to do a lot and we’re going to be counting on those guys.”
The Raiders are fortunate to have a star tight end in Brock Bowers who can serve as the No. 1 pass catcher, but the wide receiver issue will need to be addressed in the offseason. For now, they’ll have to hope that the wide receivers step up when real games start getting played.
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