The Las Vegas Raiders were widely expected to target a quarterback in the NFL Draft this past April, but things changed when the Raiders ultimately fell to sixth in the draft order. Shedeur Sanders’ draft stock plummeting didn’t help, either.
As a result, Las Vegas ended up swinging a trade for Geno Smith to handle the reins under center for 2025 and potentially beyond, as the Raiders also signed him to a contract extension.
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Smith experienced considerable success with the Seattle Seahawks the past several seasons, but here’s the problem: he doesn’t exactly have the same type of help in Las Vegas.
The Raiders’ receiving corps are pretty thin, in stark contrast to Smith’s Seahawks days when he had D.K. Metcalf, Jaxon Smith-Njigba and Tyler Lockett at his disposal. In Vegas, it’s pretty much Jakobi Meyers and a bunch of unproven players at the position, which will make things difficult for Smith.
Tashan Reed of The Athletic provided an update on the Raiders’ wide receiver situation after a recent joint practice with the San Francisco 49ers, and outside of Meyers, things didn’t look pretty.
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“The other receivers had a hard time creating space against the 49ers’ defensive backs,” Reed wrote. “San Francisco leaned on aggressive coverages with a lot of press, and the Raiders receivers often got jammed up at the line of scrimmage.”
Reed noted that Tre Tucker came on toward the end of the session, but that Las Vegas will definitely need him to produce more regularly moving forward.
“The Raiders are going to need him to be more consistent — and get more from all their non-Meyers receivers — to have an effective passing attack this year,” Reed added.
Tucker caught 47 passes for 539 yards and three touchdowns during his sophomore campaign in 2024, so perhaps a bigger season is in store for the former third-round pick this fall. But can the Raiders rely on him as a No. 2?
Rookies Dont’e Thornton and Jack Bech are definitely intriguing, particularly Thornton’s game-breaking ability. But both players are very raw and may not become big-time contributors right off the bat.
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Luckily, Smith does have elite tight end Brock Bowers at the ready, but he will absolutely need some help from his wide receivers if he wants to genuinely have a successful debut campaign in Las Vegas.
It also doesn’t seem all that likely that the Raiders will be able to swing a trade for a wide out before Week 1, but that could be something to monitor going forward.
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