Raiders' receiver spots are wide open

Fernando Mendoza has found his first favorite target as a Raider, and it’s not someone many would have expected.

Relegated to playing mostly with his fellow rookies and roster hopefuls during pretraining-camp practices in May and June, the No. 1 overall NFL Draft pick developed a notable rapport with draft classmate Malik Benson. Mendoza and Benson connected on a variety of routes, from deep balls to quick-read strikes, to create some buzz.

“He’s going to be a real great player, man,” veteran receiver Tre Tucker said of Benson. “He can run all day. He’s fast, and the best thing about him is he’s very coachable and willing to learn.”

Excitement isn’t typically this high for a sixth-round pick like Benson, who finished his college career at Oregon after stints at Florida State and Alabama, but it’s a reflection on the state of the Raiders’ receiving corps.

Playing time is readily available for whomever earns it. Most would refer to receiver as the Raiders’ weakest position group, though that might be a bit unfair with tight end Brock Bowers entrenched as the undoubted focal point of the passing game.

But it’s likely the spot with the most to sort out as the Raiders begin training camp with rookies like Mendoza and Benson reporting today ahead of the full team arriving Tuesday.

“There’s a lot of competition in that receiver room,” Raiders coach Klint Kubiak said, “and may the best man win.”

Kubiak spoke of an excitement to work with Tucker, a fourth-year Raider originally drafted by the Dave Ziegler/Josh McDaniels regime, ever since taking the job. The 5-foot-9 speedster has been electric at times, including leading the NFL with 145 receiving yards and three touchdowns in a Week 3 loss to Washington last year, with his shiftiness and big-play ability making up for his undersized frame.

But it was curious when one of the Raiders’ first acts of free agencies was signing former Minnesota Viking receiver Jalen Nailor, whose scouting profile reads similarly to Tucker’s. The Bishop Gorman High graduate Nailor is slightly bigger at 5-foot-11 but likewise relies more on speed and yards-after-catch prowess than physicality and prototypical size for his success.

Tucker has underperformed when thrust into a No. 1 receiver role, while Nailor has never gotten a shot at it while playing alongside stars Justin Jefferson and Jordan Addison in Minnesota.

But Kubiak is counting on the pair to grow under his tutelage, as they should lead the receiving unit as long as they can hold off the likes of Benson and second-year draft picks Jack Bech and Dont’e Thornton Jr.

“We’re just trying to be a whole complete room,” Nailor said. “We want guys to be able to play all three positions—inside, outside, and be able to move around. So, just having that competition, we’re pushing each other. We’re just trying to build something special here.”

Thornton was largely in Benson’s situation a year ago after regularly lighting up training camp and earning an immediate starting role. But his combination of speed and size never translated on gameday, as he had a disappointing rookie season.

Bech got more opportunity late in the season but also found it hard to shed professional defensive backs, though his sure-handedness and comfort in traffic provided some optimism for the future.

Kubiak has talked up both Bech and Thornton and complimented them for spending much of their offseason at the team’s Henderson headquarters.

Las Vegas also signed special teams standout receiver Dareke Young, who won the Super Bowl alongside Kubiak in Seattle last year, in free agency, as well as a host of undrafted rookie free agents at the position. The latter group includes a pair of Mendoza’s national championship-winning teammates at Indiana in E.J. Williams Jr. and Jonathan Brady.

Kubiak has already said he expected to have five active receivers on the roster come gamedays. There’s a lot of work to be done to determine which five players will emerge.

“That’s what’s going to make us better,” Tucker said. “There’s no complacency in the room, and guys know that and know that’s what we’re out here to do.”