The Las Vegas Raiders entered training camp with two of their three starting wide receiver positions locked in. Davante Adams looks to be the leading receiver once again, lining up on the left side, while Jakobi Meyers looks to be the second-leading receiver, lining up on the right side. The starting slot receiver position is vacant as the Raiders moved on from their Pro Bowler.
Hunter Renfrow had a solid start to his career, earning a Pro Bowl selection in 2021. Unfortunately, he hasn’t been the same player, missing seven games in 2022 due to injury and struggling in 2023. As a result, they released Renfrow in March.
The Raiders signed a receiver from the NFC East to possibly compete for the starting job.
The Las Vegas Raiders acquired a wide receiver from the Dallas Cowboys
The Raiders signed Michael Gallup to a one-year contract in April to compete for the WR3 job. Similar to Renfow, Gallup had a solid start to his career, but an ACL tear in 2021 negatively impacted him, and he wasn’t the same player in 2022 and 2023. The Cowboys parted ways with him in March.
Gallup’s time in Las Vegas was short-lived. He announced his retirement a day before training camp started. Due to his retirement, their 3rd-round pick emerged as the front-runner.
The Las Vegas Raiders 3rd-round pick emerged as the front-runner
The Raiders drafted Tre Tucker 100th overall in the 2023 NFL Draft. Tucker didn’t play much as a rookie, serving as Renfrow’s backup. He caught 19 passes on 34 targets for 331 yards and two touchdowns in 16 games with one start.
So far, Tucker has received first-team reps in the slot.
Tre Tucker is confident he can win
“It’s always going to be a competition,” said Tucker. “It’s my job to lose, you know. I’m going to take that approach, and whoever we bring in, and whoever we get, I’m just going to keep my head down and keep working.”
As of now, the competition appears one-sided, as his main competitor is on the PUP list.
A former Los Angeles Chargers wide receiver will compete against the 3rd-rounder
Former Los Angeles Chargers wide receiver Jalen Guyton will compete for the starting slot receiver job. Guyton spent his first five seasons with the Chargers. He tore his ACL in Week 3 of the 2022 season and missed the first seven games of the 2023 season to recover.
Guyton signed with the Raiders in May. He is currently on the active/PUP list with an undisclosed injury.
The Raiders, with $34 million in cap space, have plenty of cap space to acquire a veteran receiver. Notable free agents include Hunter Renfrow, Michael Thomas, and Russell Gage.
If the Raiders don’t acquire a veteran free agent during camp, it’s Tre Tucker’s job to lose.
