The 2026 Raiders WR Room

[RunOverByHubbard]

Some here have argued for drafting a WR pretty high up and certain mock drafts have us taking one high up. Before we sewed up the #1 pick and when we were in the 4-7 ranges, mock drafts had us taking a WR. For me, because we have Bowers and Mayer, I think there is enough on the roster to work with and we should take a WR in the middle rounds at the highest. We have speed in Thornton and Tucker and I don't know much about the other speed-burner, Dorsett. Given our TEs, I would think we need a possession type guy but I don't know much about the guys here other than Bech who has those qualities. What do you think of the group and what should we do next?

Name, ht and wt, years a pro, college and 40 time:

Jack Bech 6-1 214 23 2 TCU 4.55 40
Phillip Dorsett II 5-10 185 33 9 Miami 4.33 40
Shedrick Jackson 6-1 198 26 1 Auburn 4.25 40
Jalen Nailor 6-0 190 27 5 Michigan State 4.5 40
Brenden Rice 6-3 210 23 2 USC 4.5 40
Justin Shorter 6-4 227 25 4 Florida 4.55 40
Dont'e Thornton Jr. 6-5 205 23 2 Tennessee 4.3 40
Tre Tucker 5-8 182 25 4 Cincinnati 4.40 40
Dareke Young 6-2 224 26 5 Lenoir Rhyne 4.44-4.47 40 time
(from 2025, Alex Bachman and Tyler Lockett are UFA's)

[Goodtimes333]

brazzell is a wr with upside that can be had later on in the draft, not the same as coop or kc

Brazzell is a carbon copy of Thornton whose already on roster

[BoJacksonRules]

We randomly have Jerry Rice's son and Bo Jackson's nephew on the roster

Maybe we have something there, give them some opportunities. I thought Jackson looked pretty good in his limited reps.

[mstrbass2000]

Brazzell is a carbon copy of Thornton whose already on roster

naw brazzell can run routes and play inside and outside with good hands just lacks power, thorton cant run routes and is raw as hell with bad hands

[mstrbass2000]

The entire offense was schemed out of games by the numbnuts OC, pegging that on the hybrid TE/WR is pretty clueless

naw, its reality...relying on the tight end as your wr1 is nuts

[CWood24]

Tucker & Nailor are 2nd & 3rd option at worst in alot of offence’s

Thornton always was a project who really just need to work on expanding his route tree even if he can develop his route running to an average level his speed & size would elevate that

We don’t even know what we have in Bech (same with Rogers, Grant, Pegues) simply because of our brilliance or incompetence depending how you look at it

I dont see a huge issue with our receiving core year 1 simply because Bowers, Mayer, Bech, Nailor & Jeanty are perfect compliments for a QB in Mendoza who is going to be growing & finding his feet

Would a true No.1 be great sure but right now we really need to fix the trenches firstly to keep our QB up straight & on the side to put the ball in our QB’s hands

Next year

[chucker]

Tucker & Nailor are 2nd & 3rd option at worst in alot of offence’s

Thornton always was a project who really just need to work on expanding his route tree even if he can develop his route running to an average level his speed & size would elevate that

We don’t even know what we have in Bech (same with Rogers, Grant, Pegues) simply because of our brilliance or incompetence depending how you look at it

I dont see a huge issue with our receiving core year 1 simply because Bowers, Mayer, Bech, Nailor & Jeanty are perfect compliments for a QB in Mendoza who is going to be growing & finding his feet

Would a true No.1 be great sure but right now we really need to fix the trenches firstly to keep our QB up straight & on the side to put the ball in our QB’s hands

Next year

I think our untested rookies from last year are almost still rookies. The good aspect is that they were in the building for a year and it appears that they've established themselves as guys who can work hard. It's almost like they are 2026 draft picks with a bit of a leg up on an actual rookie. If we had a better organization with some recent history of success, you'd be more likely to assume that they will make a real contribution in year 2. It's just a lot harder with our track record.

I think our WR group is good enough to go to the season with. You're going to draft a WR every year, but I don't think there's any reason to prioritize WR over other positions high in the draft - you pick a guy because the value is too good to pass up, not because of some glaring need there. We're still just in a development year and with our existing WRs plus Bowers, Mayer, and Jeanty we have enough targets to develop Mendoza in 2026. And if Tucker, Bech, Thornton or Nailor end up having great chemistry with Mendoza then the future looks even better.

[Cruisin with Tooz]

We dont need a #1 WR this year, but we need need a piece with a proven track record for production. I want Keenan Allen on a 1 year deal. 8-10 million would do it. About 800 yards last season. He would make our other receivers earn their playing time.

[raiders93]

I think our untested rookies from last year are almost still rookies. The good aspect is that they were in the building for a year and it appears that they've established themselves as guys who can work hard. It's almost like they are 2026 draft picks with a bit of a leg up on an actual rookie. If we had a better organization with some recent history of success, you'd be more likely to assume that they will make a real contribution in year 2. It's just a lot harder with our track record.

I think our WR group is good enough to go to the season with. You're going to draft a WR every year, but I don't think there's any reason to prioritize WR over other positions high in the draft - you pick a guy because the value is too good to pass up, not because of some glaring need there. We're still just in a development year and with our existing WRs plus Bowers, Mayer, and Jeanty we have enough targets to develop Mendoza in 2026. And if Tucker, Bech, Thornton or Nailor end up having great chemistry with Mendoza then the future looks even better.

I feel like there’s inevitably going to be a ground game or bust component to our offence. Bowers is a stud but he’s getting extra attention every obvious passing down. I think with our current wideouts, the passing game needs to be manufactured from the ground game. Stay on schedule, keep play action open as much as possible, mix in some designed stuff with Tucker and let Jeanty make some plays in space.

But to just spread the field and challenge defences to try to match guys in man coverage… i don’t think we’ve got anyone other than bowers that is gonna consistently go win those. A guy or two that can do that would be nice but Rome wasn’t built in a day and it’s probably not getting addressed this year.

[GoodTimeCharlie]

I feel like there’s inevitably going to be a ground game or bust component to our offence. Bowers is a stud but he’s getting extra attention every obvious passing down. I think with our current wideouts, the passing game needs to be manufactured from the ground game. Stay on schedule, keep play action open as much as possible, mix in some designed stuff with Tucker and let Jeanty make some plays in space.

But to just spread the field and challenge defences to try to match guys in man coverage… i don’t think we’ve got anyone other than bowers that is gonna consistently go win those. A guy or two that can do that would be nice but Rome wasn’t built in a day and it’s probably not getting addressed this year.

I think there’s a good chance Nailor surprises everyone.

50-50 chance the previous statement is 50% hopium.

[KillerRaider30]

I think the need for an outside WR1 isn't as important as building a strong run game and is why i lean heavily for drafting oline at 36 over WR.

The offense will not be built around players rather built around a scheme.

The play action will free WRs.
For that to work the Raiders will need to run the ball successfully.

That translates to oline where the cut back in a wide zone will be blocked by Miller, draft pick, Linderbaum and JPJ.
Scary.

Oline helps the run game and more importantly the QB.

As for drafting a NT at 36? No.
If they are drafting a true 3/4 NT it can wait till the 3rd or 4th round.

Base defenses are run on average 30% of the time in the NFL so the true run stopping 330lb NT will be off the field 70% of the time, while an Olinemen will be on the field 100% of the time.

Im taking DT off my board at 36.

Im looking forward to the 24 hours between day 1 and day 2 when we'll see who's left.