Tre Tucker & the WR Situation

[NoThanksSir]

There is a situation developing with Tre Tucker that is going under the radar. Tucker is a FA this offseason, and while he leaves a lot to be desired in a #1WR after Bowers, he unfortunately is our best WR. I'm not his biggest fan by any means, but even if we take a WR with our 1st pick in 2027 we're still in a precarious situation if he were to walk in free agency. Rookie receivers, especially those taken outside of the top 10, are rarely immediate contributors. I'm skeptical that a Rookie+Nailor/Bech/etc. will produce better results than what we have now. This is even more pressing of an issue because Mendoza will be playing next year, and that is a god awful situation for our prized QB prospect to be walking into. I think even if we assume that first pick is a receiver, we need to consider that another move at WR will need to accompany that selection. That could be re-signing Tucker, going after a more expensive #1, or seeking out a veteran bandaid while a rookie receiver develops. Of course there is option D, none of the above. Which I personally think would be a recipe for disaster, as the other talent on this roster hasn't shown enough potential.

2027 FA WRs

27 fa wrs.png

These are the options other than Tucker in 2027. One important thing to note, is that the only players on the list younger than Tucker are Marvin Mims and George Pickens (By 4 days). My theory is that Tucker is going to have a lot more interest than any of us realize, and might be more coveted by another team than he is by us. Right now Tucker is on pace for a career year. If he continues his average of 59 yards a game, he can reasonably finish the season around 1K yards. While I feel like he leaves a lot to be desired as a player, if we compare him to someone who recently signed a contract with similar career numbers, what could we learn about Tucker's value?

Control Group: Tre Tucker

tucker.png

Ex 1: Michael Wilson, Cardinals, 26 Yrs old

michaelwilson.png

Last offseason Wilson signed a 3yr, $75 mill extension at an APY of $25mill a year. His age and numbers are very similar to Tucker's. On top of that, both players are having very similar years in 2026, you could argue Tucker is playing quite a bit better. But let's assume Wilson's contract is a product of a poor Cardinal's org. Let's move on to another example.

Ex 2. Christian Watson, Packers, 27 Yrs old

christianwatson.png

Watson also signed an extension last year, this one at an APY of $23mill a year. His career production is similar to Tucker, he seems to be a better red zone player than Tucker is.

Ex. 3 Jakobi Meyers, Jaguars, 30 Yrs old

jakobi meyers.png

This last comp is more of a stretch, but valid because he was in the building and we moved on from him due to a perceived lack of value when it came to a contract extension. I would argue Jakobi Meyers's $20 mill APY is Tucker's floor. I was one of the loudest when it came to Jakobi not being worth what he was going to get paid, and I think the greater conclusion to make here is that mid level WR's are being paid handsomely across the board for very little on field production. Tucker is currently outperforming Meyers in 2026.

So now we have established the general range for Tucker's comps are between $20-25 mill a year. If we decide the juice isn't worth the squeeze, it's worth taking a look at more expensive options while we're at it.

Ex. JSN, Drake London, & Zay Flowers

jsn.png

london.png

flowers.png

All three of these players recently signed contracts at the following APYs ($42.2, 35.2, 35). The main two high end receiver targets for this upcoming offseason (If they hit the open market) will be Nacua and Pickens.

nacua.png

pickens.png

London and Zay aren't remotely on the same level as Nacua or Pickens. I think JSN is the rare example of a guy setting the market and then defending his position as the #1, as he's clearly still the best WR in the league. Those other guys set the floor at $35.2 mill, but both Nacua and Pickens will probably be more in line with JSN's $42.2. So a roughly $18 mill price difference from Tucker's group.


There are some guys in between those two groups who might be worth a look as budgetary options, especially those older than Tucker. But I thought this would be an interesting enough way to kick off the discussion by showing what the WR market is looking like right now, so that we could reasonably put into context what it will cost us to improve the position next year. Is simply drafting a WR a good enough plan in 2027? Do you want to keep Tucker? Or maybe sign someone else?

[mstrbass2000]

That graphic going around about Cousins has 3 of the Top 10 Passing Combinations QB/WR in the league when it comes to QB rating.

Cousins to Tre is at 114.2, part of the he doesn't get enough balls his way to prove he's full worth to us, so he can't be seen as a fabled #1.
On top of that, we have a TE acting as WR who ranks #2 at 131.3. So is Tre's ceiling really a #2 any way?
Who are we signing/drafting who's going to out preform Bowers? What's those chances?
Tre could be amazing or perhaps he's is he ranked well because his limited usage which skews him upwards?
RamFan said it right, we still have a 1/2 year left to learn as much as we can about the entire squad.

ive seen enough of tucker to know the dude is a wr3 at best ...time to go get a real wr1 to go with bowers te1 production they can co-exist easily like kelce/tyreke did

ps in a shootout vs the jets what did tre tucker put up again last week

[raider_kin]

ive seen enough of tucker to know the dude is a wr3 at best ...time to go get a real wr1 to go with bowers te1 production they can co-exist easily like kelce/tyreke did

ps in a shootout vs the jets what did tre tucker put up again last week

Get over your obsession with giving up draft capital to get us either a one year prima donna or a 2 year prima donna.

All you talk about is trading draft capital for crap.
Cue the onslaught of cherry picked stats.

Thank God you aren't anywhere near the decision makers 0

[chucker]

Pickens doesn't fit the Raiders system or culture. Don't invest in someone who doesn't fit your system or culture. It's not really complicated. I think Kubiak would value a Jakobi Meyers more than a George Pickens - even though a Meyers would cost far less. Unless Kubiak is playing fantasy football.

[CWood24]

Pickens has really took the Cowboys over the top with that 3-5 record

I think we’re in a very unique situation where we maybe don’t need to look for a natural No.1 because of Bowers being a swiss army knife & Mayer playing well

Option are open to maybe grabbing a WR in the 2nd or even 3rd & for them to sit as maybe the 3rd or 4th option behind Bowers, Mayer & maybe even Jeanty

[DanKD]

We dont need receivers who other teams need to game plan to stop. We need receivers who can consistently beat 1 on 1s when other teams game plan to stop Bowers.

[mstrbass2000]

Get over your obsession with giving up draft capital to get us either a one year prima donna or a 2 year prima donna.

All you talk about is trading draft capital for crap.
Cue the onslaught of cherry picked stats.

Thank God you aren't anywhere near the decision makers 0

yes, holding on to draft capital has really helped the raiders over the last 20+ yrs but doing the same is the answer ...can anyone print out a list of raider greats drafted in the last 20+ yrs

ps id rather trade for all pro type players whom are still young and coming into their primes then waste another high round pick on a naother bust or avg player

[CWood24]

yes, holding on to draft capital has really helped the raiders over the last 20+ yrs but doing the same is the answer ...can anyone print out a list of raider greats drafted in the last 20+ yrs

ps id rather trade for all pro type players whom are still young and coming into their primes then waste another high round pick on a naother bust or avg player

Yeah i agree cause trading for Davante Adams, Antonio Brown & Martavius Bryant made us Superbowl contenders

To add to that we never made the playoff when we drafted Amari Cooper

So in conclusion you are right with all the evidence that is relevant to our franchise that trading away draft picks for WR in there prime is a sure fire answer to making us that team again again

[DanKD]

Not a WR but dont forget Richard Seymour

[mstrbass2000]

Yeah i agree cause trading for Davante Adams, Antonio Brown & Martavius Bryant made us Superbowl contenders

To add to that we never made the playoff when we drafted Amari Cooper

So in conclusion you are right with all the evidence that is relevant to our franchise that trading away draft picks for WR in there prime is a sure fire answer to making us that team again again

id rather take shots at prime players, then draft em, waiting on em and they never turn into shit (most of the time for the raiders)

go thru all of our 1st and 2nd rd picks over the last 20 plus yrs, how many of em turned out great, how many busted and how many were just avg ??? vs if we had traded for a bunch of pro bowl calibre players...id take the pro bowl type players every time

ps adams we gave up a 1st pick 22 and a 2nd pick 53, got back a 3rd rd pick in 2025 for the best wr in the league to go with derek carr...fair deal, antonio browns deal was a 3rd and 5th for the top wr in the n.f.l ,we did not pay a 1st...everyone on earth thought we stole ab from the steelers including all fans
martavis bryant costed us a 3rd and a cheap base salary but he was never a wr1 so i dont know why his name came up
amari cooper costed us the 4th pick of the 1st, got a us a 2019 1st rd pick back (27th) from the cowboys which we used on jonathan abrams a bust

[mstrbass2000]

just a point, the raiders have had some of the worst gms on earth for 20 plus yrs...spytek may be the best of the bunch

[mstrbass2000]

Pickens doesn't fit the Raiders system or culture. Don't invest in someone who doesn't fit your system or culture. It's not really complicated. I think Kubiak would value a Jakobi Meyers more than a George Pickens - even though a Meyers would cost far less. Unless Kubiak is playing fantasy football.

didn't spytek refuse to pay meyer and traded him off to jville last yr

[TrueFan420]

didn't spytek refuse to pay meyer and traded him off to jville last yr

Not sure how much was Spy vs Carroll.

[mranquales]

didn't spytek refuse to pay meyer and traded him off to jville last yr

Chargers ex gm was pretty decent. Brock Bowers, and Christian Wilkins in FA. One of the few gms who understood our dl was weak.

[mranquales]

Amari Cooper was on our team in 2016 when we went 12-4 and made the playoffs.

[Be_Easy_25]

If the Raiders draft a WR with their first round pick, his name better be Randy Moss.

If not, there’s much more important things for this front office to address this offseason.