With wide receiver depth an ongoing issue, it wasn't too surprising that the Las Vegas Raiders came out of April's draft with three. They selected Jack Bech in the second round, Dont'e Thornton in the fourth, and quarterback-turned-wide receiver Tommy Mellott in the sixth.
Still, the Raiders are thin when it comes to experience when looking at their wide receiver depth chart with training camp looming. Jakobi Meyers clearly stands above the pack, with Tre Tucker, Kyle Phillips and Collin Johnson as the only others in the room who have an NFL catch on their resume.
Bech and Thornton proved themselves to be ready for significant roles right out of the gate during OTAs and minicamp, but there is no guarantee they can carry that into meaningful games against an opponent. Las Vegas will need someone besides Meyers and tight end Brock Bowers to emerge as a reliable target for Geno Smith.
Keenan Allen is the best veteran WR insurance policy for the Raiders
Along that line, Cody Benjamin of CBS Sports has named the Raiders as one of the five best team fits for the top two available free agent wide receivers: Keenan Allen and Amari Cooper. For a couple of teams, Benjamin leaned toward one or the other as the preferred option, and he did so with the Raiders.
"The Raiders certainly made offense a priority this offseason, acquiring Geno Smith via trade, then spending a first-round pick on Ashton Jeanty, giving the silver and black two cornerstone playmakers when you include second-year tight end Brock Bowers," Benjamin wrote. "The one area that could still use veteran help is wide receiver, and Cooper knows the franchise well, beginning his career with the Raiders and briefly working alongside current quarterbacks coach Greg Olson. If they're serious about competing immediately under new head man Pete Carroll, it makes sense they'd use some of their excess salary cap space on a pass target."
Cooper is coming off a down 2024 season, with 44 receptions for 547 yards and four touchdowns in a campaign that he split between the Cleveland Browns and the Buffalo Bills. It's worth wondering how much he has left, but last year's struggles don't completely erase his back-to-back seasons with over 1,100 yards for the Browns in 2022 and 2023.
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Allen is, of course, also a familiar name to Raiders fans, as he spent the first 11 seasons of his career with the Chargers. He spent last season with the Chicago Bears, tallying 70 catches for 744 yards and seven touchdowns in an offense that struggled with three different offensive coordinators. Within that lackluster structure, and the related struggles of quarterback Caleb Williams, Allen producing like he did stands out as notable.
Allen also has a history with one of the members of Carroll's staff as well. Wide receivers coach Chris Beatty was the Bears' wide receivers coach and, eventually, interim offensive coordinator, last season. Before that, Beatty was the Chargers' wide receivers coach from 2021-2023, Allen's last three seasons there.
That recent history with Beatty may have Allen wanting to sign with the Raiders, over and above any interest he might have from other teams in the coming weeks. He directly dismissed the idea of signing with the Pittsburgh Steelers, even after they finally signed Aaron Rodgers to be their quarterback. A return to the Chargers seems possible, but his heading to the dark side would be so much sweeter.
If the Raiders end up signing a veteran wide receiver before training camp, Allen and Cooper clearly stand apart from the other options. Among them, as a consistent veteran presence who can still produce, Allen should be the one the Raiders prefer to have.