When Pete Carroll and John Spytek took over as the new leadership tandem for the Las Vegas Raiders, they knew that getting a competent quarterback was the top priority. They addressed this immediately by releasing Gardner Minshew and trading for veteran Geno Smith.
However, upon further inspection, it became clear that the Silver and Black also needed to add some talent at wide receiver in order for Smith to maximize his abilities in Las Vegas. After trading Davante Adams in 2024, the Raiders' receiver room was a bit bare when Carroll and Spytek came to town.
During the 2025 NFL Draft, the team wasted no time selecting young pass-catchers. They grabbed TCU's Jack Bech in the second round, Tennessee's Dont'e Thornton Jr. in the fourth, and then took a chance on Tommy Mellott in the sixth round, a quarterback-turned-wideout from Montana State.
Jack Bech is falling behind in Raiders' wide receiver room
Thornton garnered most of the hype during training camp, and third-year receiver Tre Tucker was also lauded for his efforts. Every year, however, Raider Nation has falsely hyped up a late-round player, and Tucker has been unable to translate his offseason work to the regular season.
For these reasons, much of the fan base was holding out hope that, despite the lack of attention he was getting, Bech would turn into a solid pass-catcher for Chip Kelly's offense. Through the Raiders' mock game and first preseason bout, however, that has not turned out to be the case.
On Thursday against the Seattle Seahawks, Bech rotated in with the second group after Meyers, Thornton and Tucker trotted out with the first-team offense. Bech caught just one pass for five yards on two targets, although his catch was impressive, as he took quite the hit and held onto the ball.
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According to Pro Football Focus, Bech earned an overall grade of just 48.8 against Seattle, which was the sixth-worst mark on the Raiders' offense. He also recorded just a 61.0 grade as a run-blocker, which was considered one of his biggest strengths coming out of college.
By contrast, Thornton and Tucker both seemed to be pivotal pieces of the Raiders' offensive attack, and they each caught passes for first downs against the Seahawks. Bech did not get a single snap with Smith and the first-team offense.
There will still be several opportunities for Bech to make up ground in the receiver battle, as the team has joint practices against the San Francisco 49ers this week, in addition to two more preseason games. However, it seems like Bech already has an uphill battle for a significant role in 2025.
If he can continue to develop and compete, then Carroll will surely reward him with more playing time, and Smith will reward him with more targets. However, his failure to stand out against the second- and third-string defense against Seattle, while playing the third-most snaps among receivers, was concerning and paints a picture of a difficult, but not insurmountable, road ahead for Bech.