Not much went well for the Las Vegas Raiders in a demoralizing Week 3 loss to the Washington Commanders. One bright spot, however, was wide receiver Tre Tucker, who had a career-high eight receptions for 145 yards with three touchdowns.
All three scores were different, showing off a complete route tree when he had previously been pigeonholed as a deep threat. Tucker and quarterback Geno Smith clearly built a good rapport during training camp, with Smith offering a nice player comparison for Tucker along the way.
Time would tell if that chemistry carried into the season, but it was easy to have optimism that it would. Tucker only had three targets in Week 1 against the New England Patriots, but both of his catches went for more than 25 yards, including a 26-yard touchdown.
Smith's rough performance in Week 2 against the Los Angeles Chargers led to rough production, as Tucker managed just three catches for 12 yards, but Tucker was still tied for second on the team with eight targets.
Raiders' Tre Tucker is the No. 1 fantasy football WR add for Week 4
Against the Commanders in Week 3, though, everything came together for Tucker. He had a team-high nine targets, matching the combined target total for Brock Bowers and Jakobi Meyers in the game, with the aforementioned boom in production.
Tucker may never have another three-touchdown game in his career. But what he's doing otherwise looks sustainable, and fantasy football managers should take notice. Even after waivers have cleared for Week 4, he is rostered in just 11% of Yahoo! leagues and 42.5% of ESPN leagues.
With that in mind, Erik Beaston of Bleacher Report obviously mentioned Tucker as a top waiver wire add heading into the week.
"If there is one receiver with whom Geno Smith has proven chemistry thus far in Las Vegas, it is Tre Tucker. The two hooked up for three touchdowns Sunday against Washington and the breakout performance had been two weeks in the making," Beaston wrote. "Tucker has been targeted 20 times through three games, catching 13 passes and scoring four times. He has been a safety blanket of sorts for Smith, whose targets outside of Brock Bowers are limited. Tucker is widely available and a receiver that managers should be giddy about potentially adding to their rosters."
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Beaston noted how a bad Raiders' defense is lined up to drive heavy passing volume for Smith, and Tucker is naturally lined up to benefit. A great matchup is also coming in Week 4 against the Chicago Bears, who will be among the five most generous defenses in terms of fantasy points allowed to wide receivers heading into the week.
Following the Bears' game, both heading into and right after the Raiders' Week 8 bye, Tucker gets matchups that look especially favorable against the Tennessee Titans (Week 6), Kansas City Chiefs (Week 7), Jacksonville Jaguars (Week 9) and Dallas Cowboys (Week 11).
The top fantasy assets on the Raiders' roster have largely disappointed through three games this season. Tucker, at the very least, has undeniable positive momentum on his side.