Through five games, the Las Vegas Raiders have three players with more than 20 receptions. Two are tight ends (Brock Bowers and Michael Mayer), with running back Ashton Jeanty in-between. After Tre Tucker's 19 catches, with injuries to Jalen Nailor and Jack Bech as factors, no other wide receiver has more than seven receptions.
The presence of Bowers, who Klint Kubiak deploys like a wide receiver, curbs a good portion of the need for a proverbial WR1, but it would be nice to have someone besides Tucker be noticeable at wide receiver. The path to that is foggy, to say the least.
The Raiders reportedly had a level of interest in trading for Marvin Harrison Jr., but they, unsurprisingly, weren't able to exceed the offer the Houston Texans made to the Arizona Cardinals. To what extent there are other viable wide receiver trade targets is a blend of what general manager John Spytek might be willing to give up, how whoever it is fits and the extent to which someone is available.
To those ends, a new trade target is out there: Minnesota Vikings wide receiver Klint Kubiak.
Klint Kubiak familiarity with Jauan Jennings could push Raiders toward a trade
In some sense, Jauan Jennings was a potential free agent target for the Raiders last offseason, but rumors of a high asking price kept him on the market awhile. He ultimately signed with the Minnesota Vikings in early May.
Through four games as a Viking, despite Justin Jefferson missing basically two games and Jordan Addison missing Week 5, Jennings has just two catches for nine yards (on five targets). He has shown up a bit as a blocker in the run game, but that's what you say when a wide receiver isn't producing.
The Vikings' signing of Odell Beckham Jr. to the practice squad last week. and a wide receiver workout list that included JuJu Smith-Schuster on Monday this week, casts legit doubt over Jennings' status in Minnesota.
On "The Pat McAfee Show" Tuesday, NFL Network's Ian Rapoport pointed to Jennings as a player to keep an eye on as the Nov. 10 trade deadline approaches. Darren Wolfson of KSTP Sports added how Jennings was seen "loudly going at" Vikings head coach Kevin O'Connell on the sideline during the Week 5 game against the New Orleans Saints.
Jennings and the Vikings are clearly headed for a divorce. Rapoport noted how the team that drafted him, the San Francisco 49ers, make perfect senses as a trade suitor with all their injuries at wide receiver. But shared time with Kubiak there could potentially bring the Raiders into the equation.
Kubiak spent the 2023 season as the 49ers' passing game coordinator. Jennings didn't light up the stat sheet that season, with 19 receptions and one touchdown over 13 games, but he posted top-notch PFF grades as both a run and pass blocker and he has maintained that ferocity as a blocker since.
Jennings took hold of a bigger offensive role and became a red zone force for the 49ers after Kubiak left, with 15 touchdowns over the 2024 and 2025 seasons. The Raiders could certainly use someone like that in their wide receiver corps.
With the Vikings clearly moving toward being done with Jennings, a team that wants to trade for him may be able to get him for peanuts relative to what his potential can be. Kubiak's input will dictate any potential trade offer, but need and familiarity could end up bringing Jennings to Vegas at some point soon.
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