With training camp upon us, a look at the Las Vegas Raiders' roster reveals a clear shortcoming. While the wide receiver room is full, it's also short on proven commodities. Brock Bowers is the No. 1 option in the passing game, but someone in the wide receiver corps needs to step up as a consistent option.
Who that'll be is a big question.
It is also fair to say that Klint Kubiak doesn't necessarily need a coverage-tilting, target-hog wideout to make his offense function well in Las Vegas. Kubiak makes do with what he has. But he can still make Bowers into his new Jaxon Smith-Njigba, if that's what he thinks is necessary.
If the Raiders are compelled to add a wide receiver at some point between now and the start of the 2026 NFL season, it's safe to say it won't be someone like Stefon Diggs, Deebo Samuel, Tyreek Hill or Keenan Allen. Those players don't fit the timeline in Las Vegas.
It would be a lesser name who fits in, but doesn't necessarily erode the development runway for young players like Jack Bech, Malik Benson and Dont'e Thornton Jr. Across the AFC, a crowded wide receiver battle may help this materialize in Las Vegas.
Las Vegas Raiders should kick the tires on Browns' Cedric Tillman
Kristopher Knox of Bleacher Report recently named seven NFL players who could use a change of scenery going into the new season. It's a solid sampling of names both big and small, and the Raiders were tabbed as a potential landing spot for two of three wide receivers on the list, of course.
One, Kayshon Boutte of the New England Patriots, who may have been somewhere on the Raiders' radar during the offseason, and he still could be to some extent now. But the other receiver Knox offered as a possible match for the Raiders, the Cleveland Browns' Cedric Tillman, is a new one.
Before suffering a season-ending concussion in 2024, Tillman had the best stretch of his career. With Jameis Winston under center, bringing the Cleveland passing game to life, Tillman recorded 330 receiving yards over a five-game stretch.
At 6-foot-3 and 215 pounds with an 8.67 Relative Athletic Score that was dragged down by a 4.54 40 at the 2023 NFL Combine, the Browns, as expected, didn't seem to know what to do with Tillman when they didn't have a quarterback with Winston's "YOLO" playing style.
As would also be expected, entering his fourth season, Tillman has played more offensive snaps than every Raiders wide receiver other than Tre Tucker. He played 63% of the Browns' offensive snaps in the 13 games he played last season, albeit with just 21 catches for 270 yards with two touchdowns.
The arrivals of rookies KC Concepcion and Denzel Boston have pushed Tillman down the depth chart and onto the roster bubble. The Browns could just cut Tillman when the time is right, or they could end up with a trade asset if they're smart enough to showcase him during preseason games.
From the Raiders' end of things, if they're motivated to explore what's out there on the wide receiver market in the coming weeks, it shouldn't cost much to acquire the former third-round pick. And Las Vegas is in no position to turn its head up at potentially cheap solutions to a perceived problem.
Add us as a preferred source on Google