No offense to Jakobi Myers, who is a fine, reliable wide receiver. But he is not a proverbial "WR1", and behind him the Las Vegas Raiders have a lot of question marks at the position. Regardless of any potential free agent signing, taking a wide receiver fairly early in the draft should be a firm priority.
This year's draft class at wide receiver lacks the elite prospects that filled recent draft classes, but it is fairly deep and good players can be found on Day 2 or even Day 3.
With acknowledgment of the directions the Raiders seem more likely to go with their first-round pick (No. 6 overall), the second round (pick No. 37) or third round (pick No. 68) feels ripe for them to take a wide receiver.
Pro Football Network has named a top fit on Day 2 of the draft for each team. For the Raiders, Ole Miss wide receiver Tre Harris was the pick.
"The Raiders had one of the worst offenses in the NFL last season, according to our Offense+ metric (D). Upgrading talent on that side of the ball early would be wise. After grabbing a bellcow running back in Ashton Jeanty, they give new quarterback Geno Smith another weapon. Tre Harris is an imposing physical presence with elite hands at the catch point. He’s a dangerous threat in the red zone (15 touchdowns across two seasons at Ole Miss). Harris gives the Raiders a legit X-receiver to pair with Brock Bowers."
Tre Harris is an interesting potential draft target for Raiders to fill WR void
Harris started his college career at Louisiana Tech. After a breakthrough season in 2022 (935 yards, 10 touchdowns), he transferred to Ole Miss and the step up in competition was not too much for him in 2023 (985 yards and eight touchdowns; 18.2 yards per catch). Last season he was a Second Team AP All-American, as he topped 1,000 yards with seven touchdowns while averaging 17.2 yards per catch.
Harris (6-foot-2, 205 pounds) profiles as a quintessential "X" receiver. However, His route tree ("mixing a barrage of hitches and slants with go routes and posts", per Lance Zierlein of NFL.com) is seen as a residual of Ole Miss' offensive system more than an indicator of his ability to run a wide array of routes. He is also alignment-versatile, lining up on the right, on the left and in the slot at Ole Miss.
The high end of comps for Harris include DK Metcalf (Yahoo's Matt Harmon), Courtland Sutton (FanSided's Matt Sidney) and Michael Thomas (Dame Parson of Bleacher Report). Alec Pierce is a common low-end comp (Zierlein and Sidney), and Harmon mentioned Terrace Marshall in that low-end vein as he noted a general volatility in Harris' route profile.
Harris lands as a legit boom-or-bust prospect. But the Raiders could bet on the boom in the second or third round, then mitigate the risk with another wide receiver pick on Day 3 since they have three sixth-round picks right now.