The Las Vegas Raiders wasted no time retooling their wide receiver room this offseason after having one of the worst passing attacks in the NFL last year. Trading for Geno Smith was obviously a big move, but he needs the proper pieces around him to really flourish.
With Brock Bowers and Jakobi Meyers as the two key cogs in the passing game, the Raiders' offense is already set up for success. However, it will still be up to Tre Tucker and rookies Jack Bech and Dont'e Thornton Jr. to provide a spark alongside them and push this unit to a higher level.
Veteran wideout Alex Bachman has also been a pleasant surprise this offseason, as he was able to translate his success from OTAs and training camp into the first preseason game. He made his mark against the Seattle Seahawks last Thursday, both on offense and special teams.
Raiders beat writer predicts Alex Bachman will be cut before season
Unfortunately, there are still some doubters about his prospects of making the team. The Las Vegas Review-Journal's Vincent Bonsignore recently made his prediction about who would make the Raiders' roster, and he left off Bachman in favor of quarterback-turned-wideout Tommy Mellott.
"The Raiders will have to decide whether to keep Bachman or Mellott. Bachman, 29, is further along right now. But Mellott, a rookie sixth-round pick, is a good athlete with a lot of potential," Bonsignore wrote. "He just requires patience as he transitions from college quarterback to NFL wide receiver. Mellott may have too much upside to risk exposing him to waivers."
Bonsignore's statements about Mellott's upside are true, and it would definitely be risky to expose him to the waiver wire or have him on the practice squad. But Las Vegas could easily keep six receivers instead of his projected five, and make room for both of them.
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This would leave veterans like Collin Johnson and Phillip Dorsett on the outside looking in, and it would mean that the Raiders would waive promising young wideout Shedrick Jackson. However, Jackson is more likely to clear waivers and end up back in Las Vegas, which is a risk worth taking.
Losing Mellott would be disastrous for the franchise, but it cannot go unnoticed what Bachman has done this offseason in multiple facets of the game. Bonsignore said it himself that Bachman is much further along, and the Raiders are not in a position to part ways with that kind of player.
If Bachman were to be released, another team would likely grab him right away. The only way to keep both Bachman and Mellott in the building is to keep them on the active roster and have both the established player available and the promising up-and-comer waiting in the wings.