The Las Vegas Raiders have gone wild this offseason in terms of adding wide receivers. They signed a handful of veterans during free agency, added three more during the draft and have been tinkering with the end of the room throughout the preseason.
While Jakobi Meyers is still the top dog for the receiver corps in Las Vegas, the Raiders have gotten strong contributions from players like Tre Tucker and rookie Dont'e Thornton Jr. this offseason. This has left fellow rookie, second-rounder Jack Bech, on the outside looking in.
Bech is a lock to make the roster and will muster some kind of role in Chip Kelly's offense, but he has yet to really pop off the screen and showcase why he deserves to play a lot. This has called into question what kind of role Raider Nation can expect from the TCU product during his first NFL season.
Raiders rookie Jack Bech bounces back with strong practice
On Wednesday, however, Bech seemingly made it his mission to defy these notions and respond with arguably his best practice since joining the Silver and Black. ESPN's Ryan McFadden began the hype train when he reported that Bech made a big contested catch on a throw from Geno Smith.
Raiders.com reporter Levi Edwards fueled this even further by noting that Bech had an overall great day marked by three impressive catches. Jesse Merrick corroborated this by saying that Bech won the day at practice in Las Vegas.
This is a remarkable turnaround for a player who many felt would be buried behind other receivers on the Raiders' roster. With lots of 12 personnel and only two wideouts expected to be on the field a majority of the time, Bech's standing as the No. 4 wide receiver is still a bit worrisome.
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However, if he continues to string together days like this at practice, he could earn his way into a bigger role. He caught just one pass for five yards against the Seattle Seahawks in his NFL debut, but luckily, he'll have plenty more opportunities to show out for Pete Carroll and Chip Kelly.
On Thursday, the Raiders will host the San Francisco 49ers for joint practices before facing off against them in a preseason game at Allegiant Stadium on Saturday. Then, next week, they'll wrap up their exhibition slate with a bout against the Arizona Cardinals.
Bech is still young and learning the ropes in the NFL, so a slow start was not unexpected. However, Thornton's immediate emergence caused Raider Nation to panic a bit about Bech. But if he can translate Wednesday's practice performance into a game, then the fans can take a deep breath.