The Las Vegas Raiders entered their first offseason under Pete Carroll and John Spytek with several holes to fill on the roster. While many of these question marks turned into answers, there was still some uncertainty about who would step up at wide receiver outside of Jakobi Meyers.
Tre Tucker is expected to make a leap in his third professional season, but the Raiders went into training camp relying on a trio of draft picks -- Jack Bech, Dont'e Thornton Jr. and Tommy Mellott -- to contribute right away for the Las Vegas offense.
While each of these three rookies made mental errors during their NFL debuts against the Seattle Seahawks on Thursday, a veteran wideout quietly stole the show and may have played his way into a roster spot.
Alex Bachman shines in Raiders' first preseason game against Seahawks
Six-year veteran wide receiver Alex Bachman has been impressing throughout the offseason program and training camp. Carroll and the staff gave him a vote of confidence earlier this week when they released the initial depth chart and listed him ahead of Mellott as the No. 2 slot receiver.
Bachman proved during the team's first preseason tilt that this was not just training camp hype. He caught two passes for 36 yards, including a 33-yard catch that put the Raiders at the Seattle 11-yard line. He also had an impressive 24-yard catch negated by a Charles Grant hold.
Not only did he make an impact on offense, but he can also contribute in multiple aspects of special teams play. Bachman made a nice fair catch in traffic on a punt return, ran with multiple coverage units and even chased down a Seattle defender after Aidan O'Connell threw an interception.
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With the bottom of the Raiders' receiver room unsettled, Bachman could easily make the roster if he keeps stacking strong performances like he did on Thursday. Mellott struggled to make too much of an impact in his debut, and he is Bachman's primary competition for making the team.
Bachman has been around NFL rosters since going undrafted in 2019. He has enjoyed stints with the Los Angeles Rams, New York Giants and Houston Texans before joining the Raiders last offseason. He has 10 NFL games of experience under his belt, six of which came last season in Las Vegas.
The Raiders will have a joint practice with the San Francisco 49ers next week before facing their former geographic rival next Saturday in their second preseason game. Another strong performance from Bachman could be all the 29-year-old receiver needs to make the 53-man roster.