Raiders designate Jack Bech to return from IR

He’ll miss at least the next four weeks. Bech had five catches for 48 yards and a touchdown in the first two weeks of the season, but played just 11 snaps in Week 3 before fracturing his forearm. The Raiders signed Cody White — he of the three touchdowns in the last two weeks — to the active roster as his replacement.

Bech reportedly fractured his forearm against the Saints. Bech earned an end zone target on the Raiders’ fourth drive. The pass was overthrown and ruled incomplete, but Bech was hit by a defender late, resulting in a personal foul. The Raiders accepted it, erasing Bech’s target from the box score along the way. He finished the game with zero statistics and will likely miss a few weeks due to injury.

Bech got in the end zone last week but was still held to three catches for 23 yards. Without a touchdown to his name in Week 2, there wasn’t much fantasy production to be had. Bech is the WR3 on an offense centered around Ashton Jeanty and eventually Brock Bowers. He is not on the fantasy radar for Week 3.

Bech scored a 15-yard touchdown, running a post route from the slot, on the Raiders’ first drive, bouncing off contact before running into the end zone. Bech’s day was largely quiet outside of that, although Kirk Cousins overthrew him on another post route, and the ball was picked off by a Dolphins safety. Bech remains a touchdown-dependent FLEX against the Chargers next week.

He punctuated his point by saying only, “still looking.” Kubiak’s ambiguous phrasing could suggest that the Raiders are seeking a wide receiver via trade, but it can also be read simply as an indictment of players like Jalen Nailor, Jack Bech and Malik Benson. None of the three turned in a great game last night, while Tre Tucker was given the night off. Tucker makes for a boom-bust FLEX option in an underwhelming position group.

Both Nailor and WR Jack Bech played tonight while WR Tre Tucker took the night off. Bech failed to earn a target and played into the fifth drive. Nailor called it a night after the third drive. The Raiders’ top-three wide receivers appear to be Tucker, Nailor and Bech, in that order. Tucker might warrant matchup-based FLEX treatment in 12-team leagues.

Two of Bech’s three receptions came with Fernando Mendoza under center. Mendoza threaded the needle twice to get the ball to the second-year receiver, with his first target to Bech resulting in a nine-yard gain to convert a third-and-eight. Mendoza would later find Bech for a short six-yard touchdown pass to give the Raiders their second touchdown of the night. Bech spent a significant amount of time playing with the backups, and his 20 snaps led all Raiders receivers on Thursday. Bech looked solid in this one and could be in line for a more meaningful role after a disappointing rookie year that saw him catch 20 passes for 224 scoreless yards.

The depth chart placement is a tad curious because it suggests Benson ran ahead of either WR Tre Tucker or WR Jack Bech. Benson has been rotating in with the first-team offense for more than a week, so this isn’t groundbreaking news, but one wonders if he can use the opportunity to make a compelling case for a starting role in three-wide receiver sets.

The Raiders are reportedly rotating five different wide receivers through team drills, including Tre Tucker, Jack Bech, Jalen Nailor and Dont’e Thornton. Tucker is the most proven player of the bunch and should be expected to secure a starting role. Things are fluid beyond that. McFadden named Benson, a sixth-round rookie, his “biggest surprise” of spring practices. He reportedly fostered a strong connection with QB Fernando Mendoza. Given his draft capital, Benson is likely a long shot to earn a starting role, but he also possesses intriguing upside as a field stretcher. Don’t bank on a breakout, but keeping an eye on him this summer is worthwhile.

Smart move. The Raiders are widely expected to take Indiana QB Fernando Mendoza with the No. 1 overall pick and currently field an extremely thin wide receiver corps. The Raiders’ second draft pick is No. 36 overall, which could be used to draft a No. 1 wide receiver. Given Bonsignore’s “deep” comment, we expect them to take multiple players at the position. The team recently hosted Texas A&M WR KC Concepcion, who is currently viewed as a candidate to be drafted late in the first round or early in the second. Tre Tucker, 25, is the Raiders’ most proven wide receiver, though he caught just 57-of-90 targets for 696 yards and five touchdowns last year. Other penciled-in starters include WR Jack Bech, WR Dont’e Thornton and WR Jalen Nailor. All three failed to earn 50 or more targets last year.