Tre

Tucker

It was a quiet day for Tucker until the Raiders once again found themselves down by three scores in the fourth quarter. Kirk Cousins — as he did last week against Buffalo — let it rip and peppered Tucker with late downfield targets, one of them resulting in an impressive 37-yard touchdown. Tucker led all Vegas pass catchers with a dozen targets and dominated air yards as usual. Last week against the Bills, Tucker went for 97 yards and two scores on five receptions. The miserable Raiders defense should lead to plenty of runaway negative game script for the team’s offense in the coming weeks, and Tucker’s role as the team’s lone deep ball option gives him weekly upside. He’ll be a WR3 option in Week 8 against the Jets.

Tucker found the end zone on an 11-yard touchdown pass from Kirk Cousins in the fourth quarter to tie the game at 23-23. Later in the game, with the Raiders down by 10, Tucker found himself on the receiving end of a Kirk Cousins moon ball in the end zone, which he hauled in for a 44-yard touchdown to cut the Bills’ lead to 33-30 with just over a minute left in the game. Tucker is the closest thing the Raiders have to a fantasy-viable wide receiver, and he has proven to be a volatile player throughout his four-year career. Fantasy managers shouldn’t view him as anything more than a boom-or-bust WR4 in next week’s game against the Rams.

Tucker’s two rushing attempts were blown up in the backfield. He was third on the team in targets, trailing Brock Bowers and Ashton Jeanty. Tucker, who usually operates as the team’s primary downfield option, should have some appeal in Week 6 against Buffalo in what could be a high-scoring game. He has at least four receptions in four of five games this season.

Tucker’s longest catch came on a 23-yard reception late in the fourth quarter as the Raiders looked to drive and tie up the game. Had the replay officials called for a review of the play in time, the catch likely would have been overturned, but the play was upheld, much to the disappointment of the Chiefs and head coach Andy Reid. The eight targets Tucker saw in this one set a new season high. He’s totaled 44 or fewer yards in three of four games this season and will be hard to trust as anything more than a dart-throw WR4 in Week 5 against the Patriots.

Tucker had a bigger impact in real life than he did in fantasy. On the plus side, he helped set up a field goal and a touchdown, first by finding the soft spot in the Saints’ zone coverage in the two-minute drill. Later, his 15-yard gain on a deep crossing route helped set up the Raiders. He also committed a holding penalty, which erased a short gain for RB Ashton Jeanty. Tucker is a WR4/FLEX against the Chiefs next week.

Kirk Cousins got the deep ball going in this game after settling for mostly check-downs in Week 1. Tucker caught two passes of 40+ yards, the first of which was a second-quarter touchdown. He also tied Ashton Jeanty with a team-high seven targets, so it wasn’t just a one-off deep shot for the veteran wideout. Brock Bowers is expected to return next week, meaning Tucker’s target share should take a hit the next time we see him. Even if he is relegated to field-stretching duties in Week 3, Tucker will remain a high-ceiling FLEX bet versus the Saints.

Despite receiving clear-cut No. 1 wide receiver treatment late in the preseason, Tucker was not the clear-cut No. 1 wide receiver in Week 1. He nabbed a nice 21-yard gain and had another downfield pass broken up by DPI, but Raiders coach Klint Kubiak didn’t have a focal target here. Treat Tucker as a boom-bust FLEX against the Chargers next week, in what should be a back-and-forth game environment.

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.

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.