AP reminds us Raiders’ wide receiver room is deeper than Davante Adams

Coach has high praise for Jakobi Meyers, Tre Tucker

Yes, the Las Vegas Raiders’ wide receiver group starts with star No. 1 option Davante Adams.

But the unit is much more than the great Adams.

If you forgot, all you have to is listen to Raiders’ coach Antonio Pierce. The coach was clearly struck by the talent of his group this offseason.

Pierce heaped high praise on both starter Jakobi Meyers, who is entering his second season with the Silver and Black and second-year receiver Tre Tucker. Pierce believes Tucker, a third-round draft pick last season from Cincinnati, is ready to take the next step in his career after the way he performed in the offseason sessions.

“Tucker – different dude. He looks different, acts different, runs different, catches the ball different. Don’t look at the size, don’t mention that,” Pierce said this offseason. “Watch him play. He’s the biggest guy out there. He had a hell of an offseason, came back right after the offseason program, the Super Bowl and got in here and started working and was here every day. Blazer, we know about the speed. But everything that we talked about working on, he took that to another level, and you can see the look in his eye of a confident player, of a guy that just wants to constantly get better.”

Tucker flashed as a rookie with his great speed, but he was inconsistent and often had trouble finishing plays. But the big-play ability is there as he had 19 catches for 331 yards and 77 yards on 10 carries.

Pierce is also fired up about how Meyers fits into the offseason and the role he carved out.

“Jakobi is that guy. When you say I need a dog, Jakobi is that dog, Jakobi is an alpha, Jakobi is fearless,” Pierce said. “Jakobi works probably as hard as any player on our team. You saw this last year, his commitment in the run game speaks volumes because he could be easily a 100 reception and 1,000-yard receiver, but it’s all those other things, it’s those crack back blocks, it’s those hits on the D-end, the linebacker, getting his nose bloody, rolling up his sleeves, flexing on guys, setting the tone. His energy and presence, he might not say a lot and you guys know him, he’s kind of real slick, real slick and slight of words, but when he speaks you better listen because he’s got some substance behind him.”

Meyers definitely showed he is a force in 2023, his first season with the Raiders after signing as a free agent from New England. Meyers had 71 catches for 807 yards and eight touchdowns last season. That’s excellent production from a No. 2 option behind a player the caliber of Adams.

So, with Adams, Meyers and Tucker leading the way, Pierce knows his receiver group is in good shape.

“So, those two guys have really taken a really good jump for us,” Pierce said. “It’s been really good to see because we’re not going to win this game with one person. We’ll win this game as a collective group at the wide receiver core, tight end, running back and the quarterback, it’s not just on one guy. And we are going to win or lose by that, and these guys are really bought into the team aspect that it takes all of us to do it. You know, I always talked about our superheroes putting on their capes. I told the guys today, ‘Hey, those superheroes need some other guys to put some more capes on.”