Raiders Hope To Get A Boost From This Key Receiver

The Las Vegas Raiders have been struggling to find targets for quarterback Kirk Cousins that aren’t tight ends, and they could get a boost from receiver Jack Bech, who’s been designated to return to practice according to a report from Myles Simmons of Pro Football Talk. 

Bech suffered a broken forearm in the Raiders’ last win, which was back in Week 3 when they beat the New Orleans Saints on the road. The receiver now has 21 days to be added to the 53-man roster, and the Raiders are hoping it will be this week. 

The second-year receiver has been a disappointment so far, and these next few weeks are crucial for him career-wise. Bech didn’t produce much last season, but neither did anyone else as the offense was a mess under coach Pete Carroll. 

The Raiders appear to have turned things around to some extent, but the jury is still out now that they’ve lost four straight games. We’re starting to see some of the same things we saw last season -- an offensive line that can’t open holes or protect the quarterback, receivers who can’t get open and work as viable targets and so on. 

Bech had five receptions for 48 yards and a touchdown before he went out, but there were already signs that he was being supplanted by practice squad player Cody White before he sustained his injury. 

Bech was drafted in the second round out of TCU last year, so much more was expected. He produced 62 receptions for over a thousand yards and nine touchdowns at TCU, and his per-catch average was an impressive 16.7 yards. 

So far none of those numbers have come anywhere close to translating, and Bech is yet another member of GM John Spytek’s first draft class who’s close to being labeled a bust.

He’s got plenty of company at the moment. Speed receiver Tre Tucker is starting to do good things, but the Raiders’ big signing in free agency, Jalen Nailor, is also looking like a bust so far with just eight catches for 75 yards. 

Bech did seem to develop a connection with rookie quarterback Fernando Mendoza in training camp, and that could come into play soon. New coach Klint Kubiak has been able to slow crawl Mendoz’a full-blown debut based on an early three-game winning streak, but now the bloom is off the rose and a change is clearly coming.