Las Vegas Raiders receiver Jack Bech played at the Superdome in high school, and he has special ties to New Orleans.
Las Vegas Raiders receiver Jack Bech has some strong ties to New Orleans, and his return to the city as the Raiders prepare to play the New Orleans Saints comes with a lot of sides and facets. He grew up in Lafayette, La. and made trips to the Superdome to watch the Saints, and he competed at that venue when he was in high school during a state title game.
But Bech also has a very different kind of history with New Orleans. His older brother, Tiger, was killed in a terrorist attack when Shamsud-Din Jabbar accelerated his pickup truck through a Bourbon Street crowd in the early-morning hours on New Year’s Day 2025, per Sam Warren of The Athletic.
His brother was taken to a local hospital and put on life support, and Bech was playing for TCU at the time. He arrived too late to be present for his brother’s final moments, but he did say that he smiles every time he thinks of Tiger.
Tiger’s contributions to Jack’s career were special, too. Tiger was an all-Ivy League return specialist at Princeton University, and he pushed Jack to maximize his physical talents. The result was an NFL career that’s hopefully just beginning, as the Raiders took Bech in the second round last year.
Bech had a rough year last season, as did all of the Raiders receivers. The offense was a mess, but Bech caught the first touchdown pass of his NFL career against the Miami Dolphins in Week 1, and he credited his brother, saying he felt Tiger’s presence as he made the catch.
The football side of this is a little different, however. New coach Klint Kubiak expressed dissatisfaction with the way the wide receivers played during the preseason, and as a result tryouts and substitutions remain ongoing.
Last week it was unknown receiver Cody White who starred against the Los Angeles Chargers with a pair of touchdown catches, so Bech is under more pressure than normal to perform.
That’s not going to stop him from honoring his brother’s legacy, however. Bech is very open about talking about the trauma associated with Tiger’s death, per Warren, and he made a promise to the rest of his family to do that.
What happens on the field on Sunday, though, is anyone’s guess. The Raiders come into this game as a surprise 2-0 team, while the upstart Saints are 1-1 and a surprisingly tough opponent. This is one of the better games on the Week 3 schedule, and it will be interesting to see if Bech can make his mark in the contest.
