Tre Tucker was taken with the No. 100 pick in the 2023 NFL Draft by the Las Vegas Raiders, and he has continued to get better each year. In his rookie season, he finished with 19 catches for 331 yards and two touchdowns.
Last season, he made huge strides, finishing 47 catches for 539 yards and three touchdowns. Players are expected to make that type of improvement from the first year to the second. However, to be able to do that with the Raiders last year is even more impressive when you take into account that no team had more disfunction at the quarterback position last year.
With Pete Carroll being the new coach, he brought in a familiar face in Geno Smith as his quarterback. Smith is a veteran who brought stability to the position, which helps receivers in a big way. So far, so good for Tucker as he off to a fast start, and is coming off by far the best game of his career against the Washington Commanders.
Before that game, his previous career-highs were seven catches and 96 yards in a game against the Carolina Panthers last season. On Sunday, he had eight catches for 145 yards and three touchdowns in the loss.
Even more impressive is the fact that Smith has thrown only four touchdowns on the season.
Entering this season, he was looked as at best the No. 3 receiving option behind Brock Bowers and Jakobi Meyers. With Bowers demanding double-teams in the middle of the field, that creates the one-on-one opportunities on the outside. Right now, Tucker is taking full advantage of it.
Now, is he going to put up nearly 150 yards and three touchdowns every week? No, but he has clearly has earned the trust of Smith as he is trying to get more comfortable in the offense.
Up next for the Raiders is a game against a Chicago Bears team that through three weeks has one of the worst defenses in the NFL. They are 27th in passing (247.7 yards), 27th in rushing (139.3 yards) and 29th in scoring (31.0 PPG). Those stats are a little inflated because of the Week 2 loss against the Detroit Lions, but Tucker should have some good matchups in this game. The Bears are dealing with injuries in the secondary, as All-Pro cornerback Jaylon Johnson is out after groin surgery.
There are other players in the secondary that are dealing with injuries, and Tucker finding the endzone for the fifth time this year is definitely on the table.