Klint Kubiak’s offense in Las Vegas has already hit a familiar pressure point four games into the season, and it’s not just because the run game has been inconsistent.
The bigger issue is what the Raiders do at wide receiver, and whether they even need the kind of WR1 people keep asking for. Raider Nation has been loud about it, especially with the team sitting at 3-1 and heading to New England for a Week 5 matchup with the Patriots on Sunday. The idea of adding a true lid-lifter has plenty of appeal, especially if it can help loosen defenses crowding the line.
That crowding has been real. ESPN has the Raiders seeing stacked boxes - eight or more defenders near the line of scrimmage - on 30.3% of their plays, the fourth-highest rate in the NFL.
Against those looks, Las Vegas has a 27.8% success rate, which ranks 26th in the league. So yes, the run game has had problems.
But Kubiak’s system also invites that kind of response.
His background matters here. The son of former head coach and player Gary Kubiak, he learned under San Francisco 49ers head coach Kyle Shanahan and former head coach Mike Shanahan.
That coaching tree comes with a clear philosophy: run the ball well, use play action, and lean on heavy personnel with multiple tight ends and a back in the formation. Defenses counter with base looks loaded with linebackers, which naturally packs the box.
That’s the trap the Raiders are in.
It’s why the “just get a speed guy” argument sounds clean on paper. A receiver who can threaten deep should, in theory, force defenses to back off and open things up underneath. But that answer only gets you part of the way there.
It also doesn’t mean Brock Bowers is being labeled WR1, even if Kubiak’s use of him makes the discussion unavoidable. The 23-year-old played only 16 snaps as a traditional in-line tight end in his 2026 season debut in Week 3 against the New Orleans Saints, and he’s also been deployed at receiver spots on the perimeter and in the slot.
He kept that role against the Kansas City Chiefs in Week 4. At 6-foot-4 and 235 pounds with a 4.40-second 40-yard dash, he’s hard to deal with because he can line up almost anywhere.
In those two games, he has 16 catches for 202 yards and two touchdowns.
The real pivot point in this whole debate is Kirk Cousins.
The 38-year-old has been excellent by the numbers: 64.6% completions, 1,026 passing yards, a league-leading 11 touchdowns and four interceptions, all while taking plenty of hits and only being sacked five times through four games. That’s strong quarterback play.
But it also explains why the deep-speed obsession doesn’t fully fit. Cousins isn’t the arm-driven downfield thrower he once was.
The better comparison is former Raiders quarterback Rich Gannon, who won with anticipation, timing and accuracy on shorter and intermediate routes. That’s where Cousins has done most of his damage.
What hasn’t shown up consistently is the ability to drive the ball deep. There have been flashes, especially to speedy receiver Tre Tucker, and the body language says plenty. The grimace on Cousins’ face has made clear how much he’s putting into those YOLO bombs.
That reality doesn’t really change if Las Vegas adds another burner to the mix with Tucker, rookie Malik Benson and Dont’e Thornton Jr., who is trying to work back into the rotation after a training-camp injury.
For Cousins, the better fit is a receiver who wins quickly, runs sharp routes and turns catches into extra yardage. That profile looks more like Amon-Ra St. Brown of the Detroit Lions or former Raider Davante Adams with the Los Angeles Rams.
And that’s where Bowers comes back into the picture. He already does that. A Cliff Branch type would be the wrong answer with Cousins throwing the ball.
A pure deep threat makes more sense for the Raiders’ future quarterback, Fernando Mendoza. If Las Vegas wants that kind of receiver for the long term, Indiana junior Charlie Becker fits the bill.
Becker, a 6-foot-4, 208-pound explosive deep threat, is someone Mendoza knows well. But that path depends on Becker declaring for the 2027 draft and the Raiders landing the kind of early picks that would put them in position to take him.
For now, the ideal WR1 isn’t necessarily the fastest one. It’s the one who matches the quarterback already in place.
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