Malik Benson didn’t arrive in Las Vegas with the loudest draft-night buzz, but he’s making plenty of noise now.
The Raiders’ sixth-round rookie has turned a strong spring into a steady run through training camp, and that consistency is starting to put him squarely in the mix for a role that still hasn’t been claimed. Tre Tucker and Jalen Nailor are locked in as the top two receivers for Week 1 of the 2026 NFL season, but beyond them the door is open. Second-year wideouts Jack Bech and Dont’e Thornton Jr. are expected to improve, yet Benson keeps showing up and stacking days in a way that fits exactly what Klint Kubiak wants.
That doesn’t mean Benson has been the flashiest player on the field. It does mean he’s been one of the clearest growth stories in camp.
On the opening day of practice, Benson flashed a little of what’s pulling people in. He continued building chemistry with No. 1 pick Fernando Mendoza, nearly finished a touchdown at the end of the session, and later hooked up with Aidan O’Connell for a long catch-and-run during 11-on-11 work.
Offensive coordinator Andrew Janocko made the challenge plain after that.
"I want to see his explosiveness come to life," Janocko told reporters. "We're going to want to maximize what he does, how he comes off the ball, be able to challenge him mentally and do different things with him, and just see him grasp the offense and take it from the meeting room to the field."
The Raiders have already started testing him in that direction. Multiple reports said Benson got a shot with the first group during the next practice after opening camp with the 2s and 3s. Even if he still looked like the fifth option on the depth chart, he didn’t let that slow him down.
He and Mendoza connected again the following day on a back-shoulder throw that one report described as a touchdown, though another reporter said the play was ruled out of bounds and others called the decision questionable. Either way, Benson kept showing he can win on the kind of throws that matter in this offense.
The quarterbacks around him haven’t been perfectly steady either, which has cut into some of his opportunities. Still, Benson is finding ways to stay involved, including work in the kick return game. Sports Illustrated’s Albert Breer said the buzz around him inside the building is real.
"One darkhorse to watch would be sixth-round pick Malik Benson, who has made a bunch of plays, proven himself as a worker, and plays with a chip on his shoulder," Breer noted.
That view has shown up elsewhere too. One reporter said Benson’s stock is rising after several camp practices because he’s "had several big catches with the second unit and repped some with the ones as well." The question hanging over him was whether his game would hold up once the pads came on, especially since he isn’t the biggest receiver in the group.
So far, that answer has been yes.
During the first padded practice, Benson caught an over route from Mendoza that turned into a long gain. He also stood out in 1-on-1 work, continuing a camp that has him labeled as both a winner and a legitimate climb-up-the-chart candidate.
His teammates have noticed, too. Tucker, who leads the wide receiver room, said Benson is coming in with the right approach.
"Man, I'm so excited for him because as an older guy coming to the league with the guys that I had in my room, the one thing you want to see is a young guy that wants to get better. They’re not going through the motions, and Leek [Malik] comes in every single day and wants to get better," Tucker told the media.
"And he is getting better every play, every rep, and he can run all day. That's something that I tell him that makes you super here in a way, because if you can run all day, you can play fast, like there's a spot for you here.
So, I'm excited for him. I have him under my wing just to keep him going because I know what it's like to be a rookie.
I'm very excited for him, and I think he's going to be a very big part of us this year too.”
Nailor had the same kind of read on him.
"He's a young kid, he has a ways to go, but he's asking questions, he's asking the right questions. He wants to be better, he wants to play, he wants to be on this team, he wants to show himself," Nailor said to the press.
"So, just having that type of mindset as a young rookie, it means a lot. Just to have him asking questions, to me, it shows that he cares.
I care as well, so I want to give him all the pointers that I can with whatever he's asking."
And that seems to be the heart of Benson’s push. He’s not just making catches; he’s earning trust.
Day by day, he keeps moving forward. With little sign of anyone else in Las Vegas separating in the race behind Tucker and Nailor, Benson may not be far from forcing his way into a real early-season role.
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Trey Zuhn III is one of the more interesting names in that mix, because he has already been moved into right tackle work with the second-unit offense after spending time at guard and center. That kind of reshuffling usually says as much about the coaching staffs urgency as it does about the players versatility. The Raiders do not need a camp battle that lingers much longer, though, because right tackle is quickly becoming one of the spots they can least afford to leave unsettled. [Read more 🡒]
Raiders First Padded Practice Exposed One Concern Fans Cant Ignore
The Raiders moved into their first padded training camp practice under new head coach Klint Kubiak, and that shift brought a more revealing look at where the roster stands. It was the kind of session that tends to separate early camp noise from something a little more real, with veterans and young players alike getting a clearer test in fuller contact. Maxx Crosby and Brock Bowers were both back on the field after injury, and their presence immediately raised the level of the group around them, while rookie Fernando Mendoza showed flashes and some uneven moments as he starts the long process of settling in.
DJ Glaze, though, remains one of the more pressing watch points for the Raiders as the line work gets tougher and the margin for error shrinks. In padded practice, that side of the offensive front can tell you a lot about how quickly a team is coming together, and Glazes performance did not make that conversation any easier to ignore. For a team trying to establish itself under a new coaching staff, those early camp reps matter because they hint at which problems are temporary and which ones may need a lot more solving. [Read more 🡒]
Raiders Quarterback Battle Is Showing Why This Offense Needs Time
The Raiders quarterback room has become one of the most watched parts of training camp, and for good reason. With Kirk Cousins and Fernando Mendoza joining returning quarterback Aidan OConnell, Las Vegas suddenly has multiple passers trying to get comfortable in a new offensive scheme under a new coaching staff, and the early days have looked like what usually happens in a true installation period: some clean stretches, some rough ones, and plenty of learning on the fly.
For the Raiders, the bigger takeaway may be less about who is ahead right now and more about how much work still needs to be done before this offense looks settled. The quarterbacks are competing, sure, but they are also working together to sharpen the system and help the group improve collectively, which suggests this camp is as much about building the foundation as it is about deciding a pecking order. [Read more 🡒]