The Raiders have spent the first three weeks of the 2026 season looking like a team that knows how to win in different ways. At 3-0, they’ve paired an efficient offense with a defense that has outperformed expectations and keeps showing up when the moment gets tight.
What they still haven’t gotten, though, is much from their wide receivers.
Tre Tucker had his big Week 2 performance. Cody White has somehow turned three red zone chances into touchdowns.
Beyond that, the production has been thin, and even the return of Brock Bowers in Week 3 has complicated the picture more than it has solved it. If Las Vegas is going to keep stacking wins, Tucker, Jalen Nailor and the rest of that group are going to have to give this offense more.
Maybe Klint Kubiak’s system won’t need a traditional WR1 if Bowers is going to be used like a new version of Jaxon Smith-Njigba. Even so, the Raiders could use more than the occasional spark from the outside. And if the current shape of the offense holds, wide receiver looks like a major 2027 offseason need.
That’s why Brian Thomas Jr. is worth watching if Jacksonville really is willing to move him.
Thomas looked like a star on the rise as a rookie in 2024, finishing with 87 catches for 1,282 yards, which ranked third in the league, and 10 touchdowns. A good portion of that production came with Mac Jones at quarterback rather than Trevor Lawrence, but the Jaguars still seemed to have their long-term No. 1 receiver.
Then Liam Coen arrived and changed the direction of the offense. Even as Lawrence settled in last year, Thomas’ role shrank badly. He finished with 48 receptions for 707 yards and two touchdowns in 14 games, and the drops became part of the story.
This season has gone in an even worse direction. Thomas has been on the field for less than 40% of Jacksonville’s offensive snaps in two of the first three games, and rookie sixth-round pick Josh Cameron is already taking time away from him. His Week 3 outing against the New England Patriots was especially rough: one catch, one target, eight yards.
That kind of falloff raises obvious questions. Is Thomas dealing with a hidden injury?
Is something off behind the scenes? Or are Coen and the staff simply not using him in a way that fits his game?
The drops are part of it, and they were an issue last season when he was already getting limited volume. He had seven drops as a rookie, too. Jacksonville’s personnel usage hasn’t helped matters either, because when the Jaguars line up with two of their three tight ends on the field, Thomas’ snap share and route participation dip even further.
So the fit has gone from promising to awkward, fast.
Alex Kay of Bleacher Report listed five possible landing spots for Thomas, and Las Vegas made the cut. The Raiders’ 3-0 start has changed their trade posture, turning them from a team that looked like a deadline seller into one that could actually buy if this run continues. Kay also pointed out that there is “plenty of room” for another receiver to step into the mix in Las Vegas.
"At his best, Thomas showed he can handle a feature role thanks to a rare blend of size, speed, athleticism and catching ability. Although he hasn't consistently displayed that talent since the end of his rookie campaign, the potential for him to return to form in Klint Kubiak's offense is truly alluring.
"If the Raiders can get the 23-year-old wideout without mortgaging too much of their promising future, they shouldn't hesitate to make the move."
The Jaguars are stripping away whatever leverage they had by cutting Thomas’ role so dramatically. A team that wants him shouldn’t have to pay much, especially if the alternative is Jacksonville keeping a player it has barely used over the last season-plus.
At some point, the whole thing starts to feel less like stubbornness and more like a misread. Thomas has gone from centerpiece to afterthought in no time, and it’s fair to wonder whether he’ll eventually push for a trade himself.
If the Raiders want a buy-low swing on a young receiver with real alpha upside, Thomas is sitting near the top of the list. General manager John Spytek needs to find out what it would take to bring him to Las Vegas.
In Other News...
Raiders Just Sent A Clear Message With This Receiver Decision
The Raiders kept busy with their receiver room this week, and the moves say a lot about how quickly this front office is willing to adjust. Las Vegas signed Cody White to the 53-man roster, placed Jack Bech on injured reserve, waived Justin Shorter and added Phillip Dorsett to the practice squad, a set of transactions that reflects how fluid the depth chart has become.
Whites promotion stands out because he has been the teams most productive wideout this season, scoring three touchdowns after arriving from the Seahawks practice squad. General manager John Spytek has made it clear the Raiders are not interested in standing still when a need opens up, and this latest shuffle leaves the receiver group with a new look while the bigger question is how the team plans to keep the position stabilized moving forward. [Read more 🡒]
Broncos Just Got A Reminder Of Where They Stand With CBS
CBSs Sunday afternoon assignment sent a clear message about which game the network believed carried the bigger draw in the late window. Instead of sending Jim Nantz and J.J. Watt to Broncos-49ers, CBS paired its top team with Raiders-Chiefs, a matchup that carried more star power and a more familiar national storyline in the 4:25 p.m. ET slot.
The choice quickly drew pushback from fans who felt the Broncos and 49ers had the more meaningful game on the board. It also served as another reminder that Tony Romo remains away from broadcasting duties, leaving CBS to lean on its alternate lineup while its highest-profile booth continues to anchor the games the network deems most appealing. [Read more 🡒]
Raiders Depth Chart Reveals A Big Concern Before Chiefs Test
The Raiders depth chart for their matchup with the Chiefs offers an early look at how the staff is sorting out roles as the week builds toward a division test. Jack Bech landing on injured reserve is part of the backdrop, and the chart also hints at how Las Vegas is trying to balance health, production and depth on both sides of the ball while settling on the pieces it can trust.
For a team trying to keep pace in the AFC West, the bigger concern is less about the headline names and more about how thin some spots appear if the game plan gets tested. The chart gives a clearer sense of who is positioned for meaningful snaps, but it also leaves open a familiar Raiders question heading into Kansas City: whether the current mix is sturdy enough to withstand a high-pressure opponent without forcing the staff to improvise. [Read more 🡒]