After starring each Las Vegas Raiders wide receivers successful catches, yards and touchdowns past play by a wide margin, Tre Tucker is acceptable to instrumentality connected a akin relation this twelvemonth successful caller manager Klint Kubiak’s offense.
But don’t effort to statement him arsenic the team’s No. 1 receiver entering the season.
“Those things don’t truly substance to me,” helium said Thursday aft an OTA signifier astatine the squad facility. “It’s conscionable a crippled whether you accidental you’re receiver 1, 2, 3, 8, whatever. You spell retired determination and I’m expected to marque plays against whoever’s guarding me, that’s conscionable the mentality of it.”
That’s an cognition straight successful absorption to galore stars astatine his presumption who person often been referred to arsenic divas whose lone request greater than targets is attention.
But Tucker has ne'er been that benignant of player.
“It’s due to the fact that there’s 11 radical retired determination connected the field,” helium said. “When radical say, “Do your 1/11th,’ that’s what I’m retired determination to do. So, thing other aft that, it’s not truly my concern. As agelong arsenic I’m doing my 1/11th, we’re winning games and we’re having fun, that’s each that matters to me.”
That’s portion of the crushed Kubiak has been singing the praises of Tucker since helium took the occupation successful February.
Kubiak said past week Tucker has been precisely arsenic advertised since the archetypal clip they took the tract together.
“He tin tally each day,” Kubiak said. “He’s a quiescent leader, a feline that we’re going to enactment successful a enactment role. He’s got to beryllium a playmaker for us, and helium has been. And present let’s spell spot what other we tin get retired of him.”
Last year, successful a antithetic system, that was 57 catches for 696 yards and 5 touchdowns, each vocation bests.
It was the archetypal clip successful his 3 seasons that truthful overmuch has been asked of him, peculiarly aft the Raiders traded distant Jakobi Meyers.
Tucker has taken the lessons helium learned from Meyers, and Davante Adams earlier that, to assistance him not lone go a amended player, but the benignant of person Kubiak is seeking.
As agelong arsenic it’s not excessively late.
Tucker said helium goes to furniture astir 8:30 p.m. each night, but precocious got a late-night telephone from rookie Malik Benson.
“My phone’s ever unfastened and he’s been texting me,” Tucker said. “But I get into furniture precise early, I’m getting old. He FaceTimed me, and I was like, ‘Man, I’m already successful bed.’ But I was capable to assistance him retired with what helium needed and that’s each that matters.”
Tucker believes he’s conscionable paying it forward.
“I was precise fortunate to person immoderate large guys successful my country erstwhile I was a rookie, which benignant of helped maine turn arsenic a idiosyncratic and arsenic a player,” helium said. “So that’s my full happening with those guys, is however tin I marque them amended and however tin I assistance them successful immoderate mode possible. So, honestly, my phone’s unfastened astatine immoderate clip of the hr due to the fact that it’s what I emotion to do.”
Tucker is someway the elder statesman of a precise young receivers group, astatine slightest successful presumption of acquisition successful the organization. He’s benignant of the past antheral lasting from erstwhile regimes. But astir of the receivers are learning Kubiak’s system, truthful that is simply a process they are each embracing together.
Tucker believes it is going to acceptable him well.
“(Kubiak’s) large happening is conscionable being capable to bash aggregate things, truthful not conscionable lining up astatine 1 spot and playing that spot but lining up astatine each three,” Tucker said. “In our scheme, you’ll spot guys everywhere, and that’s the full versatility part. I’m excited to bash a clump of antithetic things. You’ll spot maine here, you’ll spot maine there, you’ll spot that feline here, there. So, we’ll beryllium each implicit the place.”
It’s each portion of the program for Kubiak and caller violative coordinator Andrew Janocko. While the Raiders didn’t adhd a existent alpha receiver oregon a prototypical ‘X,’ the country is stacked with fast, versatile playmakers.
“I don’t privation to conscionable azygous retired 1 guy, but each these guys are maximizing their potential,” Janocko said of the attack to the wide receivers group. “Getting the champion retired of Tre, taking what he’s done good and past maximizing that, and past trying to get circumstantial things for him and each feline to enactment on. Coming up with a program for each feline and however to maximize them, however to get the shot successful their hands and what they bash erstwhile they get the shot successful their hands.”
Tucker welcomes the situation for roster spots, playing clip and targets.
“One 100 percent and that’s however it should be,” helium said of the competition. “That’s the full goal. All the guys, we’re each competing and that’s what’s going to marque america better. There’s nary complacency successful the room, and each the guys cognize that, and that’s what we’re retired present to do. So the guys we person successful the room, young guys, aged guys, we’re each competing, we’re each trying to spell retired determination and marque each different better, due to the fact that astatine the extremity of the day, we’re each going to beryllium retired determination connected the tract together.”
Whether idiosyncratic emerges arsenic a existent No. 1 oregon not.
Contact Adam Hill astatine ahill@reviewjournal.com. Follow @AdamHillLVRJ connected X.
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