Las Vegas Raiders wide receiver Jalen Nailor has a much cleaner path to volume than he ever had in Minnesota. Nailor spent four years buried behind Justin Jefferson and Jordan Addison, but he enters 2026 listed with the first-team offense in a wide receiver room that doesn't have an established target hog. He caught 29 of 53 targets for 444 yards and four touchdowns last season, then spent August building real chemistry with Kirk Cousins. Nailor caught a deep score from Cousins on Aug. 6, another touchdown on Aug. 10 and two more in red-zone work a week later. That doesn't guarantee a huge target share, especially with Brock Bowers likely to remain the centerpiece and Tre Tucker and Jack Bech still involved. It does give Nailor a legitimate chance to see more work than he ever did with the Vikings. Las Vegas signed him early in free agency, kept him with the starters all summer, and the opportunity held through roster cuts. For managers looking for a late-round receiver with room to beat his draft cost, Nailor has a pretty easy case to make
Even in an NFL where the run game has been resurgent in recent seasons, the passing game is still king. After all, the reason we've seen teams lean more into the run of late is because defenses have prioritized taking away explosive passes. They are more content to let offenses try to beat them with the body blows of a series of runs, betting they can't do it without making mistakes before they reach the end zone. Because the NFL is still a passing league, wide receivers have never been more important. We've seen evidence of that in recent offseasons, as the financial market for wideouts has exploded and now tops $40 million per year. Of course, you can't just get away with having one good wide receiver. You need to build a receiver room that can threaten defenses in a variety of ways -- at least, if you want to have a really good offense. And with that in mind, we set out to rank the league's receiver rooms from worst to best: This one is fairly obvious. After moving on from Tyreek Hill and Jaylen Waddle , the Dolphins have the most barren wide receiver room in the league. There are hopes for rookies Caleb Douglas and Chris Bell , the latter of whom is coming off a major injury, but there's nothing we can count on here. The Raiders are lucky the Dolphins exist. The top options in this room are Tre Tucker and Jalen Nailor , along with potentially Jack Bech and rookie Malik Benson . It's not an inspiring group. This might be too low for the Browns, but with such an unproven room, it was hard to push them any higher. KC Concepcion and Denzel Boston could make this ranking look silly if they get off to fast starts to their respective careers. With Rashee Rice still looking hobbled after rehabbing his knee injury in jail and Xavier Worthy again banged up in camp, the Chiefs might be counting on training-camp star Cyrus Allen to be a real factor, rather than a mere curiosity. That's a dangerous game to play. Tennessee had arguably the worst receiver room in the NFL last season and upgraded with Carnell Tate and Wan'Dale Robinson , but the depth is still questionable. Thirty-two-year-old Calvin Ridley is looking like the No. 3, while Elic Ayomanor and Chimere Dike are up next. There doesn't appear to be a true game-changing talent among the group. If Alec Pierce were definitively healthy rather than merely working his way back from offseason ankle surgery -- and therefore in question for Week 1 and perhaps beyond -- the Colts would probably rank higher. He's a good player, as is Josh Downs . But the depth beyond them, even with Keenan Allen in the fold, is still questionable. The Bills brought in DJ Moore to be their No. 1 wideout this year. He took a step back last season in Chicago and is now trying to recapture the form he had a few years ago. Khalil Shakir is a slot slot/gadget option. But the room beyond those players ( Josh Palmer , Keon Coleman , Skyler Bell ) is uninspiring. If Jordyn Tyson were healthy, the Saints would definitely rank higher, especially given how good Tyson looked during training camp. As is, though, you have to knock New Orleans because outside of Chris Olave , there is nobody on the depth chart that really scares you -- even if DeVaughn Vele had a solid stretch to end last season. Malik Nabers is working his way back from a serious knee injury. He seems on his way to full health, but we obviously can't know for sure until we see him on the field. Beyond him, the depth chart looks like it's clearing out for rookie Malachi Fields , because Darius Slayton and Darnell Mooney are role players and Calvin Austin III just tore up his knee. Garrett Wilson is awesome. Adonai Mitchell is somewhat tantalizing. Omar Cooper Jr . is apparently working his way up the depth chart after seeming like he may have been behind return specialist Isaiah Williams early in the preseason. If Mitchell taps into his talent and Cooper hits the ground running, the Jets could be better than expected. Terry McLaurin is a b
[... truncated ...]
Nailor brought in two of four targets for 13 yards in the Raiders' 18-12 preseason loss to the 49ers on Thursday. Nailor led the Raiders in targets and finished tied for second in receptions. The fourth-year pro made his first catch on a pass from Kirk Cousins for a seven-yard gain during the opening possession, and he recorded his second catch with Fernando Mendoza under center to open Las Vegas' third drive. Nailor was then also the intended target deep down the middle on the next play, a pass that resulted in an interception. The fifth-year pro is projected to open the regular season as the No. 2 receiver and posted a 3-35-0 line on seven targets in two preseason games
The Raiders have to get better at wide receiver in a hurry. That’s the word from head coach Klint Kubiak, who said in reviewing Thursday’s preseason game that the wide receiver group needs improvement between now and Week One. Asked what he learned about his wide receivers at the joint practice and preseason game with the Texans, Kubiak sounded decidedly negative. “I learned a lot, that we have to get a lot better very fast,” Kubiak said. “We took a step backwards. That doesn’t mean we can’t go forward, but right now we are trying to find someone that is accountable and can help us on Sunday. Still looking.” The Raiders’ current starting receivers are Tre Tucker, Jack Bech and Jalen Nailor. It’s unclear whether Kubiak expects to bring in wide receivers from the outside or whether he wants the current group to get better, but there’s not a lot of time for them to get better between now and the Raiders’ Week One game against the Dolphins
Raiders QB Fernando Mendoza had a rough outing in his second preseason game, throwing a pick-six and leading the offense to only three points in the first half. Despite the struggles, veteran Maxx Crosby offered words of encouragement, highlighting Mendoza's work ethic and attitude. Mendoza was replaced by Aidan O'Connell to start the second half
Nailor caught one of three targets for 22 yards in Thursday's 22-20 preseason win over the Texans. Nailor was the target on Fernando Mendoza's first two passes, the second of which produced their 22-yard connection. Mendoza looked elsewhere with his third pass of the game, which resulted in a pick-six, and the rookie quarterback went back in the veteran receiver's direction with the first pass of Vegas' second possession. Nailor signed a three-year, $35 million contract with the Raiders in the offseason, and the former Vikings wideout appears poised to open the season as a starter in a wide receiver room without an established pecking order
Las Vegas Raiders rookie wide receiver Malik Benson has earned reps with the first-team offense in training camp, according to head coach Klint Kubiak, per Levi Edwards of the team's official website. "He's earned those reps, but he's got to stay humble and stay hungry," Kubiak said. Benson has looked like the front-runner for the team's WR3 role this summer behind Tre Tucker and Jalen Nailor, although Jack Bech and Dont'e Thornton Jr. could still have something to say about that before the Week 1 regular-season opener rolls around in early September. The 23-year-old was taken in the sixth round in April from the University of Oregon after he caught 43 passes for 719 yards and six touchdowns in 15 games with the Ducks last year. Benson caught two of his four targets for 26 yards on 20 offensive snaps in the team's preseason opener on Thursday against the Arizona Cardinals, also returning a kickoff for 21 yards. For now, Benson is a name to monitor in single-year redraft leagues
Las Vegas Raiders wide receiver Jalen Nailor played only eight snaps in the team's preseason opener on Thursday night, coming off the field with the rest of the starters after a successful scoring drive led by quarterback Kirk Cousins. Nailor signed a three-year, $35 million deal in free agency, and while there has been little doubt about how the team views him as part of the offense, his usage on Thursday all but cemented his status as a top receiver along with Tre Tucker. A sixth-round pick of the Vikings in 2022, Nailor spent the past two seasons as Minnesota's WR3 behind Jordan Addison and four-time All-Pro Justin Jefferson. While he's never reached 450 receiving yards in a season, he posted an impressive 15.3 yards per reception in 2025, and he should find production as a perimeter player in Klint Kubiak's play-action-heavy system. The presence of All-Pro tight end Brock Bowers will help to create spacing on the outside, but will also cap Nailor's target share, and consistency could be an issue in 2026, particularly with the expectation of a quarterback change at some point in the season. That said, Nailor has the potential to bring spike weeks to the flex spot and is practically free in drafts as RotoBaller's WR64
Nailor played eight snaps on offense during Thursday's 27-14 preseason loss to the Cardinals. He did not show up in the box score otherwise. Both Nailor and Tre Tucker, the Raiders' top wideouts on the depth chart, saw minimal work in the first quarter before observing the rest of the game from the sidelines. Nailor inked a three-year, $35 million contract with Las Vegas after playing for Minnesota during the first four years of his NFL career. He's played 17 regular-season games in each of the last two years and finished the 2025 campaign with 29 catches (on 53 targets) for 444 yards and four touchdowns. Nailor will have the opportunity to operate in an expanded role in the Raiders passing attack alongside Tucker and talented tight end Brock Bowers
Las Vegas Raiders rookie sixth-round wide receiver Malik Benson said he tries to model his game after reigning NFL Offensive Player of the Year Jaxon Smith-Njigba, according to Levi Edwards of the team's official website. Not many people are likely to know about Benson just yet, but the 23-year-old from the University of Oregon has made some noise in training camp and could be pushing to secure the WR3 role behind Jalen Nailor and Tre Tucker in Vegas in his first year in the NFL. Benson's primary competition for a starting role in three-wide sets in 2026 is Jack Bech and Dont'e Thornton Jr. The 6-foot, 189-pounder is thin but comes with plenty of pure athleticism, and he could become interesting as a deep-league sleeper at the WR position if he finishes out training camp and the preseason strong, primarily because of the Raiders' lack of depth at the position. In his final collegiate season with the Ducks in 2025, Benson caught 43 passes for 719 yards and six touchdowns in 15 games. He's an under-the-radar rookie name to keep an eye on
