Ready to roll: Raiders may rely on rookie receivers Thornton, Bech right away

Editor's note: Este artículo está traducido al español.

Dont’e Thornton emerged as the star of the Raiders’ first padded practice earlier this week at team headquarters in Henderson.

Early in practice, the fourth-round receiver out of Tennessee burned a fellow rookie standout, cornerback Darien Porter, on a deep route for a 65-yard touchdown pass from quarterback Geno Smith. The crowd of 1,400 fans erupted, and many of them stayed afterwards to cheer on and seek the autograph of the 6-foot-5, 205-pound revelation out of Tennessee.

Among those who wanted a piece of Thornton’s time was Pete Carroll, whose paternal instinct may have kicked in as much as his coaching nature.  

“I stopped him after practice, just to look him in the eye and just try get a feeling: Is it seeming too big for him?” Carroll said. “He’s really in it.”

And Thornton isn’t the only rookie receiver drawing high praise from Carroll and his staff. In fact, he might not have even been the best rookie receiver on the field that day.

Second-round pick Jack Bech out of TCU caught a pair of touchdowns, both from backup quarterback Aidan O’Connell, and turned teammates’ heads with his physicality in addition to his ability to haul in balls in tight windows.

There’s much to watch today when the Raiders host what’s expected to be their best-attended training camp session, a “mock game” scheduled for 1 p.m. at Allegiant Stadium with tickets costing $5 and proceeding the Raiders Foundation.

Getting a glimpse at the one-two punch of Thornton and Bech has to be near the top of the list.

Wide receiver depth was one area for concern going into training camp, but it might be better than expected if the two draft picks keep flashing their high potential.

The old adage is that the position provides one of the steepest learning curves from college to the NFL, especially for players who aren’t considered mega-prospects taken in the first round.

But Carroll doesn’t fully buy into that and has said he will have no hesitation making Thornton and Bech a big part of the offense if they earn the snaps.

“I’m not afraid one bit of playing the young guys,” the coach said. “If rookies play, I’m fine with that. I’ve been doing that for years. That's a positive if that can happen. So, we have to give those guys opportunities to show themselves.”

The Raiders could be in line to produce a big-time rookie pass-catcher for the second year in a row. Tight end Brock Bowers had a historic first season in 2024, finishing second to Commanders quarterback Jayden Daniels in Offensive Rookie of the Year voting, and returns as the top option in the passing game.

Reliable veteran Jakobi Meyers is also back as the Raiders’ top receiver, but roles beyond that pair are largely up for grabs.

Thornton put himself in position to claim one of the other two starting roles, along with third-year veteran Tre Tucker, ever since mandatory minicamp in June. Thornton has continually made plays using his rare combination of size and speed — he ran a 4.3-second 40 yard dash for the second fastest time among receivers at the NFL Draft Combine in February — to look less like a “project” that many labeled him coming into the draft.    

“The biggest knock on me was that I wasn’t a true route runner when it comes to intermediate to medium route running,” Thornton said. “So, being able to display it at a high level while playing in the NFL now, I guess it’s a way of proving people wrong.”

Thornton partly credits his golden early practice results to Smith, whom he said has become like a, “big brother,” in a matter of months. Smith has made it a point to boost Thornton’s confidence.  

“He tells me every single day, ‘If you got a one-on-one matchup, I’m coming to you,’” Thornton said. “So, that lets me know that I got to win every time I get one-on-one’s because he’s going to throw the ball to me.”

Thornton’s big-play ability has helped him outshine Bech as a whole, but the latter has really ascended since the pads came on this week. Although the pair are still inherently fighting against each other for playing time to an extent, it might not be as much of a direct competition as it looked like coming into training camp.

Their skillsets are vastly different and complementary on the surface. The 6-foot-1, 214-pound Bech is doing his best work on short routes closer to the line of scrimmage where he’s developed noticeable chemistry with O’Connell.

“They’re both tremendous,” cornerback Eric Stokes when asked about covering Thornton and Bech. “(Thornton) is tall, fast, can really open up the field for you and all that stuff. And then Jack is all shifty, sure hands, especially crossing and coming across the middle.”

Thornton has played exclusively at one of the outside positions while Bech has moved around and lined up at every spot.

The Raiders have rarely if ever had more than three wide receivers on the field together through the first two weeks of training camp, perhaps because of their confidence in Bowers and fellow highly-drafted tight end Michael Mayer.   

But Bech’s versatility could conceivably give new offensive coordinator Chip Kelly the chance to craft some packages with him on the field alongside the likes of Bowers, Meyers, Thornton and Tucker.

“I’m starting to feel very comfortable in the offense,” Bech said. “Some days you'll see me at outside, some days you'll see me at inside, some days you'll see me at both…Obviously, it’s a lot of time studying the playbook. It's definitely you get what you put into it, so all the hours you put into studying the playbook starts showing out on the field.”

Bech and Thornton have leaned on each other while trying to expedite their learning curves. They’ve grown close and can often be found together outside of practice.

“We have a great friendship and we’re locked in,” Bech said. “We came in here with Coach Carroll, we’re his first draft class and we take a lot of pride in that.”

Thornton said Bech was one of the first teammates he connected with despite the latter having gotten drafted only a day before, and the bond was immediate.

“That’s definitely one of my guys for sure,” Thornton said. “He’s a dog. He’s going to run through anybody’s face. He don’t really care about none of that.”

That’s the attitude Carroll wants out of his players. Thornton passed Carroll’s check-in to gauge where he was at mentally after his big practice too.

Being a training camp sensation can be fleeting, and it’s important not to get wrapped up in that success before the season has even begun. But the coaching staff has been impressed by the maturity their pair of 22-year-old receivers have shown.

Thornton wasn’t even as keen on discussing his long touchdown as he was looking forward to the next one.

“As a little kid, growing up and playing in the NFL was always my lifelong dream, so being able to come out here every single day and live out that dream is amazing to me,” Thornton said. “And then just also knowing that Geno and the whole offense have the trust and belief in me to take a play and take a shot like that with me. So, now that they believe in me, it makes me want to work harder every single day.”