Dynasty Rookie Watch: Tre Tucker joins Raiders WRs

The Raiders have assembled one of the oldest wide receiver rooms in the NFL this offseason. To offset that issue, the team dipped into the 2023 rookie wide receiver class with the No. 100 overall pick in April’s NFL Draft, selecting Cincinnati’s Tre Tucker.

Tre Tucker is not getting much attention currently in dynasty rookie drafts, regularly going undrafted despite being a Day 2 pick and landing on a depth chart that lacks real upside outside of All-Pro WR Davante Adams.

The harsh reality for Tucker’s fantasy outlook, however, is that the 22-year-old receiver lacks size. At 5’9″, 187 pounds with a 4.40 even 40 yard dash, Tucker is likely a slot-only or Z-motion receiver in the NFL when playing his natural receiving role. Tucker returned kickoffs all four seasons in college, giving you an idea of the smaller, shiftier playing style that Tucker brings to the table.

Jet sweep motion and ghost motion type offensive playcalling is mainstream in today’s NFL, and Tucker should command that role early in his career in the Raiders offense. He brings a speed element to the offense that should give the Raiders a more effective horizontal attack, but for fantasy football purposes, that role is not always the most rewarding. Tucker’s college production profile is not the most exciting, but he did rack up good return yardage numbers, making him slightly more interesting in those formats.

Tucker’s projected role in the NFL of being a short area receiver caps his fantasy football value despite his solid NFL draft capital. Players like Mecole Hardman, Isaiah McKenzie, Scott Miller and others can often be traps when it comes to fantasy value with the hope of built-in PPR upside coming out of the slot role. With a myriad of these player types likely available on your dynasty league waiver wire, passing on Tre Tucker for running backs drafted in later rounds or one of the many tight ends available in the class is probably a safe play. If Tucker does produce in the NFL, getting him on waivers later on or adding him to bigger trades likely wouldn’t come at a drastically increased price.