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Rookie receivers Jack Bech and Dont'e Thornton Jr. are quickly catching up to speed

Dont'e Thornton Jr. and Jack Bech participated in their first padded NFL practice Monday, both coming away with touchdowns in impressive fashion.

Thornton lined up against fellow rookie Darien Porter on the left side. His responsibility as the backside receiver was to run a deep corner route toward the end zone. No easy task against Porter either, who shares similar physical attributes and the same 40-yard dash time.

"I just felt like it was one of those plays where Geno [Smith] took the matchup because it ended up being a one-on-one situation and that's how it played out," Thornton said.

The 6-foot-4 receiver got a step on Porter about 20 yards off the line of scrimmage, and Smith dropped it in for the touchdown. While Smith is known for his ability to connect on the deep ball, it speaks volumes that the veteran quarterback has already taken a knack to finding the rookie in those situations as their chemistry grows.

"I'm very confident in those one-on-one matchups, but I'm even more confident because I know Geno is going to take a shot with that," Thornton added. "Like he tells me every single day, if you've got a one-on-one matchup, I'm coming to you. So, that lets me know that I got to win every time I get one-on-ones because he's going to throw the ball to me."

As for Bech, it was his second straight practice with a touchdown grab, both coming from Aidan O'Connell. Monday's grab was impressive, wrangling the ball away from a defender during red zone period near the left side pylon.

"It's all about just the scheme and what all the coaches are talking about," Bech said of his catches. "Just being able to attack leverage, uncover the DB's leverage, find the ways for the QB to get a throwing window to you and going out to make plays."

While the Raiders selected the two receivers this offseason, they're already being entrusted within the offense in a high volume.

Thornton has shared first-team reps as a wideout with Tre Tucker throughout training camp. The two speedsters are working to take the top off defenses not only for big gains, but to open things up for Brock Bowers and Jakobi Meyers underneath.

Bech has taken on a role similar to Meyers, with his versatility allowing him to line up in multiple spots on the field.

"Some days you'll see me at outside, some days you'll see me at inside, some days you'll see me at both," Bech said. "I know the Z and the A pretty well, obviously it's a lot of time studying the playbook. It's definitely, you get what you put into it. All the hours you put into studying the playbook kind of starts showing out on the field."

The rookies' progress hasn't gone unnoticed by the cornerbacks who have to cover them either.

"They both tremendous," Eric Stokes said. "[Donte Thornton Jr.] -- tall, fast, who can really open up the field for you and all that stuff. And then Jack, he's all shifty and sure hands, especially crossing and coming across the middle. I can't wait to see more of them, especially with pads on, because again, that's when you're really true, you really find out who they really are."

At the beginning at training camp, Pete Carroll made it clear he's not shying away from giving younger players bigger roles on the team, if warranted. That has rang true for both Bech and Thornton as they've impressed with their earned opportunities.

And while both try to earn their permanent role on this roster, they've opted to compete with each other as opposed to against each other.

"I say from the moment we've been here we've been locked in," Thornton said of his relationship with Bech. "And that's learning plays, talking about stuff off the field with just life in general. That's definitely one of my guys for sure. He a dog. He's going to run through anybody's face."

"That's one of my guys. ... We became like that off the rip just talking a lot, just talking about what we can do." Bech said in response. "It's not only better ourselves, but better ourselves for the betterment of the team, and how we're going to do that and accomplish that. So, it's been really good just having somebody coming in brand new with me to be able to learn."

The Las Vegas Raiders hit the field for a 2025 Training Camp practice at Intermountain Health Performance Center.

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