Almost two months ago after a training camp practice, Geno Smith gave receiver Tre Tucker quite the pro comparison.
He'd been watching Tucker from afar even while playing for the Seattle Seahawks, believing the now third-year receiver was "a spitting image" of Santana Moss, someone Smith grew up admiring, as they're both Miami, Florida, natives.
At the time, some might've considered the comment a bit pretentious. Yes, Tucker and Moss share similar body compositions and track speed. But it's still eye opening for the young player to be brought up in the same vein as the Washington Commanders Ring of Fame receiver.
"I send him all of Santana's routes," Smith said back in August. "I know Santana from back home. [Tucker] definitely has that mold. And so, I just want him to see like, 'Hey, this is what I expect from you.' And he's ready for it. He's going to be Tre. Don't be Santana, but he's going to be Tre."
Fast-forward to Week 4 of the regular season, and we're seeing that slowly become reality.
The receiver is coming off the best game of his young career, recording eight catches for 145 yards and a three touchdowns.
On all three of Tucker's touchdowns on the day, he left his defender in the dust with a wide open path to the end zone.
"One thing that Coach Beatty always says, who's a fantastic coach, he always says, 'We can't see things how we see it. We have to see it how the quarterback sees it,'" Tucker said on "Upon Further Review" this week. "So when me and Geno are in sync, or when Geno is in sync with anybody, nine times out of 10, they're in sync with the quarterback and seeing it how he's seeing it.
"That's a big thing and that's kind of what happened this past week, just knowing where to be. He's going to look a certain way, he's going to look at a spot and if you're there, he's going to throw it. A lot of things is timing."
Tucker's ability to be at the right place is what's taken him to the next level in his game. While labeled a deep threat due to his speed, continuing to refine his route running is what's helped him excel.
Wide receivers coach Chris Beatty has witnessed Tucker and Smith's chemistry grow exponentially since OTAs. Enough so that Tucker's worked his way into being one of Smith's top progression reads in Chip Kelly's system. In fact, all of Smith's four touchdown passes this season have been to Tucker.
"Whether it's New England or last weekend, he's making plays when he gets his opportunity," Beatty said. "When those matchups do get created, that's what we keep talking about – you've got to win your one-on-ones. And he's done a nice job of doing that."
"I do think there's probably more plays being drawn up for him, but at the same time, he's right where he needs to be in the progression," Beatty added. "And so, the ball finds you. And if you're where you're supposed to be, then the ball has a tendency to find you."
Tucker's targets have also seemed to increase considering the attention given by defenses to his teammates. The Raiders' top pass catchers consist of All-Pro tight end Brock Bowers and Jakobi Meyers, who didn't drop a catch last season. Meyers signed with the Raiders the same offseason Tucker was drafted in the third round.
"Tre is a true professional as far as how he goes about his work," Meyers said. "He attacks it, he's got a plan, he writes down every detail. If he messed up, he'll goes back and watch it and he fix it. So I think the off-the-field stuff is translating onto the field and you're seeing what you're seeing. All the work he put in, it's starting to show."
With Meyers, Bowers and even rookies Ashton Jeanty and Dont'e Thornton Jr. taken into consideration, Tucker has feasted on man coverage. According to Next Gen Stats, he's averaging nearly four yards of separation on catches when lined up at wideout. And when lined up at slot receiver, over six yards of separation.
"From OTAs on, I felt him on the field. Like you feel him running by people and separating from people," offensive coordinator Chip Kelly said. "And the one thing I'll give him credit for .... is the way he practices is the way he's playing right now. I think he practices at a really, really high level. ... I think for the people in this building that have been here since we've been here as a staff aren't surprised at his production just because that's what he does every day in practice."
"For me, a one-one-one, that's what you want," Tucker said. "A guy with my speed and the things I'm able to do, that's really what you want. It gets really tough when they play different things on different people and all that, but when I get one-on-one out there, I'm smiling from ear to ear because that's my time to win. And that's what they expect me to do and what I expect myself to do."
While still only three games into the season, all signs point to Tucker's production continuing to rise. This Sunday, he'll be facing a Chicago Bears defense that's allowed a league-leading eight passing touchdowns.
And as for Smith's pro comparison for Tucker, Santana Moss also enjoyed his breakout season in Year 3. He recorded 473 receiving yards and four touchdowns his first two seasons before exploding for 1,105 yards and 10 touchdown catches in 2003.
Tucker has totaled nearly half his receiving yards from all of last season in three games, not to mention his four touchdowns being his new single season career high.
"I've put a lot of work into this and it's ongoing," he said. "It never stops and as long as I play, it will never stop. The thing that I've lived by is, 'Rome was not built overnight.' It takes time and that's just a credit to the people around me to keep building upon myself."
