The Las Vegas Raiders have undergone tremendous change in the offseason, and while the team certainly has some holes and gaps, one completely solid area is the specialists.
Our latest Las Vegas Raiders Insider Podcast episode offers an in-depth analysis of the exceptionally talented Silver and Black specialists.
The Raiders made an exceptional pick in the second round when they selected WR Jack Bech.
Bech was highly rated and respected as a player and person. He spoke at the Raider Nation rookie mini-camp, and below is a partial transcript of his remarks.
Wide Receiver Jack Bech
Q: Obviously, there's not going to be any contact for a while. As a receiver, what do you focus on this time of year when it comes to practices?
Bech: "Especially just getting here as a rookie, it's easy to come out here and understand if you have a stutter and go, if you have a curl, if you're blocking backside. But it's more about understanding the different leverages, understanding what the defense is doing, and then taking it a step further, and understanding the nuance of the game, knowing where to attack. A big thing is knowing how to get open and when to do it. A double move might work great, a stutter and go might work great against – or a slant and go against a cover three, we get them to bite, but that might not work well against cover four or cover two. So, different things like that, just as I go, especially like I already named another great coach we have in this building, just learning more and more from them and really sharpening my mental around the game, because that's how you last and that's how you become a great player, it's what is between the ears."
Q: Pete Carroll talked about your relationship going back two years ago with Coach Orgeron at LSU, another Louisiana kid like yourself. He's kind of a big, tough guy, football guy, and what did that mean for you as an 18-year-old kid to kind of learn under that type of a coach?
Bech: "It was amazing. Coach O [Orgeron] was one of my favorite coaches I ever got to play under. Obviously, he was a defensive-minded coach, but I definitely took away a lot of things like mindset, hard work, determination, a bunch of things like that. I'm speaking for everybody on those teams; you'd run through a brick wall for Coach O if he asked you to in a second. And there's just so many things we took, but one of the main things I took from him too, is just like the passion of the game. I mean, Coach O loved the game. He came in there every day, ready to work. And that's another thing where I think, if you want to be great - not only a great player, but a great teammate, you've really got to be passionate and love the game. So, those are a lot of things I took from Coach O."
Q: 2025 has been such a year, highest highs and lowest lows. Have you had time to process, are you kind of compartmentalizing where you are, do you have people in your life that are helping you say, "This is how you kind of maintain and go forward with everything"?
Bech: "It's definitely been, like you said, a lot of ups and downs, highest of highs, lowest of lows, quite literally. But I think it's just about taking it one day at a time. I'm huge into my faith, all my faith is in God. That's the reason I'm able to be out here, it's because God has given me all the opportunities. I have my brother on my back, just being my guardian angel. Like I have said hundreds and times over again, I'm a two-for-one deal. I have myself, but I also have my brother with me right now who really pushes me every day. And like I said, I think, just taking it one day at a time and not really getting too starry-eyed. I mean, this is my job now, so there's no reason to look at it with big, gloomy eyes. You might as well just come in here, put your head down and start working and start gaining the respect for these guys around you as quickly as possible."
Q: What was your first impression of arriving here at the facility for today and just kind of getting the energy level up with the rest of the group for rookie minicamp?
Bech: "It was amazing. We have a great group of guys out here. It's been awesome to meet everybody coming in the building and putting a lot of name to faces. We have a really special class, the drafted, undrafted free agents, and all the guys out here trying out. Everybody I've met has been a stellar guy, A plus individual. And I think that speaks for what they're trying to do here, I think that speaks for the Raider organization, the people they're bringing in, and just the class of all these guys here."
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