
The Las Vegas Raiders selected wide receiver Malik Benson from Oregon in the sixth round of the NFL draft on Saturday.
Benson is a deep-ball threat who can stretch defenses vertically and mostly plays on the outside.
He was an accomplished track star in high school, and his speed is his best weapon as a receiver.
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The grade: B-
Benson has some potentially useful traits for sure, particularly his speed and ability to be a threat that opens up the line of scrimmage for his teammates.
He’s fairly limited in his route tree, however, and is fairly similar to current Raiders receiver Dont’e Thornton Jr., though Benson is a far superior tracker of the ball in flight.
Benson’s slight frame makes it a challenge to block, and he isn’t exceptional on contested catches. He’s also surprisingly limited as a runner after the catch for someone with his speed.
Contact Adam Hill at ahill@reviewjournal.com. Follow @AdamHillLVRJ on X.