‘Smartest thing he’s ever done’: Surgery opens up world to Raiders WR

It’s easy to spot the traits of a standout NFL wide receiver.

Good speed and hands. Strong footwork. Crisp route running. Tre Tucker has all of that, which is why the Raiders drafted him in the third round last year.

He’s also made massive improvements in all those areas leading up to his second season.

But there’s another attribute good receivers have that often gets overlooked or taken for granted. Tucker himself may even have done that before undergoing surgery this offseason to correct an issue he’s dealt with for years.

It doesn’t matter how fast or skilled you are if your eyesight isn’t good enough to track the football. That’s why Tucker underwent LASIK eye surgery leading into his sophomore campaign.

“It wasn’t crazy,” Tucker said. “But as a receiver, and you don’t have 20/20 vision, it’s very important that you do.”

It took a while for it to dawn on Tucker, 23, that it was essential he had top-notch eyesight.

He got by with imperfect vision in high school and college. He still was drafted into the NFL.

But then Tucker dealt with something as a rookie he didn’t most of his football career: Drops. He let catchable balls fall to the ground on more than a few occasions last season.

It turns out Tucker’s problems with long-distance vision were hampering his ability to judge the speed of the ball in flight. His timing was off, like an outfielder in baseball that can’t pick up the ball as it’s coming off the bat.

It was a subtle issue. But important. So Tucker decided to get LASIK to do something about it.

“Probably the smartest thing he’s ever done,” wide receiver Davante Adams said.

The procedure opened up a whole new world for Tucker. One with far more clarity than he had before.

“You just think about making the play and not, ‘Hopefully, I can catch this ball,’” Adams said.

Tucker’s improved vision has made him a more effective pass catcher. He had a few drops early in training camp but has mostly been catching balls cleanly since.

“It’s the depth precision,” Tucker said. “When you’re seeing something far away, you don’t really know how fast it’s coming, or where. You’re able to locate the ball quicker. That’s what I’ve noticed.”

Tucker’s belief in himself after the procedure has been noticed by Adams, his superstar teammate and mentor.

“I’ve seen his confidence and his hands,” Adams said. “You can feel a person’s confidence as they progress and get better at a specific part of their game. To watch the evolution of him and to know his mentality and his aim going out there. He’s a very driven young player. He’s doing all of the things right, right now, to put himself in the position to keep getting better.”

Tucker showed off his new, improved self with an impressive 44-yard catch in the Raiders’ preseason opener against the Vikings on Saturday.

He had to locate a deep ball thrown by quarterback Gardner Minshew and put his body in position to get to it. Tucker left his feet to reel the pass in and crashed to the ground afterward.

He held on. First down. No problem.

“It happened so fast, it’s crazy,” Tucker said. “I just remember looking over one shoulder and looking over the other and the next thing you know I just came down with the catch. So, that’s one of those where you probably won’t get that in practice, but when it comes in the game, you got to make it.”

Contact Vincent Bonsignore at vbonsignore@reviewjournal.com. Follow @VinnyBonsignore on X.