Jalen Nailor’s performance will be good barometer of Klint Kubiak

As the chief offensive play caller, how Klint Kubiak maximizes wide receiver Jalen Nailor will say a lot about the head coach’s prowess.

Inking a three-year, $35.03 million contract, with $23 million guaranteed ($18 million at signing) with the Las Vegas Raiders, the Silver & Black paid a pretty penny to bring the Nevada native back home. While it was far from top of the market coin for the wideout, the $11.67 million per year average is quite steep for a receiver that’s never eclipsed 445 yards receiving in his four-year stint in the NFL thus far.

Those contract numbers above read like the Raiders were victors in a bidding war when free agency opened this past March. Perhaps there was, as The Athletic reported in early March that more than 10 teams were eying Nailor ahead of free agency. Multiple suitors can drive up the price and the Raiders ponied up and Nailor cashed in.

By The Numbers
Jalen Nailor, Wide Receiver, 5th year

• 2025: 17 games (8 starts), 53 targets, 29 receptions, 444 yards, 4 touchdowns; 2 carries, 13 yards
• Career: (2022-25), 55 games (16 starts), 114 targets, 69 receptions, 1,066 yards, 11 touchdowns; five carries, 9 yards

“Just trying to be a guy that can play all over the field,” Nailor said when asked about the investment the Raiders made in him. “I think Coach (Klint) Kubiak does a great job of just getting his playmakers the ball. It’s not just myself, but we got Tre (Tucker), we got Brock (Bowers), we got those guys that can do multiple things in the offense, and that’s what’s going to separate us as a unit, just to have guys just move around. You never know where they’re going to be at on a single play.”

Standing 5-foot-11 and 199 pounds, Nailor brings speed that is much swifter than the 4.50 40-yard dash time he clocked at the 2022 NFL Scouting Combine. The Michigan State product was plucked from the draft pool in the sixth round (191st overall) by the Minnesota Vikings, a team he spent his first four seasons with on a rookie contract. Nailor is eager to prove that his mettle is well worth the price the Raiders paid, but Kubiak has much more to substantiate.

Kubiak is a play-calling head coach and produced an effective, powerful, and Super Bowl-winning offense with the Seattle Seahawks. So it should shock no one that Kubiak was the choice Las Vegas eyed once it fired Pete Carroll. As both its architect and conductor, how Kubiak maximizes Nailor falls on the lead man’s capable shoulders.

How Kubiak gets the ball in the 27-year-old wide receiver’s hands, takes advantage of the speed, all in an effort to produce more than Nailor’s career-high 29 receptions for 444 yards put up last season with Minnesota.

The Raiders new offensive play caller is no stranger to having a fleet-footed wideout that can instill fear, keep a defense honest, make key catches, and stretch the field opening things up for teammates. Kubiak had speedster Rashid Shaheed at his disposal in 2025 and 2024 with Seattle and before that the New Orleans Saints. And that’s the type of architype Nalor brings to Kubiak in Las Vegas.

That deep threat capability suits a core tenet of Kubiak’s offense — the deep over and pylon routes — alongside Nalor’s speed complements the head coach’s heavy use of bootlegs and rollouts on play action as the fleet feet allow the wide receiver to get behind the defense.

But beyond speed, Nailor’s ability to absorb playbooks allows him to integrate into an offense as multiple spots in alignments. The position versatility plays right into Kubiak’s penchant to use pre-snap movement to identify coverages and scheme targets open. The high football IQ was on full display during Nailor’s time with the Vikings as he wasn’t just a vertical threat. The wide receiver was a reliable and tough pass catchers on third downs as evidenced by 47 of the 57 receptions over the past two seasons were for first downs.

That mental and physical toughness show up in other areas of Nailor’s game, namely as a willing blocker. With effort, toughness, and technique, the wideout is a proven blocker as he’s made key blocks to extend plays. He engages defensive backs like a tight end and showcases power not present in many receivers of similar size. Nailor showcased the ability to provide seal blocks in the run game and with Kubiak preferring an outside/wide zone run scheme, the ability to seal as the offense moves laterally is a key attribute.

“No block, no rock mentality for us as receiving room. We got to be able to do dirty work,” Nailor said when asked about creating opportunities for Raiders running backs. “I mean, just having that mentality is not a you thing, it’s more of a team thing. We got to be a team. This is a team sport, so just to have that type of mentality in the receiving room, it’s only going to make things easier for us in the pass game and just marrying the run and the pass.”

Nailor brings familiarity with veteran Kirk Cousins, who lands in Las Vegas to be the bridge to prized first-overall pick in the 2026 NFL Draft, Fernando Mendoza. While his production during the 2022 and 2023 seasons — the final two years of Cousins stay in Minnesota — was light, Nailor got to see the signal caller up close and personal during that time.

“I love it, man. We’re trying to be an attacking team, Nailor responded when asked about the sense of urgency Cousins is seeing from Kubiak. “With that sense of urgency, getting in and out the huddle, trying to catch the defense off guard, or trying to move guys around on defense to not dictate to the offense what coverage they’re going to be in. So, just having that urgency, having that communication is playing a big role right now.”

Nailor’s performance this season and next — the two seasons where the Raiders are on the hook for $28.5 million in dead money — will be another key indicator of Kubiak’s sense of urgency.