In his mind, Tre Tucker left a lot of meat on the bone his rookie season.

The 2023 third-round pick was heralded for his speed coming out of Cincinnati. But even with all the athleticism Tucker has, it took time to develop. Dropped balls were a concern early on and opportunities to prove himself early within the season were few and far between in a loaded receiving room led by Davante Adams and Jakobi Meyers.

With time, Tucker was noticeably more comfortable in the offense. He became the team's primary option at slot receiver, compiling 11 receptions for 170 yards and two touchdowns in the last four games of the season. This included a season-high five catches and 79 yards in the season finale against the Denver Broncos.

"It's an amazing room and to that point, I think that's what helped me elevate honestly," Tucker said. "We have Tae and Jakobi and guys we had previously. For me, what it [did] is understanding that the guys who do that at the highest level, everybody is good in this league, but they're consistent. They come in every day and you know what you're going to get. So for me, that just kind of helped me have good habits everyday."

Immediately after the 2023 season concluded, Tucker took some time to reflect on his first year in the league. It's been "straight grind mode" ever since.

"Going through all the film, kind of just seeing some of the plays I missed on. Obviously seeing some of the things I can improve on," he said. "I looked at a lot of good things on tape, but also I'm very critical of myself. I saw a lot of things I wanted to improve on. I took two weeks off and I've been going ever since."

Tucker is a part of a 2023 draft class expected to take a leap going into Year 2. While Tyree Wilson and Michael Mayer have a few more eyes on them externally, not too many players have developed as quickly as Tucker based on how he's performing this offseason. While in the midst of a quarterback battle between Gardner Minshew II and Aidan O'Connell, Tucker was a top target all throughout OTAs and minicamp for both QBs. Not only making the routine catches, but the difficult, contested grabs as well.

His progression has been fairly obvious from the point of view of teammates and coaching staff alike, with Head Coach Antonio Pierce labeling the 23-year-old as one of the most improved players on the team over offseason workouts.

"He looks different, acts different, runs different, catches the ball different," Pierce said. "Don't look at the size, don't mention that. Watch him play. He's the biggest guy out there. He had a hell of an offseason, came back right after the offseason program, the Super Bowl and got in here and started working and was here every day. Blazer, we know about the speed, but everything that we talked about working on, he took that to another level, and you can see the look in his eye of a confident player, of a guy that just wants to constantly get better."

"My boy Tre, he's catching the ball better," Meyers added. "He's always been fast, so he might be a little bit slower. Don't tell him I said that. He really playing a good football right now. I'm proud of him, just the person he is off the field too. He shows up every day and does his work."

As for any jokes about Tucker running a little slower, it's actually something the receiver has taken heed of. While his physical speed remains the same, the game is slowing down tremendously for him, in part to the extra time he's spent in the film room.

"Understanding throughly the concepts, the playbook, coverages and really who you're going against," Tucker said of the mental aspect of the game. "That's what it is every week, who are you going against. That's how the games slow down. Other than that, I'm going 100 miles per hour every play."