How this Raiders receiver went from waiting tables to NFL roster

He got a college scholarship at Wake Forest using only tape from showcase events. He spent six years bouncing from one practice squad to another after signing with the Rams as an undrafted free agent in 2019.

But Oct. 19, he was promoted to the Raiders’ active roster. All thanks to his belief in himself and his determination to realize his dreams.

The Review-Journal sat down with Bachman this week to learn a little more about him:

RJ: You were 5-foot-3 your freshman year in high school. At that time, could you have envisioned yourself in the NFL?

Bachman: “If you would have asked me then, yeah. I still have vivid memories of telling kids how I was going to the NFL. And I remember the other kids were just kind of laughing at me. But at the time, I had all the athletic ability. I could run and change direction. You couldn’t tackle me in a phone booth when I was younger because I was so small and low to the ground. But I felt like I was a step ahead of most of my peers and felt I would have a chance.”

RJ: You were not getting an opportunity to play at Oaks Christian High in California, which was a high-level program. Did you ever think about transferring?

Bachman: “There were several times I came home and the conversation was (I) had to either drop football completely or could I try to play somewhere else? I was dealing with a lot of politics. I was at a private school, and whether they say it or not, we were recruiting guys. And because I started there in the sixth grade, it wasn’t like I was asked to come there. I was just a regular student. So I had to compete with those kids. I also had to compete with kids who were children of parents who were paying money for their kids to go there.”

RJ: For some reason, you weren’t given a chance to play wide receiver in high school until your senior year. How did you make it to college football?

Bachman: “I think what kept me going was I believed in my abilities. Just based on practice, based on what my peers told me and (former NFL linebacker) Chris Claiborne, who, funnily enough, coached with (Raiders coach) Antonio Pierce. (Claiborne) had a seven-on-seven team and he could tell I could play. So he allowed me to play on his team, which was pretty much just me and a bunch of Division I-offered kids. That allowed me to put together some tape, and I used some connections to get into certain camps and get in front of the eyes of people who could potentially help me.”

RJ: You show up at Wake Forest, get a tour from an assistant coach and ask him to watch your showcase tape. Then you leave, probably thinking there was no chance they would watch it, right? Yet they immediately called you back?

Bachman: “We were on our way to Wofford, and they had me turn around and come back to meet with the whole coaching staff. But they asked, ‘Where is your film with pads?’ … I was like, ‘I don’t have any.’ And so they were like, ‘We can’t offer you unless we see some film in pads or at least see you live.’ So I went to their camp and tore it up.”

RJ: And they offered you the scholarship. What was your reaction?

Bachman: “I wasn’t going to mess it up. I committed on the spot. The staff loved me and I was like, ‘Go where you’re wanted.’”

RJ: You’ve spent the last six years on practice squads, essentially. Did your fight for a scholarship help you stick with football the last few years?

Bachman: “It was like a slow build-up. I think I was getting slowly prepared for an even more difficult obstacle. Year after year, it’s always something. … But for me, I was like, ‘I’ve already overcome this, and I’ve overcome that. If I can do that, then this next hump that I have to overcome, I can do it.’ Because I’ve done it before.”

RJ: Did you ever think it was time to move on with your life?

Bachman: “Every year. There was one year where I was on a team Week 1. I had a couple of injury settlements. But most years, by September, I was on the couch watching ball. There was one year, I got a job as a waiter. I had a conversation the day before I got a call from the Raiders where I was like, ‘I think this could be it.’ But it’s one of those things where I just stayed in prayer and continued to ask God if this is for me. Like, show me this is for me.”

RJ: Looking back, what would you tell your younger self?

Bachman: “Keep your head down. Continue to work. Control the controllables. Things outside of your control, let go of those things. And let God do the rest. Just master the things that require no talent. Your attitude. How you show up to work every day. Your preparation. And your perseverance.”

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