An Ode to Raiders TE Michael Mayer

Unfortunately for Mayer, he was drafted into an outdated and ineffective offensive scheme under former Raiders Head Coach Josh McDaniels. McDaniels and company could not figure out how to best use Bowers during his rookie season.

The offseason after that, the Raiders drafted Brock Bowers. While Mayer and Bowers are teammates and root for each other, there is only one football to go around. With Bowers on a historical run last season, Mayer has continued to get overlooked.

However, the Raiders made Chip Kelly the highest-paid offensive coordinator in the league. It is fair to expect he will find a way to use Mayer more successfully than the previous two Raiders regimes.

An upgrade at quarterback and other positions should also indirectly help create opportunities for Mayer.

Following Organized Team Activities, Raiders Offensive Coordinator Chip Kelly credited Mayer with a solid offseason.

"I think Mike has been outstanding since I've been here. And for all of us, we came in kind of tabula rasa, we're a blank slate. I mean, we watch film of all the players just to kind of get an understanding of what they did, but didn't make any decisions on anything until you see him here," Kelly said.

"And Mike's been fantastic since day one of the offseason program when we started early in April there, and in what he did just in the weight room, what he's done in the meeting room, and then what we did in phase two, and then what he's continued to do here. So, really, really excited about him."

Mayer may seem like a trade asset for the Raiders because of the meteoric rise of Brock Bowers, but Kelly sees Mayer's potential in his offense. Kelly's offenses have always been based on variety and a talented group of skill position players.

It only makes sense for the Raiders to keep Mayer and maximize the immense untapped potential he has left.

"And there's never a position anywhere where a coach will say, 'You know what, we have too many good players.' Like that's never the case, especially in this league, because everybody's really talented that you're going to go against," Kelly said.

"I think Mike's been outstanding, and I checked, you can play with two tight ends in a game at the same time, and sometimes you can play with three tight ends they told me. So, maybe we can get to that if we have to."

Michael Mayer is simply too talented for a team in desperate need of talent to not know how to use in a productive manner.

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