Chip Kelly can't help but praise one Raiders' weapon that seems to be getting forgotten about

"I think Mike has been outstanding since I've been here," Chip Kelly said. "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. And Mike's been fantastic since day one of the offseason programs 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... 

"The more tight ends we can get, the more wideouts we can get, the more running backs we can get, the more quarterbacks you can get, then we'll continue to take them. But 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.

I know it's already been said, but I think it's super easy to forget why Mayer was drafted as high as he was. For the Raiders, they drafted him because of his ability to make big-time catches, run with the ball after those catches, and be a blocking tight end, which, admittedly, is one of Bowers' weaknesses at the NFL level.

If this offense is successful in 2025, a Chip Kelly offense that we saw in 2024 with the Ohio State Buckeyes be super successful, then you better believe that Mayer is a part of that. And Kelly has also had some non-successful offenses back to his time with the Philadelphia Eagles in his last season there, and his one season with the San Francisco 49ers.

So, it is possible that Mayer just goes through another season of what he's endured the last two seasons. But, at this point, that seems like something that's far-fetched. Right now, Mayer is doing great.