Chip Kelly sees role in Raiders offense for talented young weapon

Drafted in the second round of the 2023 NFL Draft out of Notre Dame, Michael Mayer looked poised to become the tight end of the future for the Las Vegas Raiders.

However, when Brock Bowers fell to the Raiders in 2024, they had no choice but to take the best player available. Bowers’s tremendous rookie season gave the Raiders someone to center their offense around, but it also dampened Mayer’s long-term outlook significantly. Many around the league believed Mayer was on his way out of Las Vegas, with trade rumors running rampant throughout the offseason.

Now, it sounds as though Mayer was not only never on the trade block, but could see an uptick in his usage.

Mayer has a definite supporter in his new offensive coordinator.

In a video posted by the Las Vegas Review-Journal’s Heidi Fang on X, Raiders offensive coordinator Chip Kelly suggested that he has a plan for how to involve Mayer in his offense.

“Mike’s been fantastic since day one of the offseason program,” Kelly responded. “… There’s never a position anywhere where coaches say, ‘We have too many good players.'”

“I checked: You can play two tight ends in a game at the same time. And sometimes you can play three tight ends.”