Michael Mayer expected to be 'heavily involved' in Raiders offense in 2024

Breakout candidates for the 2024 NFL season were selected on a recent episode of "The PFF NFL Podcast." PFF's Trevor Sikkema believes Las Vegas Raiders tight end Michael Mayer could potentially be heading into a breakout campaign.

This might come as a surprise to some since the Raiders just selected former Georgia tight end Brock Bowers with their first-round pick in the 2024 NFL Draft earlier this year, but Sikkema shared the following explanation for why he thinks Mayer could have an impressive 2024 season.

"I think [Mayer is] is for a breakout just because of how productive this guy has been throughout his entire football journey. I understand that [the Raiders] drafted Brock Bowers, but I think a world can certainly exist where they're really emphasizing the tight ends in the passing game, and it's just sort of, you know, time for him to break out.

He was one of the best tight-end prospects that we had in his class. He was one of the best tight ends in all of college football for two straight seasons. And it's not just, 'Oh, they drafted Brock Bowers, I guess they don't like Michael Mayer.' He's gonna be heavily involved in what they do in the passing game, on the line of scrimmage, as a slot receiver, that kind of stuff.

So I think that we're in for a big sort of statement year in a breakout type of a year for Michael Mayer, even with Brock Bowers on the team."

Sikkema pointed out that Mayer's production with Las Vegas last season (27 catches, 304 yards, two touchdowns) was not the norm compared to what the tight end was able to do during his college career at Notre Dame.

In his final two college seasons, Mayer accumulated at least 65 receptions, 800 receiving yards, and seven receiving touchdowns. Sikkema believes the second-year tight end can post numbers closer to these if given enough opportunities with the Raiders in 2024, even with the team adding Bowers to the mix earlier this year.

At Georgia last season, Bowers finished with 56 catches for 714 yards and six touchdowns in 10 games. The Las Vegas rookie will probably receive a lot of attention from opposing defenses in 2024, but this could also create more opportunities for Mayer to get open if both players are on the field simultaneously.

Both young Raiders tight ends being on the field together next season is something that will likely happen more than it did in 2023 due to the team hiring Luke Getsy to be their new offensive coordinator earlier this year, as he tended to use formations with at least two tight ends at a pretty high rate when he was in charge of the Chicago Bears offense last season.

According to Sumer Sports, Las Vegas's offense only lined up in 12 personnel (one RB, two TEs, two WRs) on 14.4 percent of its plays in 2023, ranked 24th in the NFL. With Getsy as their offensive coordinator last season, the Bears ranked seventh in the league in 12 personnel rate with 23.5 percent of their plays utilizing the formation.

Even if the Raiders' offense ranks in the top half of the NFL in 12 personnel rate in 2024, it will still be a significant improvement compared to how they used the formation last season, which would be great for both Mayer and Bowers.

So, yes, Las Vegas did invest its top 2024 draft pick in a tight end this past April. But the addition of Bowers could actually be something that benefits Mayer more than it hurts him when the Raiders return to the field next season.