Michael Mayer’s role in the Raiders’ offense looks a lot more secure than it did when the season started, and the contract Las Vegas handed him in September says plenty about why.
The Raiders made Mayer the fourth-highest-paid tight end in the NFL with a three-year, $45 million extension, a move that all but locked him into Klint Kubiak’s offensive plans for this season and beyond. With Brock Bowers also in the picture and due for a big payday himself at some point, Las Vegas is building around a pricey tight end room - and Mayer is firmly part of it.
That fit makes sense on the field. Mayer is the more traditional in-line tight end, while Bowers can be deployed more like a wide receiver. The two can coexist, and the Raiders have started leaning into that combination.
Bowers missed the first two games of the season, which put Mayer under a brighter spotlight. He answered with production. When Bowers returned in Week 3, Mayer was still heavily involved, playing 87.1% of the snaps and scoring a touchdown on one of his three catches.
Week 4 brought more of the same. Bowers showed up on the injury report late with an illness but still played and delivered his usual kind of line - six catches for 86 yards and a touchdown. Mayer matched him in importance to the offense in his own way, leading the Raiders with eight catches for 82 yards on 10 targets, which tied his career high.
Even with Bowers back in action, Mayer remains a major piece.
Klint Kubiak’s approach is finally giving Mayer the usage the Raiders talked about before. Former offensive coordinator Chip Kelly had spoken about using Mayer alongside Bowers heading into last season, but that pairing never really took hold, whether because of Kelly or circumstances around him before he was fired. Luke Getsy didn’t make it happen, either.
Kubiak, as head coach and play caller, has more direct control over personnel and usage, and he has leaned into what the roster does best. With no clear WR1 on hand, the Raiders are using tight ends heavily and have the third-highest rate of “12” personnel in the NFL, according to Sumer Sports.
That tandem has already produced its best combined game together. Against the Kansas City Chiefs in Week 4, Bowers and Mayer combined for 168 yards, their highest total in the 22 games they have played side by side, even though they did not reach their best combined catch total.
For fantasy managers, Mayer’s value has followed the same path. He scored after Bowers’ season debut, then posted 16.2 full PPR points in Week 4 and finished the week as a top-seven fantasy tight end alongside Bowers.
Still, as Pro Football Focus’ Nathan Jahnke pointed out while naming Mayer a Week 5 waiver wire add, Bowers’ return has pushed the Raiders’ TE2 out of the spotlight for many fantasy players.
"While conventional wisdom suggests a team can’t have two fantasy-relevant tight ends, Las Vegas is a clear exception. Bowers leads all tight ends with a 92.2% route participation rate, while Mayer ranks eighth at 77.1%.
Mayer’s route participation rate has barely changed from the first two weeks to the past two. His target rate is a little lower than those of some of the other tight ends, making it unlikely that Mayer finishes as a top-10 option at the position.
Still, he can be a borderline fantasy starter over the second half of the year."
There are some bumps ahead. Jahnke pointed to two of the next three opponents as difficult matchups for tight ends: the New England Patriots in Week 5 and the Los Angeles Rams in Week 7.
That means Mayer may take some patience, and his weekly floor can dip fast if he doesn’t find the end zone.
But with bye weeks now in play, fantasy managers often can’t afford to be picky at tight end. The Raiders also have one of the latest byes on the schedule in Week 13.
As of this writing, Mayer was rostered in just 12% of ESPN leagues and 7% of Yahoo! leagues.
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Raiders Fans Are Noticing One Kubiak Habit That Says A Lot
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During a recent game, Kubiak was spotted with AMDG on his playsheet, an acronym often used for Ad Majorem Dei Gloriam, which points to the religious convictions that shape how he works and carries himself. It is the latest detail to draw attention to a habit that has followed him into Las Vegas after a similar gesture with the Seahawks, and it adds another layer to a coach whose presence already has people watching closely for what he does next. [Read more 🡒]
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Rogers has also been on the field enough to matter, logging 89 offensive snaps this season and showing real strength as a run blocker. The challenge has come in pass protection, where he has struggled at times, including a recent game against the Chiefs in which he gave up multiple quarterback pressures. For a Raiders team trying to find both steadiness and identity up front, Rogers remains an intriguing part of the conversation on and off the field. [Read more 🡒]
Raiders Fans May Not Love This Tom Brady Front Office Debate
Tom Bradys move into the Raiders ownership picture already made him one of the most intriguing figures around the franchise, but the debate over how involved hell be in the front office has only sharpened since his retirement. Around the league, Brady and Matt Ryan are being compared as former quarterbacks who have stepped into executive roles, with Ryan now serving as the Falcons president of football and Brady balancing his Raiders stake with other commitments.
According to a coach cited by Mike Florio, Ryan is viewed as the more fully committed and potentially more impactful of the two because he has thrown himself entirely into that job. Brady, by contrast, is seen as having divided interests, which is the kind of assessment that could sit uneasily with Raiders fans hoping his influence will translate into a sharper football operation. [Read more 🡒]