Oakland Raiders 2018 NFL Draft: 5 tight ends to target
By John Buhler
The Oakland Raiders will need to address several parts of their team this offseason. Whether that is in free agency or in the 2018 NFL Draft, we should expect significant turnover with this roster with the new coaching regime coming into town. One position group that could be addressed in the draft might be tight end.
What makes this year’s draft class intriguing at tight end is that while it isn’t chock full of first or second-round talents, there are plenty of players that could be impactful coming off the board in rounds three through five. There seems to be a wide array of tight ends that will go in this range, plenty for a team like the Raiders to choose from.
For Oakland, tight end will see a more expanded role in Jon Gruden’s offense than we did see when Todd Downing was calling the plays. Gruden uses the West Coast offense and will want to establish confidence in the middle of the field with his tight ends. Though the Silver and Black will have a high-end player in tight end Jared Cook for another year, it may not be a bad idea for general manager Reggie McKenzie to take a guy he likes at that position in the middle of this upcoming draft.
Whomever the Raiders take at tight end in the draft, he will have to be a reliable pass catcher and able to carry his weight as a blocker. If Oakland does look at a tight end in the upcoming NFL Draft, maybe one of these five players would be a good fit for the revamped Raiders offense?
The Raiders could definitely go with a local product at tight end this draft. One player McKenzie could target is Stanford Cardinal senior tight end Dalton Schultz. At 6-foot-6, 242 pounds, Schultz has the necessary physicality to be great as a blocker and as a receiver in the middle of the field. Stanford runs a pro-style offense under head coach David Shaw. Obviously, Schultz’s skill set will translate to the next level.
Other Stanford tight ends that have had success in the NFL playing in Shaw’s pro-style offense include Zach Ertz, Austin Hooper and Levine Toilolo. The bigger question is how productive Schultz will be out of the gate. In his senior season, he was a big part in why running back Bryce Love won the Doak Walker Award and finished second for the Heisman Trophy. Simply put, Schultz will be an effective blocker at the next level.
As for a pass catcher, that remains to be seen. At Stanford, Schultz hauled in 55 catches for 555 yards for five touchdowns in 33 games. Though he was rarely targeted at Stanford, do keep in mind that he played in an offense with two Heisman runner-ups at tailback in Love and Christian McCaffrey. It’s understandable why Stanford pounded the rock so much during Schultz time in Palo Alto.
Schultz feels like a prospect that will go in either the third or fourth round. There is no reason to reach for him in round two at this time, as we aren’t sure how productive he’ll be out of the gate as a pass catcher. He’ll be a bit of a developmental project in Gruden’s offense, but could turn into a reliable and versatile starter for the Silver and Black for years to come.