Ranking the Las Vegas Raiders offensive position groups against the AFC West

Tight Ends

In today’s NFL, being strong at the tight end position can mean the difference in having a mediocre offense, and one that can put up points in a hurry. Luckily for the Raiders, they have one of the best collective groups in the league, and it only got better this offseason.

Darren Waller had an unbelievable breakout campaign last year. He ranked second among NFL tight ends in receptions and yards with 90 and 1,145, while also scoring three times. Unfortunately, he was snubbed from the Pro Bowl roster and an injury kept him from participating in a fill-in role for Travis Kelce, but Waller still managed to put himself in the conversation as one of the best tight ends in the league.

While the Raiders’ starter garnered most of the attention, Foster Moreau also put together an impressive season in 2019. The rookie was a good security blanket for Derek Carr as out of his 21 catches, five were touchdowns and 14 went for first downs, and he also significantly contributed as run-blocker. Tight end might be Las Vegas’ strongest and deepest position group heading into 2020.

If we’re talking Waller versus Travis Kelce straight up, I’ll lean towards Kelce. Since he entered the league in 2013, the Cheifs tight end ranks second with 507 catches, first with 6,465 yards, and third with 37 touchdowns. He’s also managed to make the Pro Bowl five times and earn first-team All-Pro honors twice.

As great as Kelce is, Kansas City doesn’t have much behind him. Deon Yelder and Ricky Seals-Jones don’t really move the needle, leaving the team susceptible at the position if the starter goes down.

When on the field, Hunter Henry has been a pretty productive player for the Chargers. In three seasons, he’s caught 136 passes for 1,709 and 17 touchdowns. However, the Arkansas product has yet to play in a full 16-game season and missed all of 2018 with a torn ACL.

With an injury-prone player sitting atop the depth chart, Los Angeles’ second and third tight ends become more important than normal. Virgil Green has been a solid backup throughout his nine-year career with over 1,000 receiving yards, but the rest of the group is a bunch of unknows.

Noah Fant had a fairly impressive rookie campaign in 2019, totaling 40 receptions, 562 yards, and three touchdowns. Behind him are Jeff Heuerman, who has seemingly played more of a run-blocking role for the Broncos, and rookie Albert Okwuegbunam, who made headlines with his sub-4.5-second 40-yard dash time at the combine.

A lack of overall experience at the position group is what puts Denver at the fourth spot on this list, but that’s nothing to be ashamed of as the AFC West has a bunch of very talented tight ends.