Las Vegas Raiders Dream Team: All-Time Starting Offense
By Evan Groat
Tight End: Todd Christensen (1979-1988)
Tight end was a tough call between Todd Christensen and Dave Casper, and in the end, I didn’t think it was fair to leave either off the team so they both find themselves on the roster. So for the purpose of this Raiders all-time starting lineup on offense, the Raiders are going with a two tight end set.
Christensen was a part of two Super Bowl winning teams in 1980 and 1983. Twice in his career he led the NFL in receptions, as he had 92 catches in 1983 and 95 in 1986. Those totals were season highs for a tight end until 2010, when now-Raider Jason Witten set a new record with 110.
Christensen played 136 of his 137 career games with the Raiders. He ended his career after 1988 with 461 receptions, 5,872 yards, and 41 touchdowns. Tragically, Christensen was taken from us too soon at the age of 57 after complications from a liver transplant.
Tight End: Dave Casper (1974-1980, 1984)
Of Dave Casper’s 11 seasons in the league, 7.5 were spent with the Raiders, and wearing the Silver and Black, he was downright dominant. Four times in those 7.5 seasons he was a First Team All-Pro, becoming a key target for the best quarterback in team history.
Casper was part of a prolific offense in the late 1970’s that included Ken Stabler at quarterback, and Fred Biletnikoff and Cliff Branch at wide receiver. In 99 games with the Raiders, Casper caught 255 passes for 3,294 yards, and 35 touchdowns.
He was given the nickname “Ghost” in reference to his last name Casper, and the character, Casper the Friendly Ghost. One of the more iconic plays in his career is known as “Ghost to the Post,” where in a divisional game in the 1977 playoffs versus the Baltimore Colts, Stabler hooked up with Casper on a 42-yard reception. The play set up a game-tying field goal in the final seconds of regulation that sent the game into overtime