Raiders second-year TE Foster Moreau
Foster Moreau was a diamond in the rough for the Raiders in his rookie season in 2019, as the former LSU star had just 21 catches for 174 yards but also recorded five touchdowns in 13 games. Moreau was the backup tight end to Darren Waller and was playing very well until an ACL injury against the Tennessee Titans ended his season early.
We expected Moreau to return to full strength and reclaim his backup spot behind Waller, but the signing of Jason Witten changed that. We hoped that Witten would be brought in as more of a player-coach than as a contributor, but Jon Gruden was enamored with the veteran tight end and played him in 38% of the team’s offensive snaps compared to just 23% for Moreau.
At this point in their careers, it was clear that Moreau was a better option in every phase of the game than Witten, but Gruden stubbornly kept the former Cowboy in the lineup and provided him with plenty of targets. Witten has a chance to set a record for the most games played by a tight end against Denver, and Gruden will definitely let him do that, but it should be a ceremonial thing at most.
The Raiders have a chance to have one of the more dynamic tight end pairs in the NFL in Waller and Moreau, and Witten’s presence has hampered the second-year player’s development as he limited his snaps. We need to see more of Moreau against the Denver Broncos and a few targets are thrown his way should help continue the evaluation of the young player.