The board did not necessarily fall the Las Vegas Raiders' way during the 2024 NFL Draft, but it gave them a bona fide superstar in Brock Bowers. While Bowers was a blue-chip prospect, tight end wasn't really a position of need for Las Vegas after selecting Michael Mayer in Round 2 the year before.
Suddenly, the Raiders had an embarrassment of riches at tight end. The offense was supposed to be built around 12 personnel, meaning two tight ends on the field at one time, but it became the Bowers show last season. He broke records, but it wasn't conducive to much success for Mayer.
This year, Bowers has battled injuries, Jakobi Meyers got traded, and the rest of the wide receiver corps has been unproven. Still, Mayer hasn't had the kind of breakout that Raider Nation anticipated when the team traded up for him on Day 2 of the draft in 2023. Until Week 17 of the 2025 NFL season.
Michael Mayer's strong showing begs question of his season-long usage
On Sunday against the New York Giants, with Bowers placed on Injured Reserve earlier in the week, Mayer went off. With the simple benefit of opportunity, Mayer was targeted a career-high 10 times against the Giants and caught a career-best nine passes for 89 yards, also the most in his NFL career.
While this breakout is incredibly promising for Mayer and the Raiders' offense, it begs the question of how the franchise has failed so unbelievably to get him involved over the last few years. Mayer is obviously an incredible talent, but he's been used far too sparingly to show it, which is malpractice.
Mayer ran a handful of great routes and made big plays on Sunday, and he came through in several third and fourth-down situations. He looked like a star tight end out there, yet he has been mostly relegated to the shadows behind Bowers. Las Vegas needs to find a way to utilize both of them.
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Think of how much better the Raiders' offense would be if they had Bowers and Mayer firing on all cylinders like this all season. Las Vegas, of course, has squandered its opportunity to find a secret sauce at tight end with two of the most promising young players in the league at the position.
Hopefully, this offseason brings a bright young offensive mind to the Raiders, and they can transform the offense and utilize Mayer the correct way. After all, 2026 is the final year of Mayer's rookie contract, and the team can't afford to let him walk and star elsewhere in the NFL.
Obviously, it is easier said than done to get both tight ends involved in the offense when there is a major mouth to feed at running back as well, and the ball needs to be distributed to the wideouts. But if a rookie quarterback comes in next year, he'll need Mayer and Bowers to be his security blankets.
With every opportunity he gets, Mayer makes the most of it. This simultaneously proves the franchise right for drafting him in the first place, but also serves as more evidence of the Raiders' ineptitude since he was drafted. Week 17's star showing was more irrefutable proof of both of these things.