The week after the NFL Draft is peak Overreaction SZN. Every team's picks are either the most clever, tremendously modern way to team build, or the worst decision ever made in the history of team sports. And sometimes you take Michael Penix Jr. with the 8th overall pick and confuse everyone.
And we wouldn't be doing our jobs if we didn't talk about it endlessly. In fact, we wouldn't be doing our job if we didn't talk about how other players don't do their jobs. And Bleacher Report rose to the occasion this week, publishing a comprehensive list called "8 NFL Starters Whose Jobs Are in Jeopardy After the 2024 NFL Draft." In it, BR points out that there's one Raiders player who may already be on the way out. The drama! The intrigue! You'll never guess who they picked.
Raiders starter might be in jeopardy of losing his job after NFL Draft
According to BR, 2nd year tight end Michael Mayer may not be a starter for much long. With Brock Bowers in town, Mayer may already be losing snaps – that's the theory, at least. Here's a little of their explanation:
Of all the players listed in this article, there isn't one more guaranteed to have lost his starting job than Las Vegas Raiders tight end Michael Mayer. An early second-round pick of the Raiders in 2023, Mayer is the all-time leader in receptions by a tight end at Notre Dame. His rookie numbers were modest—27 catches for 304 yards and two touchdowns. But he was still widely regarded as a rising young talent at the position ... Mayer is a superior blocker, and he'll still see the field when the Raiders are in "12" personnel. But he became the No. 2 tight end in Vegas the moment Bowers was drafted.
I mean, I guess? If only NFL teams were creative enough to figure out an offense that featured more than one tight end on the same field at the same time. Also, Mayer and Bowers are about as different as tight ends come. Mayer's job security doesn't feel particularly in danger only because Bowers doesn't actually do Mayer's job. Here's to hoping that the Raiders finally crack the code on how to play offense with two vaguely-similar players on the field at the same time.