Where two previous coaching staffs failed, Las Vegas Raiders head coach Klint Kubiak and his staff have succeeded so far this season. Michael Mayer had two games as the No. 1 tight end to start the season when Brock Bowers was out, and in the two games Bowers has played, the former second-round pick has remained a key asset to the offense.
In the fantasy football realm, Bowers and Mayer both finished a top-10 tight ends in Week 4. They had the highest yardage total they've had in a game together, and the second-best catch total they've have in a game together.
Lacking a true WR1, Kubiak is clearly leaning into a strength at tight end. Bowers being deployed more like a wide receiver opens the more traditional in-line role for Mayer.
In his "don't be surprised if" column heading into Week 5, ESPN fantasy analyst Eric Karabell invited the possibility Bowers and Mayer finish as top-10 fantasy tight ends this year.
"Mayer leads the Raiders with 20 receptions, which should not last because Bowers is healthy, but there is a path toward Mayer continuing to thrive as their No. 2 target (Jeanty aside). Bowers earns ample attention. Mayer played a few more snaps than Bowers in Week 4, and far more than any Raiders wide receiver. He ran routes on 69% of the plays, and it was a tad higher in Week 3. Mayer is going to play. He isn't Bowers, of course, but he is pacing toward 85 receptions on 102 targets."
When's the last time two TEs on the same team finished top-10 in fantasy?
It's obviously rare for one team to have two top-10 fantasy tight ends in a season. Back in 2011, Rob Gronkowski and Aaron Hernandez got it done with the New England Patriots.
Using Fantasy Pros data, which dates back to 2013, two tight ends on the same team for a full season have finished as top-10 fantasy tight ends once (full PPR scoring).
In 2019, Philadelphia Eagles tight ends Zach Ertz (TE4) and Dallas Goedert (TE10) finished top-10 in fantasy. Of course, they were also the two most-targeted pass catchers on the team, with 135 (Ertz) and 87 (Goedert) targets, as no Eagles wide receiver had 75 targets, 45 catches, or 500 yards.
Include running back Miles Sanders, and no other Eagles pass catcher had more than 50 receptions or 509 yards that season.
The 2019 Eagles and the 2026 Raiders have a similar look in terms of the pecking order of passing game talent. So if a team were to have two top-10 fantasy tight ends, this year or perhaps in the near future, it seems likely to be the Silver and Black with Bowers and Mayer both not going anywhere anytime soon.
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