The Las Vegas Raiders have the most promising young tight end duo in the league. With Michael Mayer, a second-rounder in the 2023 NFL Draft, bound for a Year 3 breakout, and All-Pro Brock Bowers back for another season after a historic rookie campaign, the team is set at the position.
However, having a solid No. 3 tight end is a nice luxury as well, especially considering the fact that offensive coordinator Chip Kelly is bound to frequently employ multiple tight ends on the field at one time.
Veteran Ian Thomas, who was signed to a one-year deal this offseason, garnered plenty of attention through OTAs, minicamp and training camp. It seemed like every practice, there was a report about a great play he made, and Pete Carroll praised him at length. The preseason has been a different story.
Ian Thomas' struggles may have opened the end of the Raiders' TE room
In the first preseason game against the Seattle Seahawks, Thomas caught two passes for 24 yards, which was a solid showing. However, young tight ends like Carter Runyon and Qadir Ismail also turned in good performances, catching three passes for 33 yards and two catches for 22 yards, respectively.
While these players did not necessarily gain any ground on Thomas in the first preseason tilt, they certainly did in the second. Thomas had an ugly drop on his lone target against the San Francisco 49ers and turned in a Pro Football Focus grade of 32.3, the second-worst on the offense.
By contrast, Runyon caught two passes for 29 yards and Ismail caught another two passes for 20 yards. Even recent signing Albert Okwuebunam caught one pass for 11 yards. Runyon was the third-highest graded Raider, Okwuegbunam was sixth, and Ismail was 18th.
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Earlier in the week, Thomas also dropped another pass during joint practices against the 49ers, which led to an interception. It seems like Thomas is developing a case of the drops lately and may be faltering a bit while the young players at the position are ascending.
Thomas is still likely to keep his roster spot, for now, but if things continue to trend the way they have, it may not be long until players like Runyon, Okwuegbunam and Ismail are backing up Bowers and Mayer.
The hope is that Thomas turns things around quickly and finishes off the preseason with a good performance, and at least two of the aforementioned three tight ends stick around on the practice squad, because it seems like the team could need them sooner rather than later.