The Las Vegas Raiders were not devoid of talent last season, but the former coaching staff was unable to get the best out of the team's players. New head coach Pete Carroll is looking to remedy this in 2025, and he hired a great coaching staff to support him.
New Raiders offensive coordinator Chip Kelly must be excited about the potential of the team's tight end duo in particular. Over the last few years, previous Raiders management has used high draft capital to invest in the position with the selections of Brock Bowers and Michael Mayer.
Now, these two are Kelly's chips to cash in, and fortunately, this may be the best tandem that he has worked with across multiple stints in the NFL. In his first gig as a coordinator in the league, however, he can fully focus on the offense, which is his strong suit anyway.
Chip Kelly can set up Brock Bowers and Michael Mayer for success
In 2013 and 2014, while head coach of the Philadelphia Eagles, Kelly had two great pass-catching tight ends, Zach Ertz and Brent Celek. During those two seasons, the duo of Ertz and Celek combined for 246 targets, 1,958 receiving yards and 14 touchdowns.
Ertz and Celek certainly had receiving talent, but not more than the Raiders' Bowers and Mayer, who can serve as downfield targets for Geno Smith in 2025. Bowers had almost 1,200 receiving yards as a rookie last year, and while Mayer has only flashed his potential during his brief time in the NFL, the former second-round pick might still be one of the best receiving tight ends in the league.
Just mentioning the team's number two tight end during minicamp bodes well for the player, and luckily, Chip Kelly has done plenty of that this offseason. He spoke to the media about Mayer at the end of May and had nothing but good things to say about him.
“Mike's been fantastic since day one of the offseason programs when we started early in April there," Kelly said. "What he did just in the weight room, what he's done in the meeting room, and then what we did in phase two, and then what he's continued to do here."
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The ultimate NFL tight end duo that comes to mind is the New England Patriots' Rob Gronkowski and Aaron Hernandez. There may not have been a tandem that impacted their offense more and terrorized the league's defenses to a larger extent.
In 2011 alone, Gronkowski and Hernandez combined for 2,237 receiving yards and 24 touchdowns. These two set multiple receiving records for the Patriots, and Bowers and Mayer could do the same for the Raiders in 2025.
While these numbers would be difficult to eclipse, the Raiders are bound for some good luck and good health, which could help Bowers and Mayer get close this year. The talent of these two players combined with the scheming of reigning national champion offensive coordinator Chip Kelly are two reasons that Bowers and Mayer could make a run at that mark.