The Las Vegas Raiders' last two NFL Draft hauls made for one of the more interesting situations in the league. While the addition of Brock Bowers the offseason after trading up in the second round to draft Michael Mayer was a non-story in the Raiders locker room, it is still intriguing.
Coming out of college, Michael Mayer was undoubtedly one of the best tight ends to enter the National Football League. Mayer left Notre Dame as arguably the best tight end in the storied college football program's history and was worth the Raiders trading up to get him.
However, the general manager and head coaching duo that drafted Mayer were fired after his rookie season. The new Raiders' general manager, Tom Telesco, had the unexpected opportunity to draft Bowers, who many believed would be a top-10 pick.
At the very least, no one expected Bowers to drop to the Raiders at No. 13 in last year's draft. When he did, the Raiders had to overlook that they already had Mayer and that they traded up for him, as there was a move from the previous regime, and Bowers is Bowers.
Telesco also wisely overlooked the Raiders' roster needs to draft Bowers while still addressing the roster needs in the following draft rounds. Bowers went on to have a historic rookie season, making an argument for the best rookie season by a tight end ever.
Bowers' rookie season also made a legitimate argument that he is already the best tight end in the league. Whether he is the best or not, his success came with and without Mayer on the field, and his success has made Mayer a potential trade piece for the Raiders.
Ralph Vachianno of FOX Sports believes Mayer could net a valuable return of resources for the Raiders.
"He's a former second-round pick who's had 48 catches for 460 yards in two seasons, which isn't bad considering he's only been targeted 72 times. In Las Vegas, that number won't increase now that Brock Browers has quickly become a star," Vacchiano said.
"Bowers was targeted 153 times last year alone (112-1,194-5) and that's not likely to change. So, while Mayer is a good backup, he's also 24 years old and is signed for two more seasons. He's good, cheap talent, and if the Raiders were willing to deal him, they might be able to get a mid-round pick back, at least."
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