The Las Vegas Raiders have greatly improved its roster going into the 2026 season, but how good is its tight end room compared to others?
The Las Vegas Raiders are enjoying an incredible offseason after what was pretty much an unwatchable season despite having several talented skills players.
In 2025, the Raiders went 3-14, secured the No. 1 overall pick in the 2026 National Football League draft and fired most of the coaching staff, including head coach Pete Carroll after just one season.
Not much went well for Las Vegas and it got even harder to watch when star tight end Brown Bowers missed time with a knee injury.
Bowers, 23, was impressive in his first NFL season two years ago, playing all 17 games and catching 112 passes for 1,194 yards and five touchdowns to earn first-team All-Pro honors while finishing second in Offensive Rookie of the Year voting.
Unfortunately for Bowers, he was limited to 12 games last season but was still effective when he was on the field. Bowers caught 64 passes for 680 yards and seven touchdowns in his limited time, earning his second Pro Bowl nod, further establishing himself as one of, if not the best tight end in the league.
Bowers is so good that his new head coach, Klint Kubiak, called him a “football robot from heaven.” Not only do the Raiders have Bowers, but it also has tight end Michael Mayer, who was a second-round pick in 2023.
Mayer has been in more of a blocking role when Bowers is on the field, but he was forced to do more in Bowers’ absence and he had 35 receptions for 328 yards and a touchdown; he set career-highs in receptions, yards and targets (50).
Because of how well the two play off each other, NFL.com’s Bucky Brooks ranked the Raiders’ tight end group third-best.
“The dynamic duo is tailor-made to thrive in a multiple-tight-end offensive scheme, giving Kubiak a chance to build the passing game from the inside out, with the QB targeting these big-bodied pass-catchers (Bowers checks in at (6-4, 235 pounds, and Mayer at 6-4, 256) between the hashes,” Brooks wrote Friday.
“The Raiders have the potential to unleash a truly dominant 12 personnel grouping that serves as a real headache-maker for defensive coordinators around the league.”
Only the Los Angeles Rams and Buffalo Bills have a better group in Brooks’ opinion, and those groups have gotten amazing contributions from their guys.
With new quarterback Fernando Mendoza and center Tyler Linderbaum joining the team in the offseason, this group should thrive in Kubiak’s detailed offense for years to come.
