Last season, the Oakland Raiders had three serviceable tight ends in rookie Clive Walford, free agency pickup Lee Smith and 2013 draft pick Mychal Rivera. All three players giving the Raiders serviceable snaps, but by no means were any of the three consistent playmakers. With Rivera’s regression after being forced to share the receiving tight end spotlight with Walford being the most noticeable factor holding the Raiders tight end production back.
Rivera had his targets halved in 2015, as the third year tight end struggled to keep his role with the 2015 third round pick in Walford eventually cementing himself as the tight end of the future in Oakland.