Sorry Joe, I'll try and be more optimistic for you and Caleb. He does have elite physical traits, no doubts. He certainly COULD be great
Lemme turn the tables...
Actually Mayer was taken in the second round in 2023, but still seems weird to go TE this season.
daaaaaannnnggggg, saucy? LOL??
They've got the Shew, the Stauche, the myth, the legend! hahaha
I think the Raiders should have playoff expectations. Chargers and Broncos, in theory, are both rebuilding and will be stronger down the line.daaaaaannnnggggg, saucy? LOL??
Well first I'd like say that the Raiders didn't spend the #1 overall on a fingernail painted momma's boy and his holistic caring. Wait, I said I'd try to be positive on Caleb..sorry
Joking aside though-
Firstly, like Monkey had mentioned, an above average, if not elite TE seems to be at least ONE of the keys to success in this league lately, and allegedly, they now have two. At the very least Mayers flashed that's he's likely to be an 'above average' guy going forward in year one, whihc in my book, for rookie TE's, flashing is about all I could ask for. Year two I wanna see some consistent results, doesn't have to be great, but decent, and year 3 is where i expect a stud to be, to actually be a stud.
We shall see what Bowers is to be. Word is, he's an adequate at best blocker, but has the frame to be better if he puts in the effort to improve, so that's good, at least he's not an turnstile like Pitts is, so he's not an automatic tell to defenses. To me, for TE's, that's the most important step, because that is what puts you on the field every down.
All that is to say, if they go 2 tight as their base offensive set, with 2 dudes who are at minimum adequate in the blocking game, and at worst above average in the receiving portion of things, that's a recipe for success in todays game which is won, primarily, in the middle, and down the seams. Factor in Devonte Adams on the outside demanding double teams, the fact that with two tights, the defense can't sit in nickel and dime packages, they'll have to cover those tight ends with LB's, I'm liking the possibilities.
Now to your final point, how can you dare say no one to throw the ball?
Hey they dud is a sub .500 QB as a starter, primarily with crap JAX teams, but he did lead the Colts to a winning record without their best offensive player, and a collection of ?'s at WR after M Pittman (who was also a ? until last year's breakout). He ain't sexy, he's not gonna be the guy to make those crazy plays, but he's efficient and knows how to play QB in this league.
Also, there's still 2 potential NFL caliber QB's available out there to be had tonight, possibly tomorrow, in Rattler and Pratt let one of them sit behind Minshew for a year, maybe he'll the answer in '25?
I have zero playoff expectations for the Raiders, not playing in the same division as the Chiefs, not this year. But I think they are solidly on the right track to building a good solid team.
It'd be contention for a wild card at best. They had damned well better finish second in the west though. Like you mentioned, LAC and Denver should not be a problem. But when you're almost guaranteed at least 2 playoff teams in the North, and 2 in the East, fighintg for a wild card with whomever is second in the south is about the best you could hope for. And I'm not getting my hopes up too high, with The Shew leading them. A realistic possibility, but not one I'm realistically hoping for
You know what those teams also had, somebody that isn't Aiden O' Connell or Gardner Minshew throwing them the ball.
One step at a time, one step at a time. Build the car, then find a driver
They had Jackie Stewart first and then gave him a car.
