When the Las Vegas Raiders need a big play they have two of the best players in the league at their respective positions to turn to in receiver Davante Adams and running back Josh Jacobs. But on Sunday night against the Jets, rookie tight end Michael Mayer came up with the biggest play of the game.
Mayer skied over Jets safety Jordan Whitehead to haul in the only touchdown of the game to give the Raiders a fourth-quarter lead that they would hold on to for their second straight win. And Adams believes there can be more of those in the future for the rookie, via Paul Gutierrez of ESPN:
“That’s impressive, man,” added All-Pro receiver Davante Adams. “He’s made a lot of catches like this since he’s been here, so we need that from our tight end room, especially the way we get played down there, tight in the red zone. So hopefully, we get many more of those out of him.”
It was the first career touchdown catch for Mayer whom the Raiders took in the second round of the NFL Draft and he made it a memorable one. But just as important for him was the fact that it led to a Raiders win:
“It’s special,” Mayer said. “It’s my first one in the league. … Hopefully, many, many more to come and it’s a really special thing to be able to do that for my teammates, do that for my coaches, do that for … this organization’s been through a lot the past couple of weeks this season, last season, and feels good to come out with a ‘W.'”
The Raiders seem to have landed on a couple of special players in their draft class this year with Mayer at the top of the list. The rookie has stood out since training camp and Jacobs makes sure to let him know how good he is all the time:
“That dude is good, bro,” said Raiders All-Pro running back Josh Jacobs. “I think people sleep on how good he’s going to be. I really watch him. I tell him all the time, ‘Man, I appreciate you.’
If the Raiders can unlock Mayer, in addition to already having Adams, Jacobs and Jakobi Meyers, it could truly maximize this Raiders offense. With a rookie quarterback in Aidan O’Connell, the playmakers need to step up and Mayer could be just getting started.
