Tight end Michael Mayer Is Just Getting Started

The Las Vegas Raiders traded up in the draft to select Michael Mayer. The last two games have shown how great the rookie tight end's potential is.

After his first four career games saw him catch only one pass for two yards, Michael Mayer has started to show why the Las Vegas Raiders traded up to draft him in the second round.

The Silver and Black struggled on offense during those first four games, which naturally impacted the rookie tight end. Like everyone else, Mayer is happy his early season growing pains weren't in vain. 

Mayer has seven catches for 114 yards in the last two games, averaging just over 17 yards per catch. I asked Mayer how it felt to get going as a receiving option for Las Vegas finally. 

"It feels good," Mayer told Sports Illustrated. "I kind of need to stay on this same path of, coming in here, working hard, learning as much as I can from the tight ends, from Coach Jerry [Schuplinski], from Coach [Josh] McDaniels.

Maybe more important is that Mayer's two longest catches in those games were for 32 yards and 20 yards, respectively. Those chunk plays forced opposing defenses to cover all of the Raiders' offensive threats, not just some of them. 

"That's kind of what it's been about, since the first day of camp: 'This is the first season, alright you need to get better. What do you need to get better on, lets lay it out and let's work on getting better at these things,'" Mayer said.

"That's what I've been doing. It's been working for me; I've been working at it and I'm going to continue doing the same thing."

During training camp and early into the season, Mayer was open and honest about transitioning from being a star player to a rookie in the National Football League. 

The last two games have been the best of Michael Mayer's young career.  / © Candice Ward-USA TODAY Sports

Mayer was asked how that transition is coming along through six games of the season. As the season goes on, Mayer feels more comfortable as he learns the ropes.

"100 percent," Mayer told SI. "Sometimes, it just takes a second to kind of get adjusted to it, for it to start clicking in your mind. 'We do this because of this. This is why we're doing this;' you're not just doing this for the heck of it.

"As the season rolls on it's definitely been clicking more and more. The mental mistakes have gone way down. I'm going to try to keep doing what I've been doing."

A common theme throughout the locker room is the importance of everyone doing his job. Mayer was asked what the mindset was of he and the Raiders' offensive line heading into Sunday's game against the Chicago Bears.

"I'd say we're focused on ourselves," Mayer told SI. "I'm focused on myself, doing what I can do to help myself get open, to help Josh [Jacobs] run, to keep Jimmy [Garoppolo] protected, things like that. We're focused on ourselves; we know we've been the ones making the mistakes and we need to fix that."

For Mayer and the rest of the offense, communication is key.

"Communication, you have to have a hat on a hat," Mayer said. "Without communication, without a hat on a hat, people are going to be running through. The past couple of weeks, we've played linebackers who were really downhill; they're not lateral; they're downhill.

"They're coming in the A-gap, B-gap and C-gap, when that's happening, it's really about communication and who is going to come up and block that guy. We've really been communicating in practice a ton; it's been a huge point of emphasis and it's going to translate over to the game."

Sunday's game against the Chicago Bears allows Mayer to play in front of even more friends and family than normal. Chicago is just under a two-hour drive from Notre Dame, where Mayer was the all-time receptions leader among tight ends for the Fighting Irish.

"My parents and my family have been to almost every single game of my career, which has been fantastic," Mayer said. "In South Bend, they never missed one away game, they never missed any.

"They're going to try to come as much as possible. Obviously, with Chicago being pretty close, they're going to be there. I don't know if it changes anything, but it goes back to what can I do to help this team win, and that's what I'm going to do."

Based on his college career and everything he has shown in his first training camp and the first six games, it is not unreasonable to have big expectations for the rookie, especially if he can continue to learn and improve as a player, as every rookie must.

Most defenses are not equipped to handle all of the Raiders' offensive weapons. If the coaching staff can continue to find ways to get him the ball, Mayer truly has the potential to be one of the next great tight ends in the NFL.

The Silver and Black will head on the road to take on the Chicago Bears on Sunday, Oct. 22, at 1:05 p.m. EDT/10:05 a.m. PDT.

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