LSU Tigers, Raiders TE Foster Moreau Ready for Breakout Year

LSU Tigers, and now Las Vegas Raider Foster Moreau is poised for a breakout 2021 season in his third season with the Silver and Black.

Foster Moreau knows he won’t be the No. 1 tight end for the Las Vegas Raiders unless something happens to Darren Waller.

However, the 6-4, 250-pound Moreau has proven to be a valuable asset for the Silver and Black.  In his first two seasons when Coach Jon Gruden has gone to his double- and triple-tight end formations, sometimes to start the game.  Moreau has been an especially reliable target for quarterback Derek Carr in the Red Zone.

And Waller is one of his biggest boosters.

“Foster looks, I mean his explosiveness just continues to increase every time we come back together as a team,” Waller said recently during the Raiders minicamp. “Just from working with him in the offseason, he’s working hard with me, like he’s even pushing me with the way that he works. With the attention to detail that he’s been working with this offseason, it’s carrying over out here.

“He looks a lot more fluid and is just continuing on that path to being the player that I know that he can be. He can be an extremely vital component to this offense. I can’t wait to see him expand the routes that he runs and the way that the offensive staff continues to challenge him because you can never have too many weapons. I feel like Foster can really show the world who he’s capable of being this season and can continue to build on top of that. So, I’m really excited for him.”

Moreau was selected by the Raiders in the fourth round (No. 137 overall) of the 2019 NFL Draft out of LSU and as a rookie he caught 21 passes for 174 yards and five touchdowns before being knocked out by a knee injury after 13 games.  Moreau still made the Pro Football Focus All-Rookie team.

Even though Moreau’s time was a bit limited last season, when the Raiders brought in former Dallas Cowboys All-Pro tight end Jason Witten, he valued the experience of learning from a future Hall of Famer.

“(Last) season was great,” said Moreau, who caught only seven passes, but they went for 140 yards and two touchdowns. “To add to the leadership that I received last year with (tight ends) Frank Smith, Derek Carrier, and obviously with Darren (Waller), to add Jason Witten into that mix, he’s really taught me how to be a professional and approach the game as such. I wouldn’t take last year back for anything.

“Kind of a mantra we preach is, ‘Be where your feet are.’ Witten loves to say, he said it two years ago when he retired from the Cowboys after 15 years, he said, ‘The secret’s in the dirt,’ and we kind of run with that and he’s taught us how to live our lives like that. Especially in season you know, there’s no one better.”

Moreau, who should get more playing time this season since Witten has retired, caught virtually everything thrown his way by Derek Carr, Marcus Mariota, and the other Raiders quarterbacks during recent OTAs and minicamp.  The feeling is that he might have the best set of hands-on the team.

This is borne out by the fact that he caught those 21 passes on 25 targets as a rookie and the seven catches he made last season came on nine targets.  If the pass is near him, Moreau is almost a sure thing.

“He’s played good football for us and is going to be a big part of the Raiders future,” Gruden said of his backup tight end. “I think statistically and from a playing time standpoint, probably a lot of people will think it’s disappointing, but we expect a tremendous year for him.”

Should things go according to plan, the Raiders should have a very impressive set of bookends.

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