REPORT: Broncos in Trouble Where the Raiders are Elite

The Denver Broncos swept the Las Vegas Raiders this season. Still, they are weak in an area the Raiders are strong in.

Dec 10, 2023; Inglewood, California, USA; Denver Broncos tight end Adam Trautman (82) celebrates with Denver Broncos quarterback Russell Wilson (3) after scoring a touchdown against the Los Angeles Chargers during the second half at SoFi Stadium. Mandatory Credit: Yannick Peterhans-Imagn Images | Yannick Peterhans-Imagn Images

The Las Vegas Raiders traded up in the second round of the NFL Draft two offseasons ago to select tight end Michael Mayer out of Notre Dame.

Mayer finished his time at Notre Dame as one of the best tight ends in Notre Dame history and one of the best tight ends to enter the league in many years.

He entered the league hopeful of proving he belonged in the National Football League. However, former Raiders head coach Josh McDaniels used Mayer more as a blocker than a pass catcher, and the Raiders offense struggled to move the ball and score.

After a rookie season that left much to be desired, at no fault of his own, Mayer was looking forward to returning for his second season with the team this past offseason.

That is until the Raiders selected tight end Brock Bowers with the No. 13 pick in last season's draft. Bowers would go on to have a historic season as a rookie tight end, solidifying the Raiders' tight end room as arguably one of the deepest positions on the team.

However, not all teams were as lucky as the Raiders. This is true for the Denver Broncos, whose tight ends could only dream of producing like Bowers and Mayer did this season.

Kevin Patra of NFL.com analyzed focus areas for a few of the teams around the league and believe the Broncos' group of tight ends could use improvement.

"Denver tight ends compiled 483 total receiving yards in 2024. Total. Combined," Patra said. "Brock Bowers beat that in a six-game span from Weeks 11-16 (487 yards). Adam Trautman led Broncos TEs with 188 yards. Lucas Krull had the most catches with 19. And Nate Adkins led in TDs with three. It was brutal, folks. While fellow rookie Jayden Daniels was peppering security blanket Zach Ertz on with easy passes, Bo Nix was making low-percentage tosses. Most of the top offenses got TE production last season -- Bowers, Trey McBride, George Kittle, Jonnu Smith, Travis Kelce, etc.

"Not Sean Payton's in 2024. Nix needs his own TE mismatch to exploit in 2025. Adding a big-bodied player who can win over the middle and force defenses to match up differently would make it easier on the young quarterback and help open some of those deep shots he wants to take. Penn State's Tyler Warren and Michigan's Colston Loveland highlight what is projected as a deep TE class in the 2025 NFL Draft."

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