Josh McDaniels Talks on Tyree Wilson and Micheal Mayer

Two rookies are about to play in their first season with the Silver and Black, hoping to make an impact at their positions. Those rookies are edge rusher Tyree Wilson and tight end Michael Mayer.

The Raiders selected Wilson seventh overall in the first round of the 2023 NFL Draft. Last week, during joint practices with the L.A. Rams, Wilson was activated to the main roster and fully participated in practice after dealing with a minor foot injury. Since then, he has been back on the field with the Raiders as he prepares for his debut in the 2023-2024 NFL regular season.

The Raiders also selected rookie tight end Mayer in the second round of this year's 2023 NFL Draft. Last week, the Notre Dame Fighting Irish alum debuted in his first NFL game, playing against the Los Angeles Rams in week two of the NFL preseason. He ended up playing on a couple of the Raiders offensive drives. He finished the game with one reception for a total of three yards.

Coach Josh McDaniels had the chance to talk to the media about Raider rookies Wilson and Mayer.

"Tyree [Wilson] is doing well," McDaniels said. "We're excited to kind of continue to move forward here. He got a handful of individual reps last week, got a couple of one-on-ones, as you guys saw. And then yesterday we were able to kind of move forward into some team stuff, and now he will be pads. So, it's kind of progressing the way we wanted it to, and we'll keep being smart and diligent following the direction of the medical people there, but he's doing great. We're excited to continue that process with him. And Michael [Mayer] is just learning every day, a sponge, works really hard. You guys got to talk to him yesterday, I mean a great attitude, really a quick study in terms of some of the things that you need to be able to do well. Tight end is a tough position to play right off the bat and do everything the way that it needs to get done at a winning level. Because you have to run block, pass protect, run routes, get open, difference between man and zone, different coverages, read the safety -- there are a lot of things that go into that, so he's hard at work at it, making progress every day."

The Silver and Black return to preseason action when they play the Dallas Cowboys at AT&T Stadium in Arlington, Texas, on Saturday, Aug. 26, at 8 p.m. EDT/5 p.m. PDT.

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