Raiders Top Five 2020 Opponents by Position: Tight End

With training camp set to open, we preview the top five players at every position the Raiders will face in 2020. Today we look at tight ends.

This article is the beginning of a series of the Raiders' top-five opponents by position.

Last season the Raiders faced a challenging group of tight ends that resulted in the defense allowing nine touchdowns, third-most in the league, and were also ranked 11th, for most receiving yards allowed by tight ends.

The Raiders have a tough schedule ahead of them this season, and in some of those games, they will return some familiar faces and welcome a few new ones along the way.

Despite the Raiders upgrading their linebackers and adding depth on the secondary, the Raiders defense will arguably face one of the toughest tight end matchups this season.

As we look ahead of the team schedule, we're going to point out the top five tight ends the Raiders will face this year.

At No. 5 is Hunter Henry of the Los Angeles Chargers. He might have suffered a season-ending injury in 2018, but a year ago, he showed everyone he is still a threat. Henry does a little bit of everything, but most importantly, he excels in the red zone. The Silver and Black are familiar with Henry as a divisional rival, and this season the Raiders will see him again on Weeks 9 and 15.

At No. 4 is Austin Hooper. The former Atlanta Falcon signed with the Cleveland Browns this offseason. The Raiders will match up against Hooper on Week 8. Hooper is an excellent pass-catcher, and according to PFF, his 80.5 receiving grade ranks him No. 7 among NFL tight ends.

At No. 3 is a familiar one, former Raider and now New Orleans Saint, Jared Cook. The Raiders will see Cook in Week 2, and similar to Hooper, Cook is a good pass-catcher and can easily space between him and the defenders. According to PFF, his 80.8 receiving grade was the sixth-best among tight ends last year.

At No. 2 and more surprising is the return of Rob Gronkowski. Even though he sat out the 2019 season, Gronk is still a threat to defenses as he can easily mismatch against defenders. Questions arise about his conditioning and state of mind; regardless, the Raiders will match up with Gronk and the Tampa Bay Buccaneers in Week 7. On a good note, the Raiders will have a bye on Week 6, which should give them plenty of time to prepare for him.

At the top of the list is no other than the Kansas City Chiefs' Travis Kelce, arguably the second-best tight end in the NFL. The Raiders will once again see him twice this season, on Weeks 5 and 11. While the Raiders have had problems stopping Kelce, the return of injured players and defensive playmakers should close the gap on Kelce's success.

The Raiders will gamble and take risks as they are looking to make a statement in their first season in Las Vegas, in hopes of a playoff run.

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