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Oakland Raiders: Can Mychal Rivera Be A Real Threat?

By Joel Childers

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With the offseason additions of wide receiver Michael Crabtree and Amari Cooper, along with the expected emergence of running back Latavius Murray, the Oakland Raiders offense looks like a completely different unit than it did a year ago. Now with the NFL season just getting under way, a third receiving option may be ready to have a huge season. Tight end Mychal Rivera, the third year player out of Tennessee, may be able to find a huge role in the offense.

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Mychal Rivera was selected in the 6th round of the 2013 NFL Draft, not as a player expected to dominate early on, but more as someone who could learn, grow, and become a force as his career progressed. His rookie season, Rivera was third on his team in receiving yards with 407, despite catching passes from the likes of Terrelle Pryor, Matt McGloin, and Matt Flynn.

Now, the Raiders may have found their franchise quarterback in Derek Carr, and he helped Rivera to 534 yards and 4 touchdowns in 2014. Coming into his second year in the league, Carr is hoping to take a huge step forward, and this could mean big things for Rivera. Oakland head coach Jack Del Rio has liked what he’s seen from Rivera this offseason:

"“He’s an athletic guy,” Del Rio said (via FOX Sports) “I think he showed some of that athleticism here early in this camp with a couple of nice catches. We like the way he’s worked throughout the offseason.”"

The real offseason hype has been all about the Derek Carr and Amari Cooper connection, and rightfully so. NFL.com’s staff recently predicted that Cooper would win the Offensive Rookie of the Year award, with some of the writers even predicting over 100 receptions. Pro-Bowl receiver Michael Crabtree also joins Cooper in Oakland, and these two should be Carr’s favorite targets this season.

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Carr is young though, and young quarterbacks often resort to dump-offs and check-downs when they get into trouble, which means good things for the team’s tight ends. We know Carr has a big arm and isn’t afraid to try for the home-run pass, but with defenses looking at Cooper and Crabtree on the edge, the middle of the field will be wide open for Rivera to earn his paycheck.

From Week 7 on last season, Rivera had 6 or more receptions five times, including two games with over 10 targets. He wasn’t often able to do much with all of those targets, as defenses weren’t particular scared that Andre Holmes and James Jones would break open a huge play. Now, defenses will have to be more honest in their coverage, and won’t be able to cheat up or take as many risks as they would have last year.

Physically, Rivera certainly has the potential to be a huge playmaker. He’s 6’3″ 245lbs and runs a 4.43 40-yard dash, with a 31 inch vertical (per NFL.com). He has the athleticism to be one of the better tight ends in the league, and now he’s in the best situation of his young career.

The Raiders did draft another tight end this year, taking Clive Walford in the 3rd round. He was expected to be the team’s leading tight end, but he has been slowed down with an injury which should give Rivera an opportunity to prove himself once again. He will need to get off to a fast start though, or risk losing his place to the young guy who should be hot on his heels.

After receiving 100 targets from Derek Carr last season, Rivera will likely see a similar number this year (if he can hold back Walford), if maybe a few less. The difference will be improvements to both Carr’s accuracy and the quality of the targets due to the Amari Cooper threat. Michael Rivera could be in store for his best season yet.

Next: Raiders Week 1 Keys to Success

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