Las Vegas Raiders passing game coordinator Scott Turner talked about the team’s new tight end duo with minicamp underway, what they bring to the table, and what they’ll do for the team’s quarterbacks.
Many people still can’t believe one of this year’s top rookie talents fell to the Raiders in this year’s draft. In fact, Georgia’s Brock Bowers would’ve been a top-five pick in any other class. However, multiple teams were quarterback-hungry, resulting in Bowers dropping. Fortunately, the Silver and Black were able to form a dangerous pairing with Bowers and second-year man Michael Mayer as a result.
Scott Turner, the Raiders’ second-year passing coordinator, is also well aware of this.
As things begin to heat up this offseason in the midst of minicamp, Turner shared some insight on his new tight end pairing. In particular, how the offensive scheme can take shape.
“When you can play in multiple personnel groups and you have some guys like Michael [Mayer] and Brock [Bowers] that can kind of do different things, you can almost be in two personnel groups at the same time, you know what I mean? So, if Brock can block, but he can also run routes, you have 12 and 11 personnel at the same time. So just anything you can do to present more issues for the defense, whether it’s formations and motions.”
What will the Raiders offense look like in 2024?
With Luke Getsy coming to town as the new offensive coordinator, everyone’s wondering what this offense will look like. Plugging in two tight ends that are anything but one-dimensional, you’ll be able to keep defenses on their toes.
Even more important, Bowers and Mayer are going to do wonders for Aidan O’Connell (assuming he’s QB1) in passing situations. They’re going to be invaluable as security blankets, as Turner alluded to.
“I know that there’s a lot to be said about the tight end being a security blanket for the quarterback. And that’s true. And I think a lot of that’s because a lot of times, those passes can be closer to the line of scrimmage, so they’re not as far downfield, and they’re bigger bodies, so they can be easier to throw to.”
It’s going to be highly interesting to see how Getsy and Turner incorporate Bowers and Mayer in the passing game; will they be a dual threat out of the gate?
*Top Photo: Getty Images