Oakland Raiders: Ranking The AFC West By Position Group – Tight Ends

The Oakland Raiders have made some moves this offseason that have created quite a buzz around the league, with some thinking they have the best shot of de-throning New England – but how do they stack up in their own division?

The Oakland Raiders have had some fantastic tight ends over the course of their storied history. Guys like Dave Casper and Todd Christensen helped somewhat revolutionize the position. The Raiders have a pretty solid history at the tight end position – and yet, they don’t always do a lot with the talent they have.

Over the last few years, despite having some terrific talent on the roster, the Raiders haven’t utilized the likes of Mychal Rivera and Clive Walford to their fullest extent. With Rivera now gone and Walford ceding the top of the depth chart to newcomer Jared Cook, may are hoping to see the Raiders exploit the pass catching talent they have at the position.

Other teams have used their tight ends as a weapon every bit as dangerous as an explosive wide receiver. Think Jimmy Graham – when he was with the Saints. Greg Olsen in Carolina. Rob Gronkowski in New England. And yes, even Travis Kelce in Kansas City.

The point being, tight ends are a valuable weapon in the arsenal of any NFL quarterback. Some teams simply utilize them better than others.

With all of that being said then, let’s turn our attention to the AFC West and see which teams use their tight ends the best and who gets the most out of them.