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Originally Posted by Wyatt
@PSchrags
Free agent TE Mychal Rivera is leaving his visit with Jets without signing a deal. Will visit with the Colts in Indy next. @gmfb @NFLonFOX
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I like him. 6th round draft pick of the Raiders in 2013. In 4 seasons:
61 games played / 15 games started / 230 targets / 146 receptions / 63.5% catch rate / 1,413 receiving yards / 10 TD
It appears that he played extensively in his first two years with his 2nd season in 2014 being tops in being targeted 99 times. His targets, however, dropped to 46 in 2015 and only 25 in 2016. This blog from Raiders land tells the tale:
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2014 was also a good year for Rivera, the first one with Derek Carr at the helm. Again, Rivera played in all 16 games, finishing with 58 receptions for 534 yards and 4 TDs, while maintaining a quality average at 9.2 yards per catch.
But Rivera has always had a flaw, which can be fatal for a tight end — poor blocking. And then things started to go south for him in 2015 when the Raiders drafted Clive Walford. At 6’4″ and 250 pounds, Walford was supposed to be a much better blocker than Rivera while having similar receiving ability.
At the same time, alongside Walford, the Raiders brought in Lee Smith, a primarily blocking tight end, but a damn good one at that.
Lee quickly took over the starting job — particularly due to Jack Del Rio’s willingness to run the ball more — and Walford was plugged in passing situations. Rivera was the odd man out, fading into darkness. He finished that year with 32 receptions, 280 years and a single TD — much lower numbers compared to his rookie year stats.
This trend continued into 2016. Rivera wasn’t even active in multiple games, which was a really bad sign. But a season-ending injury to Smith opened the door for Rivera at least to suit up on game days again. Walford was still the starting tight end, but he did not pan out the way the Raiders hoped.
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Our TE coaches have shown that they can develop TEs. Both Doyle and Swoope have come a long way over the past couple of seasons.
Rivera sounds like a guy that has the ability to succeed, he just needs the coaching and the change to do so. With the Colts playing a lot of 2TE sets, he will get the chance here.
Sign him and the Colts have zero need to look at TE in the draft. The other free agent we signed, Brandon Williams, sounds much more like a Special Teams guy that someone who we think can develop into an offensive weapon. I don't mind him as TE4 but I would like Rivera much better as battling for TE2 duties with Swoope.
Cheers,