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This goes against everything we believe about No. 6 overall pick Ashton Jeanty and his impending usage. Billed as a legitimate third-down back who racked up 80 receptions and 862 yards in three seasons at Boise State, Jeanty’s profile coupled with his high draft capital have led many to believe he would be the unquestioned bell-cow in the Raiders’ backfield. While that may still be the case, Reed suggests Mostert, 33, could see a reasonable amount of work on third down. Jeanty is 12 years younger than Mostert and should see plenty of work to be worth the high-end draft picks fantasy managers are using on him. Any news of Mostert possibly seeing some work on third down shouldn’t be enough to detract fantasy managers from Jeanty at this time. Let’s see how things play out in training camp.

The third-year tight end missed several games last season due to a personal issue and spent the offseason being a rumored trade target. Mayer obviously won’t cut deeply into Brock Bowers’ snap share, but he has a chance to cut into Tre Tucker and Jack Bech’s playing time if the Raiders feel that Mayer is one of their best eleven. “I think Mike’s been outstanding,” Raiders OC Chip Kelly told reporters before noting that “I checked, you can play with two tight ends in a game at the same time, and sometimes you can play with three tight ends they told me. So, maybe we can get to that if we have to.”

After engaging in unsuccessful trade talks involving Mayer three-plus months ago, the Raiders have seemingly worked things out with their No. 2 tight end. Raiders head coach Pete Carroll told Bonsignore that Mayer “had a great camp” after embracing “the challenge” offered to him, when he and Carroll had a “heart to heart” conversation some time to go. Bonsignore previously reported that Mayer showed up in “tremendous shape and has been a standout” at voluntary organized team activities. Brock Bowers serves as a TE1-road block for Mayer in fantasy, but given Mayer’s reported progress, he can be considered as a contrarian, late-round best ball option at this time. He has a chance to operate as the Raiders’ No. 4 pass catcher behind Bowers, Jakobi Meyers and Ashton Jeanty.

Perhaps more notable is that McFadden also adds that rookie fourth-rounder Dont’e Thornton “has spent a good amount of time with the first-team offense.” Bech was drafted 58th overall by the Raiders this offseason after finally breaking out in his fourth collegiate season, and second with TCU. Thornton, who was selected 108th overall, brings tremendous size (6-foot-5) to the offense, and per McFadden, is expected “to provide vertical juice to the offense.” It’s only minicamp, but Thornton playing ahead of Bech is still notable given the draft capital between the two. While Bech could eventually earn more first team reps, his late college breakout that was precluded by three forgettable seasons may have foreshadowed a player who will need some time to acclimate to the pro game.

We wouldn’t read too much into this just yet. While Carroll appears open to using multiple backs in his offense, it’s worth pointing out that during his two years coaching Kenneth Walker in Seattle (2022-2023), Walker enjoyed a 31 percent opportunity share while handling 61 percent of the team’s rush attempts — which ranked fifth-highest among running backs over that span. Jeanty is a legitimate three-down back sharing the field with 33-year-old Raheem Mostert and the underperforming duo of Zamir White and Sincere McCormick. While other backs will undoubtedly see work behind Jeanty, the rookie has appeared to live up to the hype in OTAs and mandatory minicamp, and should be in line for a high-end RB1 role as far as fantasy is concerned.

Per NFL Network’s Tom Pelissero, Pratt’s deal includes another $500K in incentives. Pratt was expected to be a cap casualty for the Bengals and requested a trade. Nothing materialized and Cincy cut him earlier this week. Pratt started all 17 games for the Bengals last year. He played nearly every snap on defense and led the team with 143 combined tackles. Pratt is a safe bet to start for the Raiders this season.

Kelly, entering his first year as Vegas’ OC, has moved Jakobi Meyers and rookie Jack Bech from the outside to the slot in early practices. This suggests both receivers — along with Brock Bowers — could see varied use in what is expected to be a run-first Kelly offense. Meyers in his two years with the Raiders has played from the slot at a 31 percent rate, way down from his days in New England, which saw Meyers operate from the slot on two-thirds of his routes. Bech during his breakout 2024 season at TCU ran 27 percent of his routes from the slot. In 2024, Meyers ranked 40th out of 66 qualifying receivers in yards per route run from the slot, a key measure of pass-catching efficiency. That’s bound to rise with Geno Smith under center for Vegas in 2025.

That’s a good sign for tight end Brock Bowers, who was selected first-team All-Pro as a rookie last season. In 2024, Bowers set an NFL rookie record for most receptions. He also established a new league benchmark for receiving yards by a rookie tight end (1,194), eclipsing the former record set by Hall of Famer Mike Ditka in 1961. Kelly also spoke about the possibility of playing both Bowers and fellow tight end Michael Mayer at the same time. The newest addition to the Raiders’ offense is running back Ashton Jeanty, who was the sixth overall pick in last month’s NFL Draft. “Ashton is talented a back ... as I’ve seen,” said Kelly during Thursday’s media session. “His ability to sustain runs after contact ... is a rare quality.”

Per Jordan Schultz, Cole will take home $11 million in guarantees and $15.8 million on the new contract. Las Vegas’ stalwart punter collected two first-team All-Pro awards in 2021 and 2023 under his old contract, and is now 36th among punters on pro-football-reference’s Hall of Fame monitor. Eat your heart out, Britton Colquitt.