The Raiders’ wide-open training camp battle at tight end is barely underway, but Brandon Myers has the early edge.
“I think he’s kind of worked himself into the No. 1 guy,” Raiders coach Dennis Allen said after practice Monday. “But I don’t know – that depth chart is constantly changing. He’s the No. 1 right now, but two weeks down the road we’ll see where he’s at.”
Richard Gordon and David Ausberry, a pair of second year pros, are also in the running. Tory Humphrey, a former Packer and Saint, is another option. But Myers, in his fourth season with the Raiders, has the advantage in large part because of his consistency.
“From a receiving standpoint, that’s probably where he’s a little bit more advanced as far as knowing what to do and where to be,” Allen said. “We have to continue to work with him on the physical part of the game and the run blocking. Again, I’ve said this all along, with the tight ends that we have, we’ve got some versatility and each guy has a skill set that we plan on trying to use.”
In a cost-cutting move, the Raiders released starting tight end Kevin Boss five months ago. Myers, who started 12 games as a Raider, worked with the first team throughout the offseason.
“I think as a player you’ve always got to think you’re the starter,” Myers said. “Even in years past I thought that, prepared that way. If someone goes down, something like that, you’re always prepared. That’s kind of the approach that I’ve taken.”
When the Raiders drafted Myers in 2009 in the sixth round out of Iowa, they targeted him for a role as a blocking tight end and backup to starter Zach Miller.
“I was deemed the blocking tight end,” Myers said. “It’s funny because my friends back home are like, ‘You know, you’ve always been able to catch it a little bit.’ It’s been a slow progression. Coming into college I was 220, 215 (pounds), so it’s taken some time, but I’ve just tried to be all-around. You see a lot of teams going with specialty guys, but I try to pride myself on being able to do both and not taking me off the field for certain situations.”
Myers knows better than to take anything for granted. A year ago after Miller signed as a free agent with Seattle, Myers appeared in line for the starting job. But Miller had barely signed his new contract when the Raiders signed Boss, a former Giant.
Gordon is the team’s most physical tight end and, according to Allen, its best blocker in the group. Ausberry, who played wide receiver at USC, is a solid receiver but is still learning how to block.
“I think we all bring a different style to the table,” Ausberry said. “Brandon’s our most veteran guy, so that’s our guy. He does a lot of both, run-blocking and pass (receiving). Rich is our enforcer. That’s our big dog down there, so he does a lot of the blocking. And I do some of the receiving. So we’ve all got to take each thing from each other and feed off each other.”
Follow Raiders reporter Eric Gilmore on Twitter: @CBSSportsNFLOAK
