Tight end has been a tough position to figure in fantasy football this year. Jimmy Graham was getting thoroughly outplayed by Julius Thomas early on – and then was banged up for a few weeks. Rob Gronkowski started slow but is playing out of his mind right now like the Gronk of old. Jordan Cameron has regressed in the Kyle Shanahan offense and has now been badly concussed in the Factory of Sadness. Significant injuries to Kyle Rudolph and Tyler Eifert have stopped both from having breakout seasons. You know it’s a whacky year for tight ends when Delanie Walker is a Top 10 fantasy TE in an offense that has featured Jake Locker, Clipboard Jesus and rookie Zach Mettenberger under center. Week 10 will be especially rough. Gronk, Antonio Gates and Dwayne Allen are all on a bye.

I introduce you to unheralded Oakland Raiders tight end Mychal Rivera.

There’s no denying the fact that the Oakland Raiders have been an absolute train wreck from top to bottom this year. The front office under General Manager Reggie Mackenzie dipped into the seniors section of the free agency pool and signed the All-Pro team of 2010 in the spring of 2014. In doing so, it also somehow managed to blow the entirety of a league-leading amount of cap space.

The Raiders defense is hemorrhaging points every week, the run game is dogshit practically nonexistent (the Raiders are dead-last in the league for rushing), and the team fired its head coach within the first four weeks of the season. One of the lone bright spots has been that the Raiders passing game seems to at least have some life to it under offensive coordinator Greg Olson with rookie Derek Carr under center.

The Raiders still lack a decent running back and a No. 1 wide receiver, but there are some pieces to get excited about if they can fill major holes in the 2015 Draft. Carr has been the best rookie quarterback this year (helped no doubt by Bucs castoff Donald Penn and Carr’s fellow RosterWatch 2014 All-Senior Bowl Roster member, guard Gabe Jackson). Carr has been sacked only 9 times through 8 games (tied with Peyton Manning for the best pass protection in the league).

Carr has as many touchdown passes (11) as a Lions quarterback named Matthew Stafford as well as Andy Dalton and Cam Newton. Wide receiver Andre Holmes looks like he could be a long-term role player as a deep threat and the Raiders are still trying to see what they have in Kenbrell Thompkins, formerly of the New England Patriots and the Miami-Dade Criminal Corrections Department.

Mychal Rivera came into college football signing with the Oregon Ducks in 2008 but decided to transfer due to being stuck behind Ed Dickson and asked to move to the offensive line. He played JUCO ball at College of the Canyons (Jason Pierre-Paul played there also) in 2009 before committing to Tennessee in 2010. In 2012, he broke Jason Witten’s regular season school record for the Vols with 562 yards receiving. He was drafted in the 6th round of the 2013 draft by the Raiders. Rivera had a decent rookie season with 38 receptions, 407 yards and 4 TDs.

The 2014 season has been somewhat disappointing for him up until week 8. Against Cleveland, he was targeted nine times and against Seattle he was targeted 11 times. Over the past two weeks he’s gained 121 yards receiving and grabbed two touchdowns (both against Seattle). I don’t think he’ll burst onto the scene as some revelation but I like his prospects moving forward. Reggie McKenzie is surely prodding his coaching staff to start featuring players he’s drafted in order cool the hot seat.

Let’s take a look at the positives and negatives for Mychal Rivera while considering his fantasy value in Week 10 versus the Denver Broncos.

On this play, quarterback Derek Carr rolls out to his left on play action and thanks to excellent play design and execution, Rivera is wide open for an easy touchdown.

Positives

– Physicality: He’s not afraid to go over the middle as evidenced by his first touchdown against Seattle in the back of the end zone. Despite his limited size, he’ll box out defenders to make tough catches. He’s not on the level of a Matt Spaeth as a blocker but it’s not from lack of effort. He’s good enough not to be taken off the field on running downs. He can get overpowered but does well in movement. He’s previously lined up as an in-line tight end and at H-back.

– Awareness: He’s got great football IQ and awareness for a second-year player. He understands the Raiders offensive scheme and knows his blocking responsibilities. He also has a great feel for down and distance. Rivera did a great job Sunday looking for the holes in zone coverage and being aware of where he was in relation to the back of the end zone. The guy just doesn’t make too many mental mistakes.

– Route Running: Rivera is a crisp route runner who can run virtually the entire route tree. He’s deceptive in his routes and does great work on play action. He has great change of direction and short area quickness for a guy his size. He can sink his hips and drive coming out of his breaks.

– Quarterback Play: While it hasn’t shown up in the goose-egg win column, Derek Carr has played quite well as a rookie. He’s got a big arm and has shown he’s not afraid to attack defenses and try and fit the ball into tight windows. He’s also shown he isn’t scared to trust his receiving weapons to make big plays when he throws it up for them into contested areas. Rivera did good work as a rookie getting thrown to from the likes of Matt Flynn, Matt McGloin, and Terrelle Pryor. I think with Carr under center he has the chance to be reliable and good but probably not spectacular. Offensive coordinator Greg Olson is working to help Carr with a lot of movement and play action which really favors Rivera (both his touchdowns in week 9 were off play action).

– The Matchup (Garbage Time): The Broncos are giving up the 7th most fantasy points in the league to tight ends and a great matchup on the RosterWatch Matchup Tool. Conversely, they are giving up the 10th-fewest points to wide receivers. Andre Holmes and James Jones might be in for a long day, but Rivera could do some good work between the hashmarks. T.J. Ward is a hammer in the run game but he’s lacking in coverage skills. Rob Gronkowski wrecked Denver’s defense; Rivera is no Gronk but he is a physical tight end who could expose them. Additionally, it’s almost a given that Peyton Manning is going to drop about 30 points on Oakland’s sorry defense in the first half. The Raiders are going to be playing catch-up and the current coaching staff as led by Tony Sparano has shown no fear in letting Derek Carr sling the rock in garbage time. Rivera’s second touchdown came when the game was practically unwinnable. Garbage time fantasy points are still fantasy points.

Carr throws a quick pass to the back of the end zone. Rivera was close to being out of bounds on this one.

Negatives

– Size/Hands: He’s not a particularly big guy for a tight end at 6’3” and 242 pounds. He doesn’t have great arm length and has to make up for his limited catch radius with his excellent body control. He didn’t have any issues with drops at Tennessee but he’s had a few in the NFL that have been concerning. He at least catches away from his body.

– Inconsistency: He was a relative non-factor for the first seven weeks of the season. He saw a grand total of 23 targets in weeks 1-7 compared to the 20 targets seen in the last two weeks. His only two touchdowns of this season were caught last week. The coaching staff and Carr have gained a lot of trust in him but it’s tough to project how many targets he gets this week.

– Limited athleticism: He doesn’t have good top end speed. Doesn’t have much burst off the line. Doesn’t have enough speed to gain consistent separation. Leaping ability isn’t what you would hope for in order to out jump smaller secondary players. Not going to wow you with his measurables.

DECLASSIFIED: Mychal Rivera’s Week 10 Fantasy Outlook

It’s hard to tell if you’re going to see the Rivera of the first seven weeks of the season or the Rivera from the last two weeks; I’m leaning towards the latter. He’s a smart, crafty player that doesn’t rely on his athleticism and that can often lend itself to consistent performance week-to-week, especially for tight ends (see Heath Miller).

The Raiders are going to have to throw due to a God-awful running game, but the Raider receivers have been inconsistent. If you’re a Gronk, Gates, or Allen owner, Rivera could be a good pickup in a favorable matchup, especially in deeper leagues. His value is higher in PPR leagues. I don’t see him as a big factor in dynasty leagues because what we saw last week is basically his ceiling.

He’s a solid TE2 who might perform closer to a fringe TE1 this week or as a decent flex option if you’re shorthanded. All factors considered, I would expect Rivera to grab five balls, gain around 60 yards receiving and probably another red zone touchdown in Week 10 versus the Broncos.