Mychal Rivera looking to become lead tight end on Jacksonville Jaguars roster

The Jacksonville Jaguars didn’t make any high profile additions to the tight end group this offseason, but Mychal Rivera is looking to become a big part of the offense.

When the Jacksonville Jaguars effectively traded failed free agent signing Julius Thomas to the Miami Dolphins for Brandon Albert (with some 7th round picks involved), it presumably left a fairly big hole at at tight end. With what many touted as an impressive tight end class, it seemed natural the Jaguars would address the position in the draft.

Seven rounds came and went with no tight ends added to the Jacksonville roster.

Curious as it was, the Jaguars stood pat and decided to stick with what they have on the roster. While the usual faces will be a part of the group (Marcedes Lewis and Ben Koyack), one guy who may sneak into the starting lineup is former Oakland Raider Mychal Rivera.

Marcedes Lewis is an important part of the team just on the merits of his leadership, but he’s never been a big producer in the passing game and he’s become less effective as a blocker.

Rivera is still learning the offense but he’s already taking snaps with the first team:

"When the Jaguars return to the field Tuesday for minicamp, Rivera – having already switched from No. 80 to his college No. 81 – will continue to see starter-level snaps in team drills."

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As Pro Football Focus notes, Rivera should see his biggest workload as a pro this year given his under-utilization in Oakland.

"Since Rivera saw 91 passes thrown his way in 2014, the Raiders drastically limited his usage during the following two seasons as he went on to see 44 and 29 targets, respectively."

"Rivera’s career best PFF grade to date of 73.4 came as a rookie in 2013, which he also saw his best receiving grade of 71.5."

While Rivera should have an upper-hand in taking snaps away from the incumbents on the roster, he’ll have to fend off guys like Ben Koyack and Neal Sterling who have hung around as late round picks and want to cement a spot on the team as well.