Jarin Vallinas from Maryland asks:
"Who quietly had an amazing camp?"
In my opinion, several Raiders stayed in the limelight during minicamp, including quarterback Geno Smith and rookies Ashton Jeanty and Dont'e Thornton Jr. The new additions made for some explosive plays which have widely circulated across social media platforms.
But from my point of view, there are two players who had exceptional showings that are not being talked about enough.
On the offensive side of the ball, it's Michael Mayer. Going into his third season, he looks confident on the field and is working to create a healthy chemistry with Smith in the intermediate passing game. Mayer caught a few touchdowns throughout camp, showcasing his ability to be a solid red zone option. While Brock Bowers is still a top receiving option in the tight end room, offensive coordinator Chip Kelly has given Mayer more than enough opportunities to shine in 12 personnel formations and even some 3 TE packages with Bowers, Mayer and Ian Thomas.
"I think Mike's been outstanding," Kelly said, "and 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."
On defense, Jeremy Chinn has seemingly been the ultimate chess piece for the Raiders secondary. He plays with a physical style that's complemented Isaiah Pola-Mao. Chinn's ability to force pass breakups with his recovery speed and long arms was a sight to see, as he made plays on some of the team's top offensive weapons consistently.
"Just in terms of his leadership, he's very sure of himself because he puts in the work," Patrick Graham said of Chinn. "Self-confidence comes from preparation; it's not a self-esteem thing or self-talk thing. When you're prepared, you're really, really confident. That's what I see from him. And he's been a sponge in terms of learning how we want to do things, and then all the physical attributes, but all 32 teams know about that. The speed, the size, physicality, ability to tackle, nose for the ball."