Oakland Raiders TE Zach Miller key to offense

Zach Miller is once again going to be the focal point of the Raiders passing offense. Thus far in training camp he has done what has made him the leading receiver for the Silver and Black for the last two years–catch everything thrown his way.

In today’s morning session, Miller was the man on the spot. Including beating linebacker Trevor Scott to pull in a pass, and on another one he lost defender Mike Mitchell on a crossing pattern and could have taken it the distance.

This is just typical of what he has done throughout the drills thus far in camp, he simply makes the catch when the ball is anywhere near him. The expectation is that he is going to be a bigger threat for the Raiders in the redzone that he has been in the past. In his three years with the Raiders, Miller only has seven touchdowns against 166 catches, and two of those touchdowns were over 50 yard catch and runs. (63 yard in 2008 yard and 86 in 2009)

Inexplicably, as he has emerged as the Raiders most reliable receiver, he has not been used as a red zone threat. That is usually where a quality tight end becomes a lethal weapon, a la Tony Gonzalez in his prime with the Chiefs or Antonio Gates in San Diego.

As it stands, Miller is one of the top young tight ends in the NFL, and if the Raiders offense can raise their stats to simply average, he will likely get his first Pro Bowl nod.