The Oakland Raiders are looking for a tight end, and, according to Jason Jones, the team is working out Kevin Boss of the New York Giants. The Raiders, who had gotten steady production out of tight end Zach Miller for the past four seasons, are looking to fill a void created by his departure to the Seattle Seahawks.
The 27-year-old Boss, like Miller, is a four-year veteran and has spent his entire NFL career with only one team. In New York, Boss has posted between 400 and 550 yards in each of the last three years while Miller has posted between 700 and 800 yards. Miller, however, has averaged just a shade over 60 catches per season while Boss has averaged about 37 catches each season. If you look at the yards-per-catch stats, Boss has been more efficient in both of the past two seasons (13.5 vs. 12.2 in 2009, 5.2 vs. 11.4 in 2010).
In comparison to Miller, who led the Raiders in receiving yards last season with 685 yards, Boss played a relatively minor role in the Giants' offense last year. Boss played behind the likes of Hakeem Nicks and Mario Manningham, two players who put up about 1,000 yards each (Nicks had 1,024 yards before getting injured while Manningham had 944 yards). Perhaps all Boss needs is a change of scenery and a chance to become a No. 1 target in order to produce big numbers.