Zach

Miller

It’s not a good landing spot for Miller’s fantasy value, but the Seahawks will have a nice foundation in place for Andrew Luck or Matt Barkley next year. Miller is four seasons into the league, but only 25 years old and already one of the top all-around tight ends in football. (New No. 1 receiver Sidney Rice is also only 25.) Though he lacks elite speed, Miller has a knack for getting open and his team loses nothing when he’s on the line to block. The move raises doubt about the future of John Carlson in Seattle. Carlson is in the last year of his deal and may go on the trade block.

It’d be one of the best rookie tight end performances in history. Miller is expected to start but isn’t a great bet to catch more than 35 balls on a poor passing offense. He’s also unlikely to be a seam stretcher right away.

The Raiders seem to believe Miller, an early entrant from Arizona State, will be a major contributor right away. While his speed is suspect, Miller has all the tools to be an effective long-term starter. He could be worth a pickup during the season and is worth tabbing late as a TE2 in deep leagues.

JaMarcus Russell was locked into his rookie teammate. While Miller doesn’t have great speed, he understands route running and has excellent hands. He finishes with with 442 yards and should improve next year, making him draftable.

Miller indicated that he is about a month away from getting back on the field, which means his participation in June OTAs is in danger. It’s not known exactly when Miller had the surgery, so it’s hard to say for sure if he will be at full health in time for training camp.

These injuries tend to act up even after surgery, so Miller will still be worth keeping an eye on in training camp. If healthy, Miller is a strong bet to lead Oakland in receptions again and finish as a top-ten fantasy tight end.

Myers is viewed as a “block-and-release player” in two-tight end sets. Miller could line up in the slot more and be a matchup weapon versus safeties and linebackers. He’s bound to improve on his 2008 numbers (56/778/1).

“They were paying extra attention to me, a little bit of bracket coverage, making sure a guy was trying to jam me or wall me,” he said. “They made sure that I wasn’t too involved.” Keep Miller going vs. Denver in Week 3, but defenses could double him often if Oakland’s wideouts and QB don’t step up.

The head injury wasn’t severe. Miller still hasn’t come close to equaling his 96-yard effort from Week 1 and is on pace to haul in just 44 catches for 584 yards on the season. Blame the Raiders’ offense, not Miller’s ability.

The severity of concussions can vary, and the extent of Miller’s is unknown. His status for Week 5 against the Giants is also uncertain. Miller’s absence would theoretically hurt Oakland’s passing game because he’s often the No. 1 option, but the Raiders couldn’t possibly be worse (we hope).