THE APEX TIMES
As Las Vegas begins settling into a second full offseason under offensive-minded head coach Klint Kubiak, the organization is highlighting the position coaches shaping the Raiders’ tight end room, starting with Luke Steckel.
The Raiders are putting Luke Steckel in focus. In a new Q&A posted by, the team introduced its tight ends coach and framed him as a key part of the staff continuity under head coach Klint Kubiak, with Steckel entering his third season in Las Vegas.
According to the team’s release, Steckel is one of the few coaches retained by Kubiak. That matters because position-coach stability is often the difference between simple playbook installs and deeper, repeatable development work, particularly for tight ends who have to learn multiple roles across the passing game and execute varied blocking assignments week to week.
said it plans to publish additional Q&As over the next few weeks with other position coaches as part of its ongoing “Silver and Black” series. The Steckel profile is the first installment focused specifically on tight ends, a group whose responsibilities can change quickly depending on formation, personnel packages, and quarterback tendencies.
Steckel’s job, in practical terms, sits at the intersection of the Raiders’ offensive identity and the weekly execution details that show up in film sessions. Tight ends are coached on route running and timing, but they are also coached to be dependable in the run game, where leverage, pad level, and assignment recognition can determine whether an inside run hits its intended crease.
Even without getting into specific drills or player-by-player plans in the release, the structure of a position-coach Q&A indicates how the Raiders intend to measure progress. Tight ends are commonly evaluated on how cleanly they transition between catching windows and blocking angles, how consistently they understand coverage shells, and how quickly they apply corrections. With Steckel retained, that coaching continuity becomes part of the team’s offseason baseline.
The broader backdrop is that Kubiak’s staff is now past its first adjustment phase. The release’s emphasis on retained coaching personnel points to a team trying to build a cohesive routine, rather than continually re-teaching fundamentals across seasons. For a tight ends coach, that routine is often built through repeated offseason work and a standardized teaching approach that carries from early OTAs into training camp.
Looking ahead, the Raiders’ next position-coach Q&As will help clarify whether the tight ends emphasis is matched by other parts of the offensive staff, such as route-coordination teaching and blocking schemes used across the front and back halves of the formation. For fans watching the Raiders’ passing game, Steckel’s profile sets the stage for how the tight end group could be deployed, and for coaches, it suggests the organization wants tight ends to be a consistent extension of the offense’s core indicates.
In the coming weeks, the key question will be how the Raiders translate staff continuity into tangible on-field growth. For now, the only firm specifics are Steckel’s role, his entering third season with the team, and his retention as part of Kubiak’s staff. Everything beyond that will be tested as camp brings more visibility to the Raiders’ offensive execution.