Mychal Rashawn Rivera (born September 8, 1990) is an American former professional football tight end.
He played college football for the Tennessee Volunteers and was selected by the Oakland Raiders in the sixth round of the 2013 NFL draft.
Though he lived in Valencia, California, he played high school football for Birmingham High School in Lake Balboa, where he caught 21 passes for 210 yards and 3 touchdowns as a senior in 2007 to help lead the Patriots to a 13–1 record and the West Valley League championship.
[3] After he was asked to move to offensive line by Ducks coach Chip Kelly he requested and received a release from his scholarship.
[1] In January 2010, Rivera committed to the Tennessee Volunteers, having been drawn to the school by the emphasis on tight ends in the offensive scheme of newly hired head coach Derek Dooley.
[14] Rivera suffered a concussion following a helmet-to-helmet hit by Michael Griffin in the Raiders' loss to the Tennessee Titans on November 24, 2013.
[16] Rivera began his second season as the starting tight end but shared the role throughout the year with David Ausberry.
On November 2, 2014, Rivera finished a loss to the Seattle Seahawks with a career-high 8 receptions for 38 receiving yards and caught his first two touchdown passes of the season from rookie quarterback Derek Carr.
[19] On December 7, 2014, Rivera caught 7 passes for a career-high 109 receiving yards and a touchdown against the San Francisco 49ers.
On November 15, 2015, he had one of his best games of the season when he caught a season-high six passes for 46 receiving yards during a 14–30 loss to the Minnesota Vikings.
[23] During a Week 14 victory over the eventual Super Bowl 50 Champion Denver Broncos, he caught 3 passes for a season-high 49 receiving yards as well as his only touchdown of the season.
His older sister was actress and singer Naya Rivera (1987–2020), best known for her role as Santana Lopez on Glee.