With the Raiders' season mostly a formality at this point, we're all left to find our own way through the last five games of the season. Some people may keep rooting for wins (fair) and some people may just give up entirely and forget they're still playing (even more fair). Me? I'm going to turn into the most insufferable Brock Bowers contrarian. It ain't much, but it's honest work.
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You see, Bowers should be the rookie of the year. It's not even all that close. The NFL's Rookie of the Year award has become, like the Heisman Trophy, mostly a prize for quarterbacks – three of the last five winners have been QBs. This year feels destined to see another QB win it, if only because this looks like a historically good rookie QB class.
But that's a bummer, because Bowers has been considerably better than Jayden Daniels, Caleb Williams, Drake Maye, and Bo Nix. In fact, Bowers has been better than most of the players at in football, regardless of position or draft class. And this Raiders season deserves one (1) nice thing. So here are three reasons why Brock Bowers should win the award he definitely isn't going to.
3 reasons Raiders' Brock Bowers deserves OROY hype over Bo Nix
1. He's maybe the best tight end in football?
Of all the tight ends in the NFL – yes, even Travis Kelce – Bowers has them beat in receptions (84), receiving yards (884), targets (113), and receiving yards per game (73.7). He's been the best tight end in football, basically all season. Nix, on the other hand, is having a very nice season that's put him on pace to finish in the middle of the QB pack. They both exceeded expectations in their first season, but Bowers has objectively cleared a much higher bar.
2. He's maybe one of the best receivers in football too?
Here are some of the things Bowers has done simply as a catcher of the football, regardless of his technical position: set a rookie reception record against the Dolphins (13 catches), is one of three players to ever record 65 catches in their first 10 games, and has already set multiple Raiders' franchise reception records. Bowers isn't just having a good season by a rookie tight end's standards – he's having an all-time great season for any pass catcher. Transcendent tight ends may not be as wholly impactful as transcendent QBs, but they're almost as rare – especially right off the bat.
3. I'll never admit the Broncos deserve something good
It simply won't happen. Nix looks good, and in hindsight a lot of people should have probably had a little more trust in Sean Payton, as disgusting as that sentence is to write out loud. But the Broncos are annoying, and their crusade to go over the top on Nix praise is understandably insufferable. They dont' deserve this award, because they have their franchise QB already. That's enough of an award. In fact, the entire division is set: Nix looks like the guy, the Chargers and Harbaugh are going to do some things, and the Chiefs are the Chiefs. The Raiders deserve to have one nice thing happen this year, and Bowers being the first tight end in modern history to win a pointless award feels appropriate for the occasion.