Despite having several other glaring needs, the Las Vegas Raiders surprised the league and took tight end Brock Bowers with the No. 13 overall pick in the 2024 NFL Draft. He silenced all doubters of the pick during his rookie campaign, as his 112 catches and 1,194 yards were the most by a rookie tight end in league history.
While tight end is typically one of the hardest positions to learn as a young player, Bowers came in and learned the entire offense from passing routes to both run and pass blocking schemes. Commonly, a rookie will sacrifice one facet of the game or another, and that is what happened for the Georgia product last season.
Bowers' Pro Football Focus blocking grades last season were lackluster, as he mustered just a 56.1 run blocking grade and a 51.6 pass blocking grade. Some of that is rooted in how he was deployed, with him primarily being in the slot or out wide instead of as a traditional tight end. There is certainly room for Bowers to become a better blocker next year, however.
PFF shows path for Brock Bowers to become NFL's best TE
Pro Football Focus' Dalton Wasserman named one player at each position who could become the best in the NFL next year, and Bowers was the easy choice at tight end.
"It might seem unusual to include the league leader in receptions and yards among tight ends on a list of breakout candidates, but Brock Bowers still has room to grow," Wasserman stated. "He finished third behind George Kittle and Trey McBride in both overall grade and receiving grade last season. Of course, Kittle and McBride are more complete blockers and play very different roles in their respective offenses."
While it may be true that Kittle and McBride are better blockers and have different roles, both had early struggles in their careers before becoming the blockers they are now. McBride's run blocking grade as a rookie in 2022 was 46.3, while Kittle's pass blocking grade as a rookie in 2017 was 50.7.
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Wasserman also provided another challenge for Bowers, but gives a strong reason as to why he could be up to the task.
"For Bowers to be considered the best tight end in the NFL, he’ll need to clearly establish himself as the top receiving option at the position, much like Travis Kelce did for years in Kansas City" Wasserman wrote. "He has a real opportunity to do that in 2025, with a significantly improved Raiders offense. Bowers set records last season despite the team ranking 31st in passing grade. With Geno Smith, who ranked eighth in passing grade last year, now under center, Las Vegas should feature a more balanced, efficient attack that allows Bowers to take another leap forward."
Bowers can easily take a notable step as a blocker in his second season, and his prowess as a pass-catcher can only better this year with improved quarterback play. He is also on an upward trajectory while others are aging or settling in at their baseline, so Bowers has a clear path to assert himself as the NFL's best tight end this season. If he does, it might be a while until he is dethroned.