There's not a lot that anyone can take away from two weeks of football, but I feel comfortable calling at least a little bit of a shot: Brock Bowers looks like a Dude. While a lot of highly-rated tight ends take a couple years to find their footing in the NFL, Bowers has wasted no time putting up huge numbers in his rookie year.
Through two games, Bowers has 15 catches for 156 yards, though he's still looking for his first NFL touchdown. That level of production is the best from a Raiders tight end in over 50 years, and his performance against the Ravens specifically caught the eye of Antonio Pierce, who singled him out – in a good way – by name after the win.
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He's not the only one in the Raiders organization who's praising Bowers, either. While talking on Kay Adams' show this week, Davante Adams and Rob Gronkowski detailed what kind of tight end Bowers reminds him of. I want to warn you, your expectations for Bowers will never be the same after this. If you're one of those people who prefers to stay realistic and cautioned, perhaps this is where you stop. But if you're a little sicko who loves getting ahead of themselves and making huge claims with no plans to back it up, let's ride.
Davante Adams and Gronk both have high praise for Brock Bowers
the HIGHEST praise for @Raiders rookie Brock Bowers. Wow. @brockbowers17 @RobGronkowski @tae15adams pic.twitter.com/jDuUntgb3u
— Kay Adams (@heykayadams) September 17, 2024
"Brock Bowers, I was a big fan of him when he was with Georgia," Gronk said. "The guy's a winner, the guy's a playmaker whenever the ball's thrown to him. I love his explosiveness after the catch. I feel like he's on track to be better than myself. I don't think he can dominate in the trenches the way I dominated in the trenches, but overall, just as a pass-catching tight end, I think he can surpass me in many situations."
So ... do we actually, officially, legitimately have a real contender for the 'Baby Gronk' nickname? Is Bowers the Pass Catcher That Was Promised? And yeah, it's not like Gronk's going to go on the show and talk about how much worse Bowers is than him, but also, it's Gronk – so he might! Seeing two of the best pass catchers in NFL history both heaping praise on a Raiders rookie definitely won't warp expectations. Nothing bad can come from this. Brock Bowers is already an all-time great tight end and we're all going to live forever!!!