The Las Vegas Raiders had more glaring needs they could have addressed with the 13th overall pick in the 2024 NFL Draft, but going with the best player available worked out nicely. Tight end Brock Bowers had a record-setting rookie season and finished as the No. 1 tight end in fantasy football.
Reasonable expectations for Bowers in Year 2 mean he will not repeat his rookie season, at least in terms of his total yards and catches. But he should easily have better efficiency with Geno Smith as his quarterback, and more touchdowns, to offset some of that natural erosion in catches and yards.
Michael Mayer asserting himself for a role as the No. 2 tight end in the Raiders' new-look offense under Chip Kelly this year should not impact Bowers one bit. He is still the No. 1 option in the passing game, as Kelly will build the attack around Bowers.
'Bold' 2025 fantasy prediction for Brock Bowers lands with an unremarkable thud
Nathan Jahnke of Pro Football Focus recently took a look at the fantasy football landscape and made five bold predictions before the 2025 NFL season begins, including one where he continues to be negative about Bowers.
"Brock Bowers finishes outside of the top two fantasy tight ends."Nathan Jahnke of PFF
This feels like an underwhelming "bold prediction," as finishing No. 3 at his position group would still be an incredible accomplishment. But Jahnke believes that Bowers has fallen a bit in comparison to his peers when it comes to fantasy football.
"I no longer believe you should be considering Bowers in the second round when you can pick (Trey) McBride or (George) Kittle in the third round," Jahnke wrote. "I still think it’s important to land a top-three tight end, given the landscape at the position relative to other positions. This has moved McBride and Kittle up to ensure that you land a top tight end. This is a relatively small change in projected performance, but such changes often lead to significant shifts in the rankings, as the gap between closely ranked players is typically small."
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So, Jahnke thinks Bowers will finish as the third-best tight end in fantasy football this year. Oh, the horror. If he is anywhere in the ballpark of his production from last year for the Raiders in 2025, he will be an incredible asset to the offense, no matter where he ends up ranking.
There's a risk in taking a tight end early in a fantasy draft, and Bowers has been the first tight end off the board in most leagues. He also has more potential question marks, real, imagined or purely theoretical, than Trey McBride and George Kittle.
Saying Bowers will finish outside the top five or 10 fantasy tight ends would actually be a bold take. But props to Jahnke for continuing his bit about how Bowers will be a disappointment to his fantasy managers this year, rooted in how he may only be third-best instead of No. 1.