If anybody was on the fence about Brock Bowers before Week 11, it's hard to still be on the fence now. The Las Vegas Raiders rookie was the only good thing going for the team in the 34-19 loss to the Miami Dolphins.
Bowers set a rookie tight end record by catching 13 passes while also adding 126 yards and a touchdown. Sports Illustrated ranked the Raiders 31 in their power rankings, but Conor Orr had some interesting insight on the rookie tight end.
"Say this about Scott and Norv Turner: They can get the ball to the tight end," Orr wrote. "Brock Bowers set an NFL record held previously by Mark Bavaro (!!!) for most receptions in a single game by a rookie tight end. After rewatching all of his targets from Sunday I am blown away that nearly all of them were uncontested. I didn’t count a physical defender-in-his-grill snap until the midway point of the fourth quarter. My guess? He’s going to get Gronk treatment—a jam at the line and a devoted defender—from here on out."
Rob Gronkowski had a stretch where he was the best tight end in the NFL and he was treated as such. Defenses never let him run free without extra treatment and Bowers is about to deal with the same thing, especially considering the Raiders don't have any other dangerous weapons on offense.
Bowers should already be getting most of the defensive attention on the Raiders but he's still finding ways to get open. It's possible that he might just be that good. He currently has 70 receptions on the season, which is second in the NFL. He's not just one of the best tight ends, but one of the best pass-catchers in the league right now. Just imagine what he'll look like when the Raiders get a real starting quarterback.