The Las Vegas Raiders hired head coach Klint Kubiak to help elevate the offense to the next level after an abysmal few years. During his time as an offensive coordinator, his offenses have been wildly successful, culminating last year in a Super Bowl victory with the Seattle Seahawks.
One of his biggest projects for this season is to maximize superstar tight end Brock Bowers. Even when he dealt with injuries last year, Bowers posted a career-high in touchdowns. The two-time Pro Bowler is known to be fully healthy and ready to regain his crown as the best tight end in football.
Kubiak already called Bowers a "football robot from heaven," understanding his unique ability on the football field. However, Kubiak has no history of targeting tight ends. He hasn’t had a tight end record over 600 receiving yards during his three stints as an offensive coordinator.
So that means that Kubiak could need to adjust if he wants to maximize the Raiders' best pass-catching weapon, wading into uncharted waters for him as a play-caller.
Brock Bowers' diversity makes Las Vegas Raiders and Klint Kubiak's life easier
Bowers has lined up all over the field during his first two NFL seasons. According to PFF, that split comes out to 52% in the slot, 18% out wide and 29% inline. That is incredible diversity for a tight end, and his being a mismatch no matter how a defensive coordinator slices it has led to tons of success.
With Kubiak calling the shots, fans should see Bowers set up more inline than ever before. Seahawks tight end AJ Barner was inline for 80% of his snaps last season, for example, but was still able to produce seven touchdowns during the year. Bowers is much better than Barner, so just imagine.
The flip side of the coin is that Kubiak does excel at adapting to what his players do best. Everything he did before with tight ends may change dramatically now that Bowers, a true wild card, is at his disposal. So, perhaps Bowers does continue his work from both the slot position and out wide.
What this can do is help create easy matchups for Bowers against safeties and linebackers. Bowers is nearly unguardable from the slot, and with a play-caller like Kubiak who understands how to attack coverages, it could be quite the show for Raider Nation and the third-year pro.
Of course, Bowers will be used inline in more creative ways as well. With the emphasis on play-action passing from this offense, there are a ton of West Coast offense plays that are beautifully designed for the tight end position. Bowers should be expected to massively benefit from that.
In the end, Kubiak has the pedigree and track record of ensuring his best players are used properly. It shouldn’t be any different with Bowers, who is one of the best tight ends in football. It should be fireworks all over Las Vegas when the former Georgia tight end hits the field in 2026.
Add us as a preferred source on Google