Brock Bowers was drafted No. 13 overall by the Las Vegas Raiders last year. It was the sixth-highest spot a tight end has been taken in the NFL draft since 2000. But Bowers was more than worth the price of admission for a sorry Raiders team in 2024.
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Bowers was a monster in his first year in the NFL, despite the fact he was catching passes from three different (and equally mediocre) QBs while trying to carry a bottom-five offense. The former Georgia standout recorded a rookie record 112 receptions, and his 1,194 receiving yards set another rookie record for a tight end.
And to hear him tell it, he’s learned from the best. While doing an interview with Will Compton and Taylor Lewan for their popular podcast, Bussin’ With The Boys during Tight End Week, Bowers talked about the guys at the position he watched and looked up to the most when he was growing up.
“In high school, [I was] watching [George] Kittle and [Travis] Kelce, they’ve been around a while. It’s pretty cool to get to know them and kinda be a part of this now. But growing up, when I was little, I loved watching [Rob] Gronk[owski]. I remember watching him on TV. It was awesome,” Bowers said.
Not a bad trio to be modelling your game after. But he may already be past that stage. In fact, with Travis Kelce and George Kittle on their last legs and Rob Gronkowski already retired, Bowers is poised to be the best of the bunch in 2025.
Bowers isn’t just watching them because it’s fun (which it is). He’s doing it to figure out what made each of them great and to incorporate that into his massive skill set. At 6’4″, 230 pounds with 4.5-second 40-yard speed, there’s not much this guy can’t do. He just needs to be set on the right path, and this is one way to do that.
“Kittle, he’s nasty when he’s blocking, and he’s a really good blocker, I think. And just effort-wise, too downfield. He’s awesome to watch play. And then Kelce, just getting open, filling voids. He does such a good job of that, like filling open space and getting open. And then Gronk, I mean, running after the catch, it’s pretty fun to watch him.”
Brock Bowers was already a First-Team All-Pro as a rookie, one of just four tight ends ever to achieve that. Now, imagine adding George Kittle’s effort and tenacity in blocking, Travis Kelce’s spatial awareness and feel for the game, and Rob Gronkowski’s bowling-ball ability for yards after the catch.
With a quality QB in Geno Smith now throwing him passes, Bowers could very well take such a leap.
