After selecting tight end Michael Mayer in the 2023 NFL Draft, who was considered to be one of the best players at his position in that draft class, the last thing the Las Vegas Raiders were expected to do in the first round of the 2024 NFL Draft was take another tight end.
Even though the Raiders had a need at the quarterback position with no telling what the future would hold under center, Las Vegas chose to bring in tight end Brock Bowers out of the University of Georgia after seemingly failing to trade up in the draft to get one of the talented young quarterbacks available at the top of the draft.
Although Bowers was getting a lot of buzz as being one of the best pass-catchers in the draft and, without a doubt, the best tight end in the draft, it was a strange move by the Raiders. However, after the first two games of the 2024 NFL season, the move to bring in Bowers seems right.
Following an impressive win over the Baltimore Ravens in Week 2, with Maxx Crosby stealing the show, Bowers caught nine passes for 98 yards and looked like a savvy veteran rather than a rookie two games into his NFL career.
Superstar wide receiver Davante Adams has been blown away by what he’s seen from Bowers at this point and believes he could be as good as future Hall of Famer Rob Gronkowski in the near future, as he told Kay Adams on Up & Adams.
“He shows some promise of looking like this guy (Rob Gronkowski) that’s on the screen with us right now, honestly,” Adams said of Bowers. “I don’t want to do that to him or downplay what he’s done because he’s one of the best to ever do it, and I totally mean that, but this young player is on a different level for a rookie. I think Baltimore got a chance to feel that a little bit.”
the HIGHEST praise for @Raiders rookie Brock Bowers. Wow. @brockbowers17 @RobGronkowski @tae15adams pic.twitter.com/jDuUntgb3u
— Kay Adams (@heykayadams) September 17, 2024
Comparing a rookie to a four-time Super Bowl champion and arguably the greatest tight end of all time is extremely high praise and something that Adams might regret, but he seems confident enough that the 21-year-old up-and-comer is more than capable of living up to and perhaps exceeding expectations.
It’ll be interesting to see if Bowers can continue to be as productive on the football field as he has been. The rookie tight end has a chance to put on another show this week with the Raiders hosting the lowly Carolina Panthers in their home opener at Allegiant Stadium, where veteran quarterback Gardner Minshew will almost certainly be looking in his direction more often than not on Sunday in Las Vegas.
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