It’s been just two games, but the hype train is in full steam for Raiders rookie tight end Brock Bowers. The 13th overall pick has burst onto the scene right away, catching 15 passes for 156 yards. Last Sunday in the big win in Baltimore, he had nine catches and just missed hitting triple digits (98 yards). That’s impressive for a rookie tight end’s second game as a pro.
Bowers had one of the most decorated a college careers of any player ever. Over three years at Georgia, he was named All American all three seasons. And he twice won the Mackey Award.
Even still, plenty of decorated college players don’t catch on immediately in the pros. Some don’t catch on at all.
But according to Raiders head coach Antonio Pierce, he knew pretty quick that Bowers was not going to suffer those struggles.
“Yeah, the day he walked in the door. We knew we were getting a blue chipper,” said Pierce of his rookie top pick. “I mean, he did it day one at Georgia, when he walked on campus. And he did it each and every game, each and every year. And he got here in rookie minicamp, and he got pads on at training camp and it was like alright, then we slowed him down a little bit because he was pushing himself. And to be honest, I mean we knew what we got, just didn’t want to speak on it until he did it. Now it’s out there and there’s no hiding it. He’s a really good football player, he’s tough, he loves the game. He doesn’t care how he looks, how he talks, he just wants to play ball, and that fits our mentality.”
Regardless of how good a player is, there’s still sually some acclimation period. When he learns the offense along with getting some chemistry with his quarterback. But in that regard, Gardner Minshew had the same feeling about Bowers as his coach.
“I have to be honest, with Brock [Bowers], he was pretty great the day the showed up,” Minshew said. “That dude has been making plays from day one. So, I mean, to get him in game situations, to have the trust in him has really been easy. He’s earned it the whole time, and it’s really cool to have a guy like that on your team.”
Bowrs’s play thus far has drawn some eye opening praise from future Hall of Fame tight end Rob Gronkowski as well. With the four-time Super Bowl winning tight end suggesting that Bowers could be even better than he was.
Gronk said this while speaking with another potential future Hall of Famer and teammate of Bowers — Davante Adams.
He and Bowers were the two top targets for Minshew when they scored four times in the second half to pull out the win over the Ravens last Sunday. He too saw something in Bowers very early.
“Well it’s hard to know a specific moment that defined when I knew he was ready to go, but I could tell when he first showed up,” Adams said of Bowers. “I did the panel with Maxx [Crosby], Spil [Robert Spillane] and DJ [Turner], we went to talk to the rookies when they first got here. And I could just tell by the way he spoke, and the way he was locked in, it didn’t really seem like he cared about anything other than football. So, when you’ve got those type of dudes that’s young and they come in like that, and just locked in and grow and learn from all the veteran players, you can see something special in him. And obviously, seeing his college tape and everything you could tell he was ready to go.”
So, where do we go from here? The Raiders drafted him to add another weapon to the offense. One that could be a mismatch on linebackers and safeties and take coverage away from the wide receivers or a lighten the box for the run game.
Teams are going to start studying ways to stop Bowers, knowing that he is a go-to receiver and major factor in the Raiders passing attack. So, what happens now that the Raiders lack of surprise in his impact has become what the rest of the league expects as well?
“He’s doing a great job just understanding now not just what we want to do offensively, but I think also what the defense is doing,” Pierce added. “And I think as we start getting into this bad boy even more, I think he’ll understand how teams are going to try to take us away . . . People will now look at you differently. So, I think just how he handles that, but he’s a very, very smart individual. Obviously like I said, he’s a football player, man. It comes very easy to him, and he’s natural on the grass.”
One thing is for sure, it will be exciting to watch his career unfold.
