The Las Vegas Raiders lucked into landing tight end Brock Bowers in the first round of the 2024 NFL Draft. Now, the Raiders must focus on figuring out the best way to implement Bowers into their offense.
Not many NFL Draft pundits expected Bowers to be available at Las Vegas' No. 13 selection. But when he was, the Raiders took a best player available approach. As offensive coordinator Luke Getsy prepares to implement Bowers in his offense, he stated exactly why the Raiders made the perfect pick during a Tuesday press conference, h/t Myles Simmons of Pro Football Talk.
“Brock's a unique guy,” Getsy said. “I think it's been said here plenty of times, he was probably the best player in the SEC for sometime while he was there, and he won a bunch of games. Anytime you can bring that type of caliber player into your organization, you're going to get better.”
“And then you match him, and you pair him with the talent we already have here, I think that just makes you more dynamic,” Getsy continued. “This league is about finding as many dynamic guys as you can get on your team. I mean, that's the goal.”
“As you see the construction of all these teams in the league, everyone's trying to find those dynamic differences,” Getsy concluded. “And I think he's just one of those elements that gives us an opportunity to do a bunch of different things.”
The main reason Las Vegas' selection of Bowers was so unexpected was due to Michael Mayer already being on the roster. The Raiders selected him with a second-round pick in the 2023 NFL Draft. They even traded up to land him.
But Mayer's rookie season was marred by injury. He did end up starting 12 games, but he caught just 27 passes for 304 yards and two touchdowns. Still, the Raiders remain high on Mayer. Selecting Bowers is not an indictment of Mayer's ineffectiveness.
Instead, it was a way to completely revision Las Vegas' offense. Now with two up-and-coming athletes, the Raiders can run more two tight ends sets or mix-and-match based on opposing defenses. Getsy doesn't view it as overkill, rather a surplus of riches.
The Raiders will have all offseason to figure out how to use both Mayer and Bowers together. But when it comes to the latter, Getsy is already seeing stars.
What Brock Bowers brings to Raiders
Entering the 2024 NFL Draft, Brock Bowers was widely considered the best tight end available. With some mocks having him as high as into the top 10, it seemed unanimous that he wouldn't make it past the first half of the first round. Las Vegas made sure that prophecy was foretold.
Bowers appeared in 40 games over his three years with Georgia, catching 175 passes for 2,538 yards and 26 touchdowns. He broke onto the scene as a freshman, making 56 receptions for 882 yards and 13 touchdowns. While his 13 TDs remained a career-high – and set a Georgia all-time record for touchdown receptions in a season – Bowers broke his career-best yardage with 942 in 2022.
When his time with the Bulldogs came to an end, Bowers excited with plenty of accolades. As a team, he helped Georgia win two National Championships. Individually, Bowers is a two-time John Mackey Award winner and a three-time All-SEC nominee. He was named a Unanimous All-American in 2023.
Coming off an 8-9 season, the Raiders are looking to find the right pieces to get themselves into the playoffs. While some might call Brock Bowers a luxury pick, Luke Getsy think he's the right player to get Las Vegas closer to their goals.
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