Brock Bowers is that dude.
The Las Vegas Raiders second-year tight end had a phenomenal record-setting rookie campaign and proved all the draft prognosticators right when they dubbed the 13th overall pick in the 2024 NFL Draft an pro-ready prospect. Hauling in 112 passes for 1,194 yards with five touchdowns, the records, First-Team All-Pro, and Pro Bowl accolades Bowers garnered was simply proof of that.
And at just 22 years old (won’t turn 23 until Dec. 13), the Georgia product still has untapped potential.
Heading into the 2025 season, Bowers now has a legitimate starting quarterback Geno Smith distributing the ball and a creative Chip Kelly at offensive coordinator instead of a duo of mediocrity at signal caller, two offensive coordinators who are no longer calling plays with their new teams.
All of which makes Bowers’ sophomore campaign in Silver & Black all the more tantalizing.
Las Vegas season opener on the road at the New England Patriots this Sunday should feature this: A whole lot of Brock.
By all accounts, the Raiders ran vanilla schemes in all three phases during preseason tilts. And we should see Kelly’s full gamut of play calling starting in Week 1 and beyond. We saw fleeting glimpses of the offensive coordinator’s ability to scheme receiving options open along with varying differences in blocking schemes in the run game.
Expect more variation in alignments, pre-snap motion, and putting his players in the best possible position to succeed by being flexible and not rigid when it comes to Kelly’s philosophy and beliefs.
With an experienced quarterback Smith helming the offense, Las Vegas’ play caller is going to lean on the veteran signal caller both in terms of execution and idealization.
“They’re doing great. I think part of it leads from Geno, because Geno’s been around. He’s played for a lot of coaches, and he’s been in league for a while,” Kelly said of the Raiders adaptation to his offense. “There’s been a lot of collaboration with him. He’s got a great point of view in terms of the game of football. He the smartest guy I’ve ever been around playing the game. So, really excited about what he feels comfortable in. And that’s what this deal is, when we’re going in these games, is, what do our players feel comfortable in? Because it really doesn’t matter what we know, because we’re not playing the game. It’s really, ‘How does Geno feel in terms of game plan’, and he has a lot of input on it. And so we’ll kind of roll from there.”
To get the Raiders offense rolling, a constant Smith-Bowers connection is a must-do in New England. To maximize both offensive output on defensive stress on the Patriots, Kelly would be wise to place Bowers in multiple spots in a variety of alignments: Traditional in-line tight end, out wide at the X or Z, in the slot, and in the backfield. Kelly spent a long time in the collegiate game — most recently orchestrating the national championship winning Ohio State Buckeyes last season — and is well aware of Bowers’ exploits at Georgia and how the Bulldogs moved the chess piece talent around.
Smith is no dummy either, noting back in early August: “I think Brock is one of one when it comes to tight ends in this league.”
“I mean, the talent is obvious, right? Like the talent that he has, a big body who runs like a receiver, runs like a slot receiver, catches like an X receiver or a Z receiver, blocks like a tight end,” Smith began when talking about Bowers as a talent, “I mean, he’s got the full gamut of what you want from a tight end, prototypical, but I think it’s the off the field and just his overall demeanor, man. A guy who comes every day ready to work. Doesn’t really speak much, but a great teammate, great leader, and then every single day, he’s out there working hard.
“I mean, from the minute we step on the field, he’s giving you 110 percent and that’s like — you got guys like him, like Maxx (Crosby), all these guys are the spitting image of what you want to be as a Raider. And man, Brock’s (Bowers) a guy like, if I could say like, ‘Hey man, watch this guy and emulate him,’ that’s the guy you want to be like.”
Time to reward that work ethic with some prime opportunities in Week 1, no?
Granted, New England — helmed by defensive-minded head coach Mike Vrabel — is going to have a plan to take Bowers out of the equation. But plans can go awry, especially trying to defend a prime time player that is difficult to even marginally disrupt. Force the Patriots to commit more resources to defend the 6-foot-4 and 235-pound Bowers and that opens up the other weaponry the Raiders bring to the table.
The Raiders and Patriots have met 38 times (35 regular season games, 3 playoff matchups). New England leads the all-time series 20-17-1. Las Vegas is riding a two-game win streak in the series with a 30-24 victory in 2022 and a 21-17 win in the last meeting in 2023. Before that, the Patriots won six games in a row.
The last time the Raiders won in New England was all the way back in 1994 when the Los Angeles variant of the Silver & Black toppled the Patriots 21-17.
That was a contest that saw Raiders quarterback Jeff Hostetler and Patriots signal caller Drew Bledsoe each throwing three interceptions. Raiders cornerback Terry McDaniel snared all three picks, including housing one interception for a 44-yard touchdown.
Quote of Note
“Oh, man, I mean it feels like my first day, my first game in the NFL. It’s always so special to me
running out that tunnel with my teammates, got the Raider logo on, and just looking up and just kind of
thinking about what it took to get here. There’s always that moment, a gratifying moment of just like, ‘Hey,
man, year 13.’ But then, you get right back to work. So, very thankful, very blessed to be in this position,
but looking forward to going out there and producing.”
—Las Vegas Raiders starting quarterback Geno Smith on how this opener compares to others he’s experienced
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