Raiders offense: Funnel it through rookie phenom Brock Bowers

Despite questions at quarterback, tight end keeps producing

For the best player available (BPA) truthers out there, Las Vegas Raiders rookie tight end Brock Bowers is the latest paragon of why going that route is best in the NFL Draft.

The Silver & Black did not need another tight end, considering it drafted Michael Mayer out of Notre Dame with the 35th overall pick in the 2023 draft. But picking No. 13 overall in the 2024 rendition of the event and with teams selecting quarterback prospects — a major need for Las Vegas — leaving the team out in the cold in that regard, general manager Tom Telesco simply couldn’t pass up on adding the best player available on the Raiders’ board.

And thus, Bowers.

The 6-foot-4, 230-pound Georgia product arrived to the NFL scene like gang busters. Heading into this weekend’s Week 12 action, Bowers is second in the league with 70 catches, sixth overall with 89 targets, and 10th in yards with 706 proving what many draft pundits said: The tight end is one of the most pro-ready prospects coming into the league.

Coming off a 13-catch, 126-yard, and one-touchdown effort in the team’s 34-19 Week 11 loss to the Miami Dolphins, Bowers continues his record-setting pace. And Las Vegas would be wise to keep funneling the offense through it’s ultra-talented and phenomenal rookie as the Raiders (2-8 overall) play host to the Denver Broncos (6-5) this Sunday inside Allegiant Stadium.

“It means we picked the right guy in the draft. That’s one. I wish those records were also part of our team record, which is more important, wins and losses,” Raiders head coach Antonio Pierce began when asked about Bowers’ performance thus far. “But again, tremendous talent. I mean, we’re asking him to do a lot, throwing him in there. I mean, two-minute drill, he’s looking to come out. We’re keeping him in there. I mean, he’s fighting his tail off. We have a lot of players that’s doing that. But obviously his numbers are now on a very good historic rate, and we want to continue that.

“He’s one of our better players. I’ve said that since I’ve been here, get the ball to your best players. Keep feeding them until they figure out how to stop it. We just need 10 other gentlemen to do the same thing.”

While the Raiders are getting highlight performances from others — defensive end Maxx Crosby is his usual unending stamina self, cornerback Jakorian Bennett is having a sensational sophomore season, rookie guard/center Jackson Powers-Johnson is proving to be pro-ready, too, and kicker Daniel Carlson and punter AJ Cole III remain standouts, for example — there isn’t much for Las Vegas to hang their hat on overall.

The ground game continues to be ineffective and inconsistent while the quarterback play has been suspect. Despite all that, Bowers continues to produce and appears to be incompetence-proof. So, feed and feature the tight end until it’s no longer feasible to do so. As I wrote earlier this month, finding balance is nice, but not at the detriment of Bowers.

“I mean, you put him (Bowers) in spots where you think the ball may go, but I mean we’re trusting progressions. And some guys the ball just finds, and he’s definitely one of those,” Raiders starting quarterback Gardner Minshew said when asked about balance.

With the incoming Broncos in the thick of the postseason chase and armed with a stout defense coached by Vance Joseph, I wouldn’t be surprised if Denver put it’s best cover man — cornerback Pat Surtain II — on Bowers to mitigate the rookie’s impact. But that shouldn’t scare Las Vegas from going to the tight end. In fact, it’s a solid growth opportunity for Bowers to go up against a shutdown defensive back and see if how the rookie’s route running and catch radius fare against one of the league’s best.

And it appears Bowers’ comradery and rapport with Minshew continues to grow, too.

“A little bit man, it’s been nice. He blew me a kiss today, which was pretty — that was big for Brock. So I was happy to see that,” Minshew said regarding the ability to joke with the normally quiet Bowers. “He was just walking by and I was like, ‘What’s up, Broccoli,’ and he just sent me one.”

Series History: The AFC West foes have meet 130 times and it’s the Silver & Black that lead the overall series 73-55-2. Yet, it’s the Broncos that won the Week 5 meeting in Denver 34-18 to snap the Raiders’ eight-game win streak. With the two teams heading in opposite directions during the 2024 campaign, the Broncos have a shot to create a win streak of their own.

Quotes of Note:

“No. This isn’t a break season for me. So, it’s one of the ones you’ve got to just swallow, you’ve got to take it. And obviously we’ll look back for all the reasons, right? There’s been some noncontact injuries. There’s been guys getting rolled up, think about the Cincinnati Bengals game, you get six guys with ankle injuries, that’s kind of unheard of. Just been having some bad breaks, but nobody feels sorry for us. Nobody feels sorry for me. You’ve got to roll out there with 11 players, and that’s what we’re going to do come Sunday.” —Las Vegas Raiders head coach Antonio Pierce on the laundry list of injuries the team has sustained

“Yeah, a divisional game, we know these guys, right? We know them, and we had a great opportunity last time we faced them; 10-3, ball at the four-yard line, let’s take advantage of this ball game and let’s get this bad boy rolling. So, we know them, we talked about that today. The good part about when you’re in the division is you know the roster, right? Because that’s how we built our roster is based off of who we face in our division. So, we know about [Courtland] Sutton, we know [Pat] Surtain. Now with Bo Nix at quarterback, you understand Sean Payton, because he’s been in the league a long time. So, it’s really understanding your divisional foe, how they want to attack you and what matchups can we exploit more importantly.” —Las Vegas Raiders head coach Antonio Pierce on the matchup with the Denver Broncos