Bear Digest

Da Tight End's Rookie Record Falls to Raiders' Brock Bowers

After 63 years, Mike Ditka's rookie tight end record for receiving yards has been passed by Brock Bowers but only after he had almost twice as many catches.

Gene Chamberlain

Mike Ditka hauls in a pass at Los Angeles Coliseum against the Rams.
Mike Ditka hauls in a pass at Los Angeles Coliseum against the Rams. / Darryl Norenberg-Imagn Images
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The rookie year Mike Ditka enjoyed was like no other for an NFL rookie tight end for 63 years.

Now, the rookie record set by Ditka for tight end receiving yards that year has fallen to Las Vegas tight end Brock Bowers, although in fairness to Da Coach it should come with an asterisk.

Coming out of Pitt in 1961, Ditka had 1,076 yards on 56 receptions for 12 touchdowns with coach George Halas' Bears.

The yardage stood for a record until Bowers passed Ditka's mark on his third reception of Sunday's 25-10 win by the Raiders over the New Orleans Saints. Bowers had caught passes of 6 and 2 yards early in the game but that still left him a yard short of Ditka. The 13-yard catch came with 3:02 left in the second quarter.

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Bowers, a first-round pick from Georgia, eventually caught seven passes for 77 yards and now has 1,144 yards on the season. Bowers also set the NFL record for most rookie catches by a player at any position when he broke Puka Nacua's record of 105 set last year. He now has 108 catches.

Ditka was the first tight end to go over 1,000 yards and was named to the NFL's 75th and 100th Anniversary All-Time Teams.

Until Ditka, most tight ends were used mainly as extra blockers in the running game or on screen passes.

The position's value quickly expanded after that 1961 production by Ditka as Colts great John Mackey came in during the 1963 season.

Ditka finished with 12 touchdowns in that rookie season, which ranks tied for third in Bears history behind the 13 Dick Gordon had in 1970 and Ken Kavanaugh made in 1947. Ditka, Curtis Conway (1995), Harlon Hill (1954) and Brandon Marshall (2013).

Of course, the asterisk for Bowers is he broke Ditka's mark in 16 games for a 17-game season. It also took him 104 receptions to get there when Ditka did it in a 14-game season and with 56 receptions.

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Gene Chamberlain
GENE CHAMBERLAIN

BearDigest.com publisher Gene Chamberlain has covered the Chicago Bears full time as a beat writer since 1994 and prior to this on a part-time basis for 10 years. He covered the Bears as a beat writer for Suburban Chicago Newspapers, the Daily Southtown, Copley News Service and has been a contributor for the Daily Herald, the Associated Press, Bear Report, CBS Sports.com and The Sporting News. He also has worked a prep sports writer for Tribune Newspapers and Sun-Times newspapers.