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Brock Bowers Reacts to Rob Gronkowski's Quote About His Limitless Potential

Bowers received some high praise from the future Hall of Fame tight end.

Tom Dierberger

Bowers caught 15 passes for 156 yards in his first two career NFL games.
Bowers caught 15 passes for 156 yards in his first two career NFL games. / Brad Rempel-Imagn Images
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Rob Gronkowski knows talent when he sees it at the tight end position. Two weeks in, he couldn't be more impressed with Las Vegas Raiders rookie Brock Bowers.

During an appearance on the Up & Adams Show earlier this week, Gronkowski stated that Bowers has the potential to be better than he was as a pass-catching tight end. Those comments got back to Bowers, who shared his reaction to that high praise with reporters after Raiders practice on Friday.

"That was pretty sweet hearing him say that," Bowers said. "I looked up to him when I was little; watching him when I was growing up. You want to be like him, so it's pretty cool hearing that."

Through two weeks, Bowers has caught 15 passes for 156 yards—setting the record for the most receptions as a rookie tight end in his first two career games. For context, Rob Gronkowski had two catches for 15 yards and a touchdown in his first two contests as a rookie in 2010.

"Brock Bowers, I was a big fan of him when he was at Georgia," Gronkowski said to host Kay Adams and teammate Davante Adams. "I feel like he's on track to be better than myself. I don't think he can dominate in the trenches the way I dominated in the trenches."

"But just overall as a pass-catching tight end, I think he can surpass me in many situations."

Bowers and the Raiders will battle the 0–2 Carolina Panthers on Sunday at Allegiant Stadium in a matchup that should do nothing but boost the rookie's already impressive numbers this season.

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Tom Dierberger
TOM DIERBERGER

Tom Dierberger is a staff writer and editor on the Breaking and Trending News team at Sports Illustrated. He joined SI in November 2023 after stints at FOX Sports, Bally Sports and NBC Sports. Dierberger has a bachelor's in communication from St. John's University. In his spare time, he can be seen throwing out his arm while playing fetch with his dog, Walter B. Boy.

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