REPORT: Raiders' Bowers a 'Long Shot' to Win Key Award

Las Vegas Raiders rookie tight end Brock Bowers could have a huge first NFL season.

Las Vegas Raiders TE Brock Bowers from OTAs / Darrell Craig Harris, Sports Illustrated

On paper, Brock Bowers is the best rookie the Las Vegas Raiders have drafted in a long time.

The two-time John Mackey Award winner dominated college football as the sport's best tight end over the past couple years and will now be looking to translate that excellence to the NFL.

Bowers could very well end up being in the running for the NFL's Offensive Rookie of the Year award, but he would be up against some solid compeition, as this was a very talented 2024 NFL Draft class.

Dan Pizzuta of The 33rd Team deemed Bowers a "long shot" to win the award.

"Las Vegas will use a lot of 12 personnel, perhaps as its leading personnel package, so Brock Bowers will be on the field often," Pizzuta wrote in a recent article. "In the preseason, the Raiders already showed some of the ways that Bowers could be used, like coming open out of the backfield.

"With a quarterback who tends to keep the ball closer to the line of scrimmage, it wouldn’t be surprising to see Bowers with a high volume of receptions.

"It also wouldn’t be shocking to see Bowers become a legitimate red zone threat, especially while the defense focuses on Davante Adams, who had 40.8 percent of the Raiders’ red zone targets last season.

"Bowers could end up as the No. 2 receiver in Las Vegas, pushing 1,000 yards with a ton of touchdowns."

Bowers particularly stood out in the Raiders' first preseason game against the Minnesota Vikings, finishing with 25 yards on two receptions.

"Brock is different," said Raiders coach Antonio Pierce, per ESPN's Jeremy Fowler. "He's a tight end, because that's what he's labeled as, but he can play all over the field. ... He's even more special with the ball in his hands."

The Raiders selected Bowers with the 13th overall pick in this year's NFL Draft. While he likely wasn't their first option going into the draft, as Las Vegas had also been looking at the top quarterbacks this draft class had to offer, he was what some consider to be the best overall player in the class.

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