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Rob Gronkowski States Brock Bowers Has Potential to Be Better Than Himself

High praise from the future Hall of Fame tight end.

Tom Dierberger

Bowers caught nine passes for 98 yards in the Raiders' win over Baltimore on Sunday.
Bowers caught nine passes for 98 yards in the Raiders' win over Baltimore on Sunday. / Reggie Hildred-Imagn Images
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Las Vegas Raiders tight end Brock Bowers caught the attention of an NFL legend this weekend.

During the Raiders' 26–23 upset win over the Baltimore Ravens at M&T Bank Stadium, Bowers notched a a career-high nine catches for 98 yards. His teammate Davante Adams had a front-row seat to the rookie's breakout game, catching nine passes himself while lining up next to Bowers.

Five-time Pro Bowler and future Pro Football Hall of Famer Rob Gronkowski was watching Bowers closely as well.

"(Bowers) shows some promise of looking like this guy that's on the screen with us right now," Adams said on Tuesday's episode of the Up & Adams Show, referring to Gronkowski. "This young player is on a different level for a rookie."

"I agree with that, Davante," Gronkowski said. "Brock Bowers, I was a big fan of him when he was at Georgia. 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."

With his effort Sunday, Bowers boosted his season total to 15 catches for 156 yards—setting the all-time record for most receptions by a rookie tight end through two games in NFL history.

Gronkowski managed two catches for 15 yards and a touchdown in his first two career games as a rookie in 2010.

The catches should continue to pour in for Bowers this week, as Las Vegas takes on the 0-2 Carolina Panthers on Sunday. The Panthers have surrendered 104 receiving yards and two touchdowns to tight ends through two games 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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