Amid the turmoil, the Raiders have an OROY candidate in Brock Bowers

On By Littum

HENDERSON, Nev. — Brock Bowers is coming off a monster, yet somewhat inconsistent rookie season in the NFL.

His 87 catches are second-most in the league and, with four games to play, is already a single-season record for most receptions by a rookie tight end.

His 933 receiving yards are the most among any NFL tight end.

And his four receiving touchdowns rank third among all rookies in the league, first among rookie tight ends.

Pro Bowl? Bowers is in line to potentially become the first rookie tight end in more than two decades to be named a first-team All Pro.

All with the Raiders having already trotted out three different quarterbacks and with Las Vegas (2-11) riding a nine-game losing streak while chasing one of the top picks in April’s draft.

But as Bowers prepares for the brightest lights on his biggest professional stage yet — a “Monday Night Football” home game against the Atlanta Falcons (8:30 p.m. ET, ESPN) — self-deprecation is a form of self-defense for last spring’s No. 13 overall draft pick and one of the leading Offensive Rookie of the Year candidates.

Somehow, there are times when Bowers, often compared to a unicorn thanks to his unique skill set, thinks he “sucks” on the field.

Seriously.

“The whole time I was saying to myself, ‘Golly, what am I doing out there?'” an exasperated Bowers said after the Raiders’ heartbreaking last-second loss at the two-time defending Super Bowl champion Kansas City Chiefs on Black Friday.

A game, mind you, in which Bowers went off for 10 catches, on 14 targets, for a career-best 140 yards and a TD.

“I mean, because something could happen bad could happen the next play and I’m like, ‘Dude, I suck again,'” Bowers said

“So yeah, I feel like it helps me play a little bit better when I think I’m not doing well because I want to do something good.”

MORE THAN A few eyebrows and hackles were raised when Bower’s name was called for the Raiders in April’s draft. Tight end was far from a need for Las Vegas, which needed a right tackle, and the Raiders already had Michael Mayer, a second-round draft pick a year earlier, and veteran free agent Harrison Bryant under contract.

But first-year Raiders general manager Tom Telesco stuck to his philosophy and grabbed the best player available on his board.

The Raiders have no regrets about handing over Bowers’ envelope. Not even a little bit.

“From the first day he walked in the building, he was just another cat, man,” Raiders coach Antonio Pierce said. “He’s all about the ball. You just watch him, everything he does, he’s always moving. Everything is football related, even just walking through the building.”

The book about Bowers, who grew up in California’s Napa Wine Country before playing his college prom in Georgia’s Deep South, was that he was no-nonsense.

Boring, almost.

And that description fit him as well as the two Mackey Awards he was awarded as the nation’s top tight end while also helping the Bulldogs win back-to-back national championships.

Turns out boring was actually fun for Bowers, who said he hasn’t really been surprised by much in the NFL so far.

“Just the success that I’ve had has surprised me, I don’t know,” Bowers told ESPN. “You don’t know how you’re going to do at the next level and you question things. But it’s worked out so far.”

On a personal level, yes. Translated into team wins? Well…

The Raiders last won a game on September 29. Bowers averaged five catches per . game as the Raiders started 2-2. He is averaging 7.4 catches in their longest losing streak since the Raiders opened the 2014 season 0-10.

As both Bowers, named the NFL’s Offensive Rookie of the Year for November, and Pierce have acknowledged, they want his takeover of games to translate into the win column.

However, no one in the Raiders locker room needs to worry about his personal success overshadowing the needs of the team.

“It’s unusual how he carries himself,” said left tackle Kolton Miller, the Raiders’ longest-tenured player drafted in 2018.

“You wouldn’t expect him to just mentally be at the next level, that competition, that competitiveness, what he’s shown. His skill level has been amazing to watch, especially coming from a rookie.”

Jack Jones, as a cornerback, doesn’t face Bowers much in practice, but he likes what he’s seen on Sunday. Scratch that, he loves it.

“With his production in the games, it speaks for itself,” Jones said with a laugh. “He breaks stats, makes history, makes plays, helps us win, helps us try to win. So I mean, s–t, hats off to him.

“Dude’s got some good hands, man. He catches some tough passes and he makes tough passes look easy. Not everybody could do that, especially at his size.”

The 6-foot-4, 230-pound Bowers is more graceful than plowing, more gazelle in the open field than stampeding buffalo.

But, as Pierce said, “he’s a receiver when the ball is in the air and when he has a ball in his hand, he punishes people” like a running back.

All the while he shows the veterans in the dressing room how to advise themselves.

“I just like watching him, man,” receiver Jakobi Meyers said.

“I hope when I have kids, I hope they just move a little bit like him. I’m telling you, he doesn’t complain. He doesn’t cry. He doesn’t ask for the ball. He just goes and makes the plays that come his way.

The last rookie tight end named first-team All-Pro?

Jeremy Shockey, who caught 74 passes for 894 yards and two touchdowns for the New York Giants in 2002, following in the footsteps of the Philadelphia Eagles’ Keith Jackson (1988) and Charle Young (1973).

Pierce was teammates with Shockey on the Giants, and while he sees some similarities, Bowers is different, Pierce said.

And Pierce, who played linebacker in the NFL for nine years, didn’t like the task of covering Bowers even though he had to shadow Shockey in practice.

“I’ll point to the guy next to me,” Pierce joked. “I’m going to look for a single digit or one of those DBs.”

Lately, opponents have put their best cornerbacks on Bowers, from the Denver Broncos’ Pat Surtain II to the Miami Dolphins’ Jalen Ramsey to the Chiefs’ Trent McDuffie.

“They really don’t put too many linebackers on him throughout the game and now we’re seeing double teams and they’re really moving their zone to him,” Pierce said. “And to be honest, I don’t really think it matters. I think we’ve got a really special player on our hands.

“This kid is a fight. I love it. And he’s the same guy every day. We get off the plane, he’s got his black shorts and his black T-shirt on and he’s ready to roll and get ready to work next day.”

BEFORE HE MADE own business decision in forcing his trade to the New York Jets, wide receiver Davante Adams took a swipe at the quiet rookie, calling Bowers “Business Man” because Bowers was all business, on and off the field.

Interestingly, Bowers will return to Georgia this offseason to finish his degree in business/real estate.

Bowers has football business to take care of with the Raiders, starting against the Falcons and continuing with the Jacksonville Jaguars, New Orleans Saints and Los Angeles Chargers.

If he catches six passes against the Falcons, Bowers will surpass Michael Thomas for the fourth-most receptions in a season by a rookie in NFL history (Puka Nacua set the rookie mark with 105 catches for the Los Angeles Rams last season).

If he finishes with at least 67 yards against the Falcons, Bowers will join Mike Ditka (1,076 yards in 1961) and Kyle Pitts (1,026 yards in 2021) as the only rookie tight ends with a 1,000-yard receiving season.

Bowers is on pace for 114 catches, which would be a single-season franchise record, and 1,220 receiving yards, which would be No. 2 all-time among Raiders tight ends.

All that will sort itself out, he said.

“Just focusing on the next day helps,” he said. “You’re just kind of focused on what’s next, instead of the big picture. It kind of helps you lock in and do what you can.

“It’s football, it’s fun. It’s fun to be around the guys, fun in the locker room. And I mean, we try to have as much fun as we can, but we also try to stay locked in and win games. And that has been hard.”

Especially in a historically adversarial season.