Count future Hall of Famer Rob Gronkowski as a fan of Las Vegas Raiders rookie tight end Brock Bowers.
“I feel like he’s on track to be better than myself,” Gronkowski said Tuesday on FanDuel’s “Up & Adams.” “I don’t think he can dominate in the trenches the way I dominated in the trenches. But just overall, as a pass-catching TE, I think he can surpass me in many situations.”
Bowers’ career matching or surpassing Gronkowski’s seems unlikely. In 11 seasons with the New England Patriots and Tampa Bay Buccaneers, he earned four first-team All-Pro nods and won four Super Bowls. He was also named to the NFL’s 100th All-Time Anniversary Team in 2019.
Per Pro Football Reference’s HOF monitor, he recorded the third-most touchdown catches (92), sixth-most receiving yards (9,286) and 10th-most receptions (621) among TEs in NFL history.
Bowers’ career is off to a promising start, though. The former Georgia star has 15 receptions for 156 yards through two games. According to the Raiders public relations team, he is the only TE in league history to log 15-plus receptions through his first two games.
In a 26-23 upset over the Baltimore Ravens in Week 2, he recorded nine receptions for 98 yards. Per The 33rd Team, Bowers and Detroit Lions star Sam LaPorta are the only rookie TEs to tally seven-plus receptions, 80-plus yards and catch all their targets in a game over the past 10 seasons.
“He shows some promise of looking like this guy that’s on the screen with us right now, honestly,” Raiders WR Davante Adams said on “Up & Adams,” referencing Gronkowski. “…This young player is on a different level for a rookie, and I think Baltimore got a chance to feel that a little bit.”
It seemed baffling when the Raiders took Bowers with the 13th overall pick of the 2024 NFL Draft. Vegas already had second-year TE Michael Mayer, a former second-round pick out of Notre Dame.
Thus far, the Raiders look smart for bucking conventional wisdom. Bowers is on an upward trajectory and may become a star.
