Brock Bowers has already done enough in a short span to make people start thinking bigger than Pro Bowl nods and highlight reels. The Raiders tight end has been on the field just a few seasons, yet the conversation around him is moving fast: not just best at his position, but maybe one day in the all-time conversation.
That kind of buzz doesn’t come out of nowhere. Bowers arrived in the NFL in 2024 after first turning heads as a true freshman at Georgia in 2021, and the impact has been immediate.
Las Vegas had already used a second-round pick on Michael Mayer in the 2023 NFL Draft, then came back a year later and added Bowers, widely viewed as the best non-quarterback offensive prospect in that class. Since then, even with only a handful of games missed, he’s been the kind of player who makes you wonder how much higher the ceiling really goes.
The league has noticed, too. For two straight years, ESPN’s annual positional rankings have had Bowers as the NFL’s top tight end, a sign that executives, coaches and scouts see the same thing everyone else does: a rare mix of versatility, athleticism, receiving ability and blocking that makes game-planning a headache. Former Defensive Player of the Year Pat Surtain II has even been lined up across from him in past matchups because of how dangerous Bowers is as a receiver.
The names in the tight end lineage are heavy ones: Rob Gronkowski, the final years of Tony Gonzalez, Jimmy Graham, Greg Olsen, then Travis Kelce, George Kittle and Mark Andrews. Now there’s a new wave with Bowers, Sam LaPorta, Kyle Pitts, Trey McBride and Tucker Kraft. Among that group, Bowers is the one who looks capable of carrying the Raiders’ Silver and Black into something even bigger.
Under head coach Klint Kubiak, the numbers could get even louder. The single-season receiving record for a tight end - 1,416 yards - is now in play, and Bowers has the kind of skill set that can turn into a cheat code in a system built around versatility and playmaking.
The next contract will reflect that, too. He’ll be eligible next offseason, and it’s likely to land well north of $20 million per year. That kind of money usually follows players who are already among the best in the league, and Bowers is on that track.
Calling him a Hall of Famer right now would be jumping the gun. He hasn’t even played his third season yet.
But the signs are hard to miss. With what he already is, and with what he still might become, Bowers has the look of a player who could spend the rest of his career pushing the limits of what a tight end can be.
And the setup for 2026 only adds to the intrigue. With Kubiak still calling the shots and a better signal-caller under center, whether it is Kirk Cousins or Fernando Mendoza, Bowers is the kind of player who can change the feel of an offense in a hurry. The league may not be ready for the next version of him.
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It also puts him in direct contrast with owners who see turf as the easier, cheaper route to maintain. Davis has made clear he values the players preference for grass, and his approach at Allegiant Stadium underscores a philosophy that has long felt in step with the Raiders tradition, even as the rest of the NFL keeps weighing cost against what happens between the lines. [Read more 🡒]
Raiders Just Turned Up The Pressure On DJ Glaze
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Glaze enters a pivotal stretch with his job under real pressure, and the evaluation process is expected to run through camp and the preseason before anyone settles on the best fit. For Las Vegas, the decision is less about loyalty to last years order and more about finding the right answer on the edge, which leaves the door open for a competition that could reshape the line before the regular season even begins. [Read more 🡒]
Raiders Fans Are Suddenly Asking What Tom Brady Is Really Doing
Mike Macdonalds post-Super Bowl comments have stirred up a fresh layer of intrigue around Tom Brady, whose role as a minority owner of the Raiders already keeps him under a brighter-than-usual spotlight. The Seahawks coach said he got advice before the game from someone with a conflict of interest, but he did not identify the person, and the speculation has naturally drifted toward Brady because of his long history with the Patriots and his current ties to Las Vegas.
For Raiders fans, the bigger question is less about the Super Bowl itself than what kind of information might have been in play behind the scenes. The discussion has centered on whether that unnamed figure could have offered Seattle help with Patriots tendencies or terminology, which only adds to the curiosity around Bradys football footprint now that he is part of the Raiders ownership group. [Read more 🡒]