Brock Bowers didn’t need long to become the center of Klint Kubiak’s Raiders offense, and the usage tells the whole story. Through five games of the 2026 season, Bowers is already on pace to blow past the rookie production he turned in in 2024, with Kubiak reshaping his role in a way that looks a lot like what Jaxon Smith-Njigba did under him last season.
The biggest change is where Bowers lines up. He’s spending far more time out wide, and no tight end in the NFL is doing that more often by a larger margin - by ten percentage points. Nearly half of his snaps are coming from outside the numbers, a huge jump from 18.8% last season.
That mirrors what Kubiak did with Smith-Njigba in his one year as the Seattle Seahawks’ offensive coordinator. In both cases, the move paid off in efficiency.
Bowers’ average depth of target has jumped from 7.5 yards last season to 10.3 yards this year, while Smith-Njigba was at 11.7 yards. His yards per route run has also exploded from 1.7 to 2.79, not far off Smith-Njigba’s 3.42.
Bowers is being asked to work downfield much more often than he was a year ago. Last season, most of his targets came either behind the line of scrimmage or within ten yards of the line. This year, per PFF, 59.4% of his targets have come more than ten yards downfield.
That kind of usage has turned him into a problem for defenses. He leads all tight ends in yards per route run by a wide margin, and even with a heavy target share he’s been one of the most efficient pass-catchers in the league, no matter the position. He ranks 20th in the NFL in receiving yards despite having played in only three games.
The Raiders have still managed to function in the passing game even without other top receiving threats and with Kirk Cousins at quarterback. A big reason is the way Kubiak has built the offense around Bowers.
He may not end up matching the absurd numbers Smith-Njigba posted last season, but Bowers is on track for the best season of his young career. Right now, Kubiak’s arrival has given the superstar tight end a clear lift.
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