Brock Bowers entering familiar situation with two tight ends, versatile skillset
Brock Bowers is no stranger to a two tight end system. He spent the entirety of his Georgia career playing alongside another talent option. Whether that be Darnell Washington, John FitzPatrick or Oscar Delp, the presence of another big body in the passing game opened things up for Bowers.
Off to the NFL after being selected 13th overall by the Las Vegas Raiders on Thursday night, Bowers will once again be in a two tight end system. The Raiders spent the No. 35 overall pick last year on Notre Dame tight end Michael Mayer after his outstanding collegiate career in South Bend. Instead of competing against each other for All-American status and Mackey Awards, Bowers and Mayer will team up, hoping they can help make life easier on the Raiders’ quarterbacks.
“I was really shocked. Wasn’t totally sure what was happening, but when that call came up and it said Las Vegas, Nevada, I was juiced,” Bowers said about the surprising selection to a team that invested in his position not too long ago. “Talked to them at the Combine and talked to them a little bit over the phone … I grew up here in Napa which is obviously pretty close to Oakland. They used to have training camp right here in Napa, literally at my middle school, so it’s kind of cool how things come full circle like that. I remember going to watch them practice. Training camp in Napa at my middle school. It’s cool how it all comes around.”
“We had some dudes at Georgia too. Shoutout to all my guys there. I’m excited to be a piece in this offense and to be able to get to work and play alongside some of the dudes I’ve watched for a while,” Bowers added when asked about the idea of playing alongside Mayer in 12 personnel. “I think it’s just two big bodied mismatches. It’s hard for a defense to combat that. We would run the ball at them in that formation but we were also athletic to get out in the pass game. It puts them in a bind with personnel they have to use. It’s just a little bit different I feel like.”
Not only will Bowers be in the same offense as Mayer, but he’ll also have wide receiver Davante Adams and Jakobi Meyers in Las Vegas too. Former Georgia teammate Zamir White is in the backfield. Yes, there’s likely to be a need at the quarterback position before too long with the Raiders having free agent journeyman Gardner Minshew and Aidan O’Connell, a fourth round selection last year out of Purdue, as their top options headed into the draft, but general manager Tom Telesco didn’t want to reach for a quarterback. He watched as teams took six signal callers in the first 12 picks. As a result, a player like Bowers was available maybe later than expected, and the Raiders didn’t want to overthink the pick at No. 13.
“We’re looking to add more playmakers to the offense, and they come in all shapes and sizes, in all different positions. And we love Michael Mayer, I love Michael Mayer, and he’s a really good player. He’s going to take another big jump this year. But you get a chance to add just another dimension to the offensive, whether it’s a tight end, hybrid receiver, whatever it is, you need more playmakers on that side of the ball,” Telesco said. “So, I think he’s (Bowers) really going to help us there and I feel like he’s a highlevel player in college; a true junior, he’s 21 years old, so he’s very young still, still developing. But he has some natural football skills, combined with some high-level athletic ability and speed, so yeah, I’m really happy to have him.”
“He’s tough, and when you when you play at Georgia, as a tight end, you have to be able to block. And in the SEC, he’s played against some real defenders,” Telesco continued, speaking on Bowers’ skillset. “He’s an athletic move, receiving tight end, but he can get down and block a bit on the line of scrimmage, which you’re going to have to do at this level, too. So, this kind of shows you what his game’s like.”
Bowers would agree with that assessment of his game, and if you watch the film from Georgia, the Bulldogs used him all over the field. Be it having his hand in the dirt and getting physical at the line of scrimmage or splitting out as a pass catcher, Bowers enjoys playing different positions to best utilize his skillset. That’s something he hopes continues in the NFL.
“I feel like I can be used in a multitude of ways. At Georgia, I was moved all around. They put me in the backfield sometimes. In-line tight end, slot, outside receiver, I feel like versatility is a big part of my game, and I’m excited to see what’s in store for this next year,” Bowers said. “To me it doesn’t really matter. I feel like the coaches did a good job at Georgia putting me in spots where I could be the most successful I could be. I hope that continues. I think it’s fun to move all over the field and play different positions and do different things. I hope it continues. Whatever they call upon me to do, I plan to do to the best of my ability.”
“Every situation is a little bit different, but you try and stick to that when you can,” Telesco added, talking about Bowers as a case study for taking ‘best available player’ with his dynamic skillset – one that may not necessarily been the biggest need for the Raiders either. “Sometimes it’s harder than you think. You’re adding to the football team, and we know where we are today, but we are looking for today and in the future. With a player like Brock, just with the scouting staff, where they had him, what they thought about him, what the coaching staff thought, he was really pretty a consensus guy. Makes it a little bit easier, fully knowing that we have Michael Mayer who is an excellent tight end, but there’s no rule in the NFL that you can only play one. We can play two tight ends. We can move people around. At Notre Dame, Michael was split out sometimes as a receiver. Brock has been split as a receiver, Brock’s even played some running back, and then our receivers can go inside and outside, so it’ll be a nice little group to work with.”
The NFL Draft continues Friday evening with the second and third rounds starting at 7:00 p.m. ET. Several more Georgia players are available and expected to come off the board both during day two and three (Rounds 4-7). Coverage of the draft can be seen on ABC, ESPN and NFL Network.
