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Editor’s note: This is the 13th installment of a season-long series on a breakout star from the past week of NFL action. The Week 13 winner: Las Vegas Raiders tight end Brock Bowers.
After the Raiders’ narrow loss to the Kansas City Chiefs on Black Friday, Brock Bowers received praise from Travis Kelce.
The four-time All-Pro dapped up the rookie near midfield. He asked for a picture. He said he’d send his jersey over to Bowers’ locker, too — and asked for one in return.
It was Kelce, a future first-ballot Hall of Famer, who looked like the fan.
“Happy as hell for you,” Kelce told Bowers. “Keep doing your thing.”
There’s no reason to believe that he won’t.
Bowers had 10 catches on 14 targets for a season-high 140 yards and a touchdown against Kansas City, his latest dominant performance in what is developing into arguably the best-ever season for a rookie tight end.
The former Georgia star has an NFL-high 84 receptions for 884 yards (fourth in the league) and four touchdowns in 12 games. He’s just two receptions short of Sam LaPorta’s record for receptions by a rookie tight end — with five games left in the regular season. He’s on pace for 1,252 receiving yards, which would break Mike Ditka’s record of 1,076 by a rookie tight end, set way back in 1960. And Bowers’ historic year has come amid a Raiders quarterback carousel, with Gardner Minshew, Aidan O’Connell and Desmond Ridder all taking snaps under center.
The 13th overall pick, Bowers has embraced being the Raiders’ No. 1 pass-catching option. Since Davante Adams was traded ahead of Week 7, Bowers is averaging 83.3 receiving yards per game, up from 64.0 in his first six games. His two 100-yard receiving games have come in the past three weeks, and he has just two drops this season, according to Pro Football Focus, an impressive feat considering he’s the league’s fourth-most targeted player (113).
Bowers has been more than a bright spot for the struggling Raiders. He…
Source link : https://www.foxsports.com/stories/nfl/how-raiders-brock-bowers-building-best-season-ever-rookie-tight-end
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Publish date : 2024-12-03 21:18:00
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