Brock Bowers came up just short of securing the record for most receptions by a tight end during their rookie campaign, but it doesn’t matter; the Las Vegas Raiders superstar didn’t need it to have a rookie season that can best be described as surreal.
Entering Week 18, Bowers found himself with a legitimate chance to catch more passes in a single season than any other player at his position in National Football League history. Not just rookies; any tight end, in any year of their career. With 108 catches heading into the week, the 13th-overall pick in the 2024 NFL Draft was a mere nine catches away from achieving this feat.
Bowers had hauled in at least nine passes on six occasions throughout his rookie campaign entering Week 18. Be that as it may, that number didn’t change following Sunday’s contest against the Los Angeles Chargers.
After a four-catch outing, No. 89 for the Silver and Black managed to end his first year as an NFL player with 112 receptions. Although the 22-year-old wasn’t able to surpass Zach Ertz’ single-season catch record of 116 among tight ends, he did secure the third-most in league history.
Ertz and Evan Engram are the only two tight ends who can claim they’ve caught more passes over the course of an NFL season at any point in their careers than Brock Bowers did while he was a rookie.
However, no tight end in the history of the NFL is able to say they’ve done what Bowers has during their rookie campaign.
Las Vegas Raiders: The truly historic season of Brock Bowers
On top of shattering the now-previous rookie tight end single-season catch-record of 86 by 26 receptions, the Georgia alum totaled more receiving yardage than any first-year player at his position ever has. With 1,194 yards in the passing game, Bowers became the first player since the merger to surpass Mike Ditka’s rookie-record of 1,076 receiving yards.
Not only was Bowers’ ’24 season the best rookie campaign throughout league-history at his position, but it contends for the best rookie season among all players to play any position.
It isn’t just that no rookie tight end has been able to keep up with Bowers’ numbers, but no player has, regardless of their position. 112 now stands as the most receptions by a rookie in league-history thanks to the Raiders’ first-round selection last summer.
Perhaps it should be noted that fellow rookie Malik Nabers was close to Bowers’ mark of 112, finishing his rookie campaign with 109 receptions. It should also be mentioned that, while Nabers did this in 14 games in comparison to Bowers’ 17, Las Vegas’ rookie had three more catches than the Giants wideout on 17 less targets.
The knock on Bowers’ season is his lowly five touchdowns. Unfortunately for the 6-foot-4 tight end, this mark is one that may make him unable to overcome position bias – quarterback, specifically – when it comes to the Offensive Rookie of the Year Award.
In any event, that doesn’t take away from the truly historic rookie season Bowers was able to piece together.
The next step
If you believe the Raiders’ superstar tight end will only get better from here on out, things are going to get scary, quickly. As is, Bowers was the league’s best tight end as a first-year NFL player. No tight end compiled more receptions than Bowers in 2024, nor did any beat out his receiving yardage total of 1,194.
The next step for the Las Vegas Raiders is to get a quarterback who they can rely on for the foreseeable future to pair with Bowers. Some of Raider Nation believes that signal caller to be Cam Ward, while others believe it to be Shedeur Sanders. Another group of fans believe the answer isn’t in this upcoming draft class, but a veteran such as Sam Darnold would suffice.
For current Raiders’ head coach Antonio Pierce, Aidan O’Connell seems to be his answer.
“I think Aidan O’Connell will be a starting NFL quarterback,” Pierce said in response to a question about O’Connell’s performance last week.
Such a response shouldn’t come as a surprise to Raider Nation, despite it not being a favorable one to many. O’Connell has been Pierce’s “guy” since he first took over as head coach in 2023, instantly crowning the Purdue alum Las Vegas’ starting quarterback moving forward.
During this past offseason, the Raiders’ head coach made it clear that O’Connell “earned the right” for the team’s quarterback situation to go through him, although Gardner Minshew would ultimately win the job.
Of course, none of this matters if Pierce, who finished his ’24 season with a 4-13 record, isn’t the Raiders’ head coach in 2025. Perhaps finding a head coach who doesn’t frequently get in his own way is the true next step for Las Vegas.
*Top Photo: Patrick Smith/ Getty Images
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