Dec 8, 2024; Tampa, Florida, USA; Las Vegas Raiders tight end Brock Bowers (89) line up against the Tampa Bay Buccaneers in the first quarter at Raymond James Stadium. Mandatory Credit: Nathan Ray Seebeck-Imagn Images Nathan Ray Seebeck-Imagn Images

Brock Bowers is Influencing How Teams View TEs

Originally posted on Las Vegas Raiders on SI
By Carter Landis | Last updated Apr 24, 2025 11:00 AM ET

Las Vegas Raiders tight end Brock Bowers had one of the best rookie tight end seasons in NFL history.

Bowers caught 112 passes for 1,194 yards (most in NFL history from a rookie tight end) and five touchdowns. He was the best player on a team that needed a spark offensively.

The Raiders shocked the NFL world when they took him with the No. 13 overall pick in the 2024 NFL Draft. However, that pick turned out to be a good investment, as he was one of the best rookies in the league.

Tight end is not a highly valued position, but because of Bowers’ rookie season, teams may consider taking them much higher now.

The Atlanta Falcons drafted Kyle Pitts with the No. 4 overall pick in 2021, making him the highest-drafted tight end of all time.

He has not lived up to those expectations, but teams in the 2025 NFL Draft could consider taking a tight end in a similar spot.

In 2022, the first tight end off the board was Trey McBride, who the Arizona Cardinals selected in the second round. In 2023, Dalton Kincaid went at No. 25 overall.

Teams may have been scared off by Pitts’ lackluster career and did not want to draft a tight end as early as he went.

However, Bowers may have cleansed teams’ palettes of the Pitts mistake and helped them find a comfortable and reasonable ground to take a tight end.

Penn State’s Tyler Warren and Michigan’s Colston Loveland are the top tight ends in this class, and both are expected to be selected highly in this year’s draft.

With how Bowers played in 2024, more teams may believe they can find a plan to use a rookie tight end they drafted highly.

Teams that may select tight ends early in the draft are the New York Jets (No. 7 overall), Chicago Bears (No. 10 overall), and Indianapolis Colts (No. 14 overall).

We could see Warren and Loveland go as early as the top 10 and as late as the top 15, which would be a stark difference from the last two seasons.

Is that because of the Raiders star’s incredible rookie season? It’s hard to argue that it isn’t.

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This article first appeared on Las Vegas Raiders on SI and was syndicated with permission.

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