The Las Vegas Raiders may not be very good this season but the same can’t be said about rookie tight end Brock Bowers. The first-round pick out of Georgia was considered one of the best tight end prospects ever heading into the 2024 NFL Draft and he may be surpassing expectations.
Though the Raiders lost 20-15 to the Los Angeles Rams in Week 7, Bowers put on a show. He had 10 catches for 93 yards and is now up to 47 receptions on the season. That is the most receptions for a tight in his first seven games in NFL history.
Not only that, he also became the first rookie tight end in NFL history to have eight or more catches in three straight games. It’s still early in his career but Bowers is already playing like one of the best tight ends in the NFL.
He’s also doing it with subpar quarterback play on a team that has limited receiving options right now. Despite that, he’s still putting up big numbers. Once the Raiders can find a quarterback, there’s no telling just how good Bowers can be. Regardless, it looks like Las Vegas finally hit on a first-round pick for the first time in years.
Raiders Lose Again
Even with Bowers having another big game, the Raiders’ offense couldn’t figure out how to score consistently. For the third game in a row, the team has scored less than 20 points and lost. At 2-5, Las Vegas has a massive hole to dig out of.
The Rams are ravaged by injuries and one of the worst teams in the NFL. If the Raiders can’t beat them, they’re not going to make the playoffs. Las Vegas host the undefeated Kansas City Chiefs next week and that game could get very ugly.
There’s an argument that the Raiders are the worst team in the NFL right now. There are teams with fewer wins but ever since they lost Davante Adams and Christian Wilkins, they haven’t been very competitive. The quicker this season ends, the better.
Raiders Better off Losing
Quarterback Aidan O’Connell was forced to leave the game early with a thumb injury. Gardner Minshew came in and played about as poorly as you can. He threw three interceptions and lost a fumble that was returned for a touchdown. It’s looking like O’Connell could miss time so it’ll be Minshew’s show going forward, which is going to be a serious problem for the team.
However, the Raiders don’t have much to play for this season. They aren’t going to the playoffs and even if they somehow did, they won’t make it far. The rest of the season is about setting the franchise up to draft a quarterback in 2025.
The more games they lose, the better chance they have at getting a top draft pick. Minshew and O’Connell are not starting quarterbacks and no team is going to win a lot of games with them leading them. The Raiders can’t afford to keep ignoring the quarterback issue. Luckily, the team is bad enough to lose a lot of games without having to tank purposefully. A top-five pick will make it a lot easier to land the quarterback of the future.
