With the 12th pick in the 2024 NFL Draft, the Denver Broncos will likely be in range to add one of this year’s elite offensive talents to their roster. The only remaining question is, should Brock Bowers be that pick?
Height: 6’4”
Weight 240 pounds
Hand: N/A
Arm: N/A
Wingspan: N/A
40-Yard Dash: N/A (limited participation in both combine and pro day)
3-Cone: N/A (limited participation in both combine and pro day)
Shuttle: N/A (limited participation in both combine and pro day)
Vertical: N/A (limited participation in both combine and pro day)
Broad Jump: N/A (limited participation in both combine and pro day)
2023 Statistics: 56 receptions for 714 yards and 6 touchdowns in 10 games.
Positives
- Has the size, speed, and balance to be extremely effective after the catch, whether it be out-running or stampeding through defenders.
- High-effort blocker, who may not always be physically adept against bigger linemen, but whose athleticism can be utilized to block in space.
- Fantastic at sitting down and finding the soft spot in the zone, which is a testament to his great football IQ and understanding of the game.
- Skill set allows him to be utilized in multiple alignments and positions, making him an extremely versatile player.
- Excellent short area burst and acceleration.
- Often contours his body and can make acrobatic catches.
- Has great concentration, rarely drops the ball, and routinely makes catches in close proximity to opposing defenders.
- Is a big play threat, stretching the seam of the defense with his speed.
- Tough as nails before and after the catch.
Negatives
- Frame isn’t elite for the position, not being as tall as or weighing as much as some of his counterparts.
- Not reliable as an inline blocker, as his frame would often pale in comparison to who he’s being asked to block at the next level.
- Has the skillset to separate at a high level but is still a work in progress at becoming a more nuanced route runner.
Overall
While tight end is controversial to take in the first round — with those picks falling flat more often than succeeding — Bowers might be the rare exception, as one of the best collegiate players to ever play his position.
He primarily wins with his rare blend of physicality, play speed, and size, which all play a role before and after the catch.
Before the catch, Bowers displays high football intelligence. He routinely finds the soft spot in zone coverage and makes himself an easy target for his quarterback. Against man coverage, Bowers can be a true mismatch nightmare, as he’s often too fast or too big for his opposition.
Once the ball is in the air, Bowers demonstrates terrific hands, rarely dropping an open pass. To go along with that, he can adjust and flex his large frame to make catches away from his body when necessary. Then, he blends that with being too physically imposing at the catch point for defensive backs, as he finishes plays in ways the normal receiver could not and wins reps that average receiver would not win.
After the catch, Bowers is an absolute monster and is one of the better players in the entire class at gaining yards after hauling in a pass. Bowers can run through defenders with ease, while still demonstrating that he has the long speed to pull away from the defense once in open field.
Furthermore, this ability made Bowers a favorite in the Bulldogs’ offense to receive schemed touches and align from a variety of positions — a rarity among his peers at the position.
Although a high-end prospect, Bowers doesn’t enter the draft without his share of faults, the most important of them being his size.
Bowers is not your typical inline tight end. While showing the want and desire to block, he just does not have the mass to consistently hold up against the ultra-fast and athletic edge defenders of the NFL on a consistent basis. This is not your Chris Manhertz replacement.
For The Denver Broncos
If the Denver Broncos do not love any quarterback prospect when Pick No. 12 is on the clock, they must instead work on upgrading the situation for that eventual quarterback of the future in order to foster his development.
By landing one of college football’s best tight ends ever, they would be doing exactly that — gaining a dynamic weapon that is dangerous both before and after the catch.
With a play-caller that has relied on great pass-catching tight ends throughout his career, Sean Payton feels like a fantastic pairing for a young player like Bowers. In fact, Payton drafted, multi-time pro bowler, Jimmy Graham, who had 1,310 yards in just his second season and also carried blocking concerns.
While the track record on first-round tight ends is scary to sift through, with so many busts coming from this position group, the league has become more aware of how to utilize these players in recent years. Kyle Pitts, Dalton Kincaid, and Sam Laporta, were all selected in the last three drafts and each has finished with a top-10 season all-time, among rookie tight ends, in terms of receiving yards.
As the league continues to evolve, these receiving tight ends are less likley to be tasked with blocking huge edge defenders as much as they used to be, and instead are using their athleticism to their advantage, with them being asked to block downfield or on the move.
Seeing how Payton put players like Michael Burton, Lil’Jordan Humphrey, and Jaleel Mclaughlin in the best position to succeed, one would expect the same for Bowers when it comes to his deficiencies as a blocker.
At the end of the day, Bowers is undeniably worth the Denver Broncos’ first-round selection, and would provide them with their first true difference-making weapon in years.
