An NFL head coach can tell if a rookie has special talent. Las Vegas Raiders coach Antonio Pierce recognized this talent in tight end Brock Bowers right away.
“The day he walked in the door,” Pierce said Wednesday. “We knew we were getting a blue chipper. I mean, he showed it from day one at Georgia when he arrived on campus. And he kept doing it every game, every year.
“When he got here for rookie minicamp and put on pads at training camp, we had to slow him down a bit because he was pushing himself hard. Honestly, we knew what we had; we just didn’t want to say it until he proved it.”
In the first two games of the season, Bowers has certainly proven himself. Everyone except the shy 21-year-old from Napa, California seems eager to talk about it.
“I could tell when he first showed up,” said wide receiver Davante Adams, who was part of a group of veteran players that welcomed the rookies when they arrived in Las Vegas.
“Just by the way he spoke and how focused he was, it seemed like he cared about nothing but football.
“You notice those young players who come in like that, stay focused and learn from the veterans. You can see something special in them.”
When asked how he got to know someone who is serious and reserved, Adams admitted he isn’t sure if they’ve fully connected yet.
“We’re still skating,” Adams said. “I don’t know if it’s ever been fully broken.” On the field, however, Bowers is impressive.
Bowers had nine catches for 98 yards in Sunday’s 26-23 comeback win against Baltimore. He became the first tight end in NFL history to have at least five receptions and 50 receiving yards in each of his first two games.
Bowers has 15 catches and 156 yards in the first two games, which is the highest for a rookie tight end since the merger.
He also ranks second in the league for the highest catch percentage (88.2%) on targets this season, with at least 15 targets, just behind Tampa Bay’s Chris Godwin (93.8%).
“I just kind of come and do my job, and I just feel like I go about my business,” a somewhat surprised Bowers said while standing by his locker, surrounded by reporters. “Whenever I’m in the building, I just kind of focus on football and yeah, just getting after it.”
Bowers mentioned that his time at Georgia helped him adjust from college to the professional level. Coach Pierce appreciates Bowers’ championship mentality and attention to detail during his first official season as head coach.
“He’s tough, he loves the game,” Pierce said. “He doesn’t care how he looks or how he talks — he just wants to play ball. And that fits our mentality.”
Bowers has a chance to keep up his strong performance on Sunday when the Raiders host Carolina in their home opener. The Panthers have allowed the sixth-highest number of receptions (11) and the eighth-most yards (104) to tight ends this season.
“That dude’s like, been making plays from day one,” Raiders quarterback Gardner Minshew said. “To get him in game situations, to have trust in him has really been easy. He’s earned it the whole time, and it’s really cool to have a guy like that on your team.
