Georgia star Brock Bowers shares the three NFL tight ends he admires

Brock Bowers is projected to be taken in the top 15 of the 2024 NFL Draft by many analysts, and for good reason. 

The Napa, Calif., native helped lead head coach Kirby Smart's Georgia Bulldogs to two national championships and is regarded as one of the top receiving tight ends in recent college football history. 

On Sunday, NFL writer Matt Maiocco of NBC Sports Bay Area revealed Bowers' list of three NFL tight ends he's either a fan of or patterns his game after. 

The 6-foot-4, 240-pound Bowers said he grew up watching four-time Super Bowl champion Rob Gronkowski of the New England Patriots/Tampa Bay Buccaneers and admitted "Gronk" is a role model. 

"I love watching Gronk," Bowers said, adding, "I also love watching (George) Kittle and (Travis) Kelce." 

Bowers said Kelce, Kansas City's three-time Super Bowl champion, has inspired him to improve his game. 

"We do some film study stuff with Georgia," Bowers said, per NBC Sports Bay Area. "I love watching him play and try to learn some things from his game." 

Bowers could become one of the best tight ends in the NFL soon, perhaps in his rookie season, just as Detroit Lions star Sam LaPorta (86 catches, 889 yards, 10 TDs) stood out in 2023. 

Bowers grew up in 49ers country and spent a lot of time watching Kittle, but said that he would prefer to be drafted by the Tennessee Titans with the seventh selection. 

Bowers said the success of Packers tight ends Tucker Kraft and Luke Musgrave, LaPorta and Dalton Kincaid of the Buffalo Bills have helped fuel his passion for an impactful rookie season.

"It's exciting to see those young guys balling out because, obviously, my rookie year is coming up," Bowers said. "I'd like to do the same thing, so it'd be good to kind of learn from those dudes and learn from what they did and what they did well." 

On Monday, CBS Sports projected Bowers will go to the Denver Broncos with the 12th pick. His draft stock may have slipped recently as fast-rising QBs J.J. McCarthy of Michigan and Jayden Daniels of LSU and cornerback Terrion Arnold of Alabama have surged ahead of him.