Georgia TE Brock Bowers should be one of the first picks in the 2024 NFL Draft
The highest a tight end has ever been selected in the NFL Draft was when the Atlanta Falcons selected Kyle Pitts fourth overall out of the University of Florida back in the 2021 draft.
Georgia tight end Brock Bowers not only has a strong case to go in a similar spot, there is a strong argument to be made he might be worthy of going even higher.
Bowers is one of the most physically dominant players in college football and showed that again on Saturday in the Bulldogs' 27-20 win over the Auburn Tigers.
It was a clinic by Bowers as he not only made several highlight reel catches, he also showed his unmatched combination of speed and strength on a game-winning 40-yard touchdown catch in the fourth quarter. He got himself wide open in the middle of the Auburn defense and then effortlessly blew through multiple Auburn tackles on his way to the end zone.
Before that play, he also had this ridiculous one-handed catch that he made look easy.
He finished Saturday's game with eight catches for 157 yards and the touchdown.
Tight end has not traditionally been a position that gets a high value in the draft, at least as it relates to top-five selections. Given how the position has grown in recent years and how much of a matchup problem the best players at the position can be, that might be changing. You have to make outrageous comparisons to a player that is still in college and has yet to play a game in the NFL, but if teams could go back in time with hindsight and the knowledge they have now, players like Rob Gronkowski or Travis Kelce would have absolutely been top-10 or even top-five picks. They are that impactful to the game,
Bowers might have that same sort of potential.
Right now, it is looking like the Arizona Cardinals and Chicago Bears are going to be among the top teams picking in the 2024 NFL Draft and each of them could have multiple picks within the top-five (Arizona owns Houston's first-round pick while Chicago owns Carolina's).
Even if you assume those teams need to take a quarterback like USC's Caleb Williams or North Carolina's Drake Maye, they will still need a playmaker to help them out. Bowers might have a chance to be a matchup nightmare in the NFL and is basically a bigger, stronger version of a wide receiver that teams can lineup all over the field.
He is not only one of the best players in college football this season, he should be a Heisman Trophy contender and one of the first picks in the 2024 NFL Draft class. There is no good reason for him to not be.
More must-reads: