Why Raiders' Brock Bowers Is a Mystifying Fantasy Football Figure

Catching balls in a putrid Raiders offense led by quarterbacks Gardner Minshew II, Aidan O'Connell, and Desmond Ridder, Bowers was able to prove that he's foolproof, finishing with 112 receptions for 1,194 yards and five touchdowns. That made him 2024's number-one tight end, with 247.7 full-PPR points through the first 17 weeks.

There's optimism that he can be even better in his second NFL campaign. The Raiders have overhauled their offense, bringing in Head Coach Pete Carroll and Offensive Coordinator Chip Kelly to design a new system and enlisting new quarterback Geno Smith and running back Ashton Jeanty to take over the backfield. With all of the upgrades, Brock Bowers is set to benefit in a more productive Las Vegas attack, but he could take a hit in his production, too.

Will Brock Bowers tumble down the TE ranks?

Having a much more competent quarterback under center in Geno Smith and a deeper host of weapons around him could open things up for Brock Bowers to have an even more dominant season in his second year. On the other hand, it could also serve to leach off the production he saw as a rookie.

Pro Football Focus' Nathan Jahnke doesn't expect Bowers to repeat as fantasy's TE1 this season:

"Brock Bowers joined the Las Vegas Raiders and immediately became the league’s top fantasy tight end. He led all tight ends in receptions and receiving yards as a rookie, resulting in the most fantasy points. Both Trey McBride and George Kittle missed games and finished slightly ahead of Bowers in fantasy points per game. His 88.4 receiving grade also finished third among tight ends, behind Kittle and McBride."

"He became more of a part of the offense as the season progressed. He played less than 70% of the Raiders' offensive snaps in the first three weeks. Once Week 8 hit, he played a minimum of 85% of their offensive snaps every week for the rest of the season. He had three games of double-digit targets over the second half of the season, and both of his 100-yard performances occurred during the season's second half."

Jahnke went on to say that a large part of Bowers' outlier rookie season was due to sheer volume. The tight end's target share and overall snaps could drop this year between his relatively small frame at his position and Chip Kelly's penchant for fielding run-heavy offenses, with Michael Mayer and Ian Thomas threatening Bowers' production as better run-blockers behind him on the depth chart.

The Raiders' Week 1 clash against the New England Patriots will be extremely telling for their planned usage of Bowers and how that could impact his fantasy prospects in 2025.

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