Las Vegas Raiders rookie tight end Brock Bowers came into this season with high expectations, having been the No. 13 overall pick in last April’s NFL Draft, but he suffered a foot injury in the Raiders’ first preseason game which kept him off the field for weeks.
But now that he has returned to the practice field, how much should be expected of the first-year tight end in Week 1?
Here is an update on Bowers’ injury outlook for Week 1.
Brock Bowers Injury Update
Bowers was having a good introduction to the NFL in his first preseason game on Aug. 10, catching two passes for 25 yards against the Minnesota Vikings. But when he injured his foot in that game, he was sidelined for a few weeks.
But Bowers returned to practice this week and was listed as a limited participant in Wednesday’s injury report. Raiders head coach Antonio Pierce said that he expects Bowers to be able to play when they visit the Los Angeles Chargers on Sunday.
Bowers’ Fantasy Outlook for Week 1
For Week 1, Pro Football Network’s Fantasy Football Start/Sit Optimizer projects Bowers to finish with four receptions, 38 receiving yards, and 8.7 fantasy points.
With a preseason ranking of TE11 in Pro Football Network’s Consensus Fantasy Football Rankings, Bowers is expected to be an impactful player as a rookie. The Raiders’ decision to draft Bowers in the first round was a big curiosity after they selected tight end Michael Mayer in the second round in the 2023 NFL Draft.
But Mayer did not have much success as a rookie in 2023, finishing with only 27 receptions for 304 yards and two touchdowns in 14 games. That certainly allowed the Raiders to justify selecting Bowers, after he finished a spectacular collegiate career at Georgia.
The two-time winner of the John Mackey Award, earned by the nation’s best tight end, caught 175 passes in three seasons with the Bulldogs, racking up 2,538 receiving yards and scoring 31 total touchdowns — only 26 of which came through the air.
He averaged over 14 yards a catch for his career (14.5) and proved to be a big-time performer in college, catching a touchdown pass in each of his appearances in the College Football Playoff National Championship.
His first NFL game will be against a Chargers team that ranked in the bottom five of the league in pass defense last season, allowing 249.8 passing yards a game in 2023 (30th in the NFL).
Bowers will have a veteran quarterback, Gardner Minshew II, to throw the ball his way, which is another plus for the rookie.
Assuming he remains healthy the rest of the week and is able to play, fantasy managers should have little reservations about putting Bowers in their lineups in Week 1.