Las Vegas Raiders have New York Jets to thank for Brock Bowers

Mike Moraitis

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Las Vegas Raiders have New York Jets to thank for Brock Bowers image

If you're among the Las Vegas Raiders fans who were happy with the 2024 NFL Draft selection of tight end Brock Bowers in the first round at pick No. 13, you have the New York Jets to thank for it.

As it turns out, the Los Angeles Rams tried very hard to move up to the No. 10 pick with the goal of drafting Bowers, according to Ari Meirov of The 33rd Team. Los Angeles first offered pick Nos. 19 and 52 for the Jets' first-round selection.

When that wasn't enough, the Rams came back with another offer that included pick Nos. 19, 52 and 99 in exchange for Nos. 10 and 185, but the Jets still weren't having it.

Ultimately, New York traded back one spot with the Minnesota Vikings, who took quarterback J.J. McCarthy before the Jets drafted offensive tackle Olu Fashanu.

The Raiders taking Bowers came with some controversy, as tight end was not on the list of the team's biggest needs after the selection of fellow tight end Michael Mayer in the second round of the 2023 NFL Draft. The expectation was that Las Vegas would take a cornerback, right tackle, or even a quarterback.

The Raiders made some history with the pick, according to ESPN's Bill Barnwell, as they were not only the first team in over 20 years to take a tight end in the first two rounds in back-to-back drafts since they did the same thing in 2002-03, Las Vegas was the first team to spend a top-40 pick on the position in back-to-back drafts since 1974.

The thing is, Bowers isn't your typical tight end thanks to his incredible versatility. Not only did he line up as an in-line tight end in college, he also saw snaps in the slot and on the outside. Adding to that, we've even seen Bowers getting some hand-offs in practice this offseason.

That kind of versatility will allow the Raiders to utilize both of their tight ends in the same formation on a regular basis.

Mike Moraitis

Mike Moraitis Photo

After cutting his teeth with Bleacher Report, Mike Moraitis has covered the Los Angeles Rams and Tennessee Titans for FanSided, and the Titans and New York Giants for USA TODAY Sports Media Group. On top of his duties with Sporting News, Mike is the managing editor and lead writer for Titans Wire.