When the Las Vegas Raiders took tight end Brock Bowers with the No. 13 overall pick in the 2024 NFL Draft, the selection was met with some frustration from fans because tight end was not a priority after the team drafted fellow tight end Michael Mayer in the second round the year before.
But when you start to dig deeper on Bowers, you can see he isn't your average tight end thanks to his possessing elite athleticism that makes him a weapon anywhere on the formation.
In fact, Bowers lined up in the slot for over half of his snaps in college, showing his versatility.
MORE: Takeaways from Day 1 of Raiders rookie minicamp
And, speaking of that athleticism, it was on full display during the Raiders' first day of rookie minicamp on Friday, which turned some heads, including that of The Athletic's Vic Tafur, who pointed out Bowers' explosiveness.
The explosiveness of Brock Bowers is on display on the rookie camp practice field.
— Vic Tafur (@VicTafur) May 10, 2024
Vincent Bonsignore of the Las Vegas Review-Journal echoed Tafur's sentiments.
Brock Bowers athleticism is as advertised. Dude has a few different gears and smoothly gets to them. @Raiders have lined him up pretty much everywhere
— Vincent Bonsignore (@VinnyBonsignore) May 10, 2024
Here's some video showing Bowers' impressive burst.
Raiders rookie Brock Bowers is already demonstrating some serious burst after the catch in minicamp.
— Vegas Sports Today (@VegasSportsTD) May 10, 2024
🎥: By @Sean_Zittel, Vegas Sports Today#RaiderNation pic.twitter.com/sIDO2jzGtV
“His position is tight end, but to us he’s an offensive playmaker," assistant GM Champ Kelly said of Bowers, per Levi Edwards of Raiders.com. "He’s a fun piece to have because it’s going to be interesting to see how defenses ploy against him.”
Of course, we should all temper expectations for Bowers, because there's no telling how long it'll take him to acclimate to the NFL. But clearly he has the goods to make an impact at the next level, and likely sooner rather than later.