Latest news with #BrockBowers
USA Today
18 hours ago
- Sport
- USA Today
We hit 80 in our Raiders countdown to kickoff. Who wore it best and who's wearing it now
We hit 80 in our Raiders countdown to kickoff. Who wore it best and who's wearing it now We've reached 80 days until the Raiders season opener at Foxboro against the Patriots, With our countdown at 80 days we take a look at who currently dons the number in Silver & Black and who has brought it the most distinction. No. 80 Who's wearing it now: TE Ian Thomas This eighth year veteran has spent his entire career up to this point with the Carolina Panthers. He joins the Raiders as a solid number three tight end option behind Brock Bowers and Michael Mayer. He's a solid 6-4, 260 pounds with some decent hands but even better blocking and special teams abilities. Who wore it best: WR Jerry Rice The GOAT joined the Raiders in 2001 at the age of 39. In his second season with the team, at the age of 40, he put up over 1200 yards receiving (1211), made his 13th career Pro Bowl and the Raiders were in the Super Bowl. In 54 games over four seasons in Oakland, Rice put up 243 catches for 3286 yards and 18 touchdowns. Honorable Mention: TE Zach Miller Miller was a second round pick by the Raiders in the 2007 NFL Draft. He played four seasons for the Raiders, making one Pro Bowl. He may have had more success except he joined the Raiders during some very bad years. This included two years of JaMarcus Russell and three years in which they couldn't get more than five wins in a season.
Yahoo
3 days ago
- Sport
- Yahoo
Pete Carroll: Michael Mayer had a great offseason with us
A lot has changed for the Raiders since 2023, but that was the year the club selected a talented tight end out of Notre Dame in Michael Mayer. He caught 27 passes for 304 yards with two touchdowns as a rookie, flashing his potential. Advertisement But then the Raiders brought in Brock Bowers at the same position in 2024, and he immediately became one of the league's top players, earning first-team All-Pro distinction after his record-setting rookie year. While Mayer was limited to 11 games in 2024, the new Raiders regime has seen a lot of good from the tight end during the spring. 'I thought Mike had a great offseason with us,' head coach Pete Carroll said in his press conference late last week. 'We started out going heart to heart and him [understanding] what we're all about, and he embraced it and took it as well as anybody could take the challenge of bringing it day in and day out. He had a great camp, and he was doing well before Brock got here, and the two of them just went head to head, just trying to make a play here and there and going back and forth. And they were just great contributors. 'It's a terrific position group for us. Ian Thomas coming in really, really livens it up as well. So, we have a very good position group right there and excited about what they're going to do, but I thought Michael had a great camp.' Advertisement Offensive coordinator Chip Kelly also noted earlier in the offseason program that Mayer had been 'outstanding,' adding, 'I checked — you can play with two tight ends in a game at the same time, and sometimes you can play with three tight ends they told me.' That could mean plenty more playing time for Mayer, who finished last season with 21 catches for 156 yards.
Forbes
13-06-2025
- Sport
- Forbes
2025 Fantasy Football TE Rankings (Top 5)
To round out this initial 2025 fantasy football ranking series, we'll be looking at the tight ends. As the offseason goes on, we'll dive deeper into each position, but for now, we'll be breaking down my top five 2025 fantasy football TE rankings. Tight end is a position that is extremely scarce. There's only a number of productive tight ends each year, and if you can draft one of them, you're giving your team a massive advantage. We'll be breaking down these players for a PPR format. There's really not much debate for the TE1 spot this year. As a rookie in a bad situation, Brock Bowers was able to finish as the TE1 (PPR) in 2025. Bowers was dominant, catching 112 passes on 153 targets for 1,194 yards and five touchdowns. The numbers that translate year to year, such as targets, receptions, and even Yards per Route Run (2.25), were elite. Out of all of Bowers's stats, the only thing that wasn't great was his touchdowns, which is typically a volatile stat. With Geno Smith coming in as the Las Vegas Raiders QB1, this offense should be better, leading to more touchdown opportunities. The only minor concern you have is that the Raiders added more target competition in Jack Bech, and Ashton Jeanty now gives them a reason to run the ball a lot more. With how talented Bowers is, though, and when taking the upgrade of Smith into account, Bowers is still easily my TE1. The same thing that happened to Bowers can be applied to Trey McBride as well. McBride was great with his targets (147), receptions (111), receiving yards (1,146) and YPPR (2.42). The one thing that held McBride back was his touchdowns at two. It's not as if this is new, which makes it a bit scary. McBride has yet to score more than three touchdowns in his NFL career. The saving grace is that at 6'4" and 246 lbs, it's not as if he doesn't have the build to do so. Expect Marvin Harrison Jr to take a step up from his rookie season and slightly eat into those targets for McBride, but it's hard to project the 2024 TE2 lower than this. If McBride gets a spike in the right direction for his touchdowns, there's a shot that he overtakes Bowers. After McBride, there's a slight tier drop just because of the age. George Kittle is 31 years old, so you have to be a bit cautious of him missing a few games, and it's also not expected for him to get much better. Last season, Kittle was the TE3 due to excellent efficiency stats. Kittle was elite with his YPRR at 3.09, even though he didn't have the same number of targets (94) or receptions (78) as the players above. Kittle is also the clear number on receiving option on an offense that projects out well for 2025. Mike Clay of ESPN projects Brock Purdy out for 4,609 passing yards, which is great for Kittle. Putting T.J. Hockenson at four is shooting for his ceiling, but he's a player who could absolutely finish higher than four. We've seen Hockenson do so in 2022 when he was the TE2 with the Minnesota Vikings. Now, with Hockenson, he's 27 years old, which is in the middle of the top three guys. He suffered an ACL and MCL back in 2023, which limited him to 10 games last year. Now that Hockenson has had more time to recover expect big things in 2025. While his upside is capped because of Justin Jefferson, we saw him finish as the TE4 back in 2023 with the Vikings. While Hockenson didn't put up impressive numbers in 2025 due to the fact that he played 47% of the snaps, one key metric did stick out. Hockenson had a 2.61 YPRR mark, which was the best of his career. If Hockenson can keep that up in 2025, expect the fantasy points to follow. Before Bowers, many viewed Sam LaPorta as the best rookie tight end of all time. LaPorta was the TE1, scoring 239.3 points back in 2023. For reference, Bowers had 262.7 points, but both were great That said, LaPorta only had 120 targets, 83 receptions, and 889 yards as a rookie, making his production a bit more unsustainable. LaPorta ended up dropping down to being the TE8 last year, but there's more to the story. On Draft Sharks, LaPorta is given a number of injuries, but he played through almost all of them. If you look at the game logs, LaPorta only played at least 90% of snaps once before week 12. After week 12, LaPorta would play at least 90% of the snaps for the rest of the year. In weeks 12-17, we saw LaPorta finish as a top 10 tight end in every week but one. Prior to week 12, LaPorta was only able to do so four times. With an offseason of recovery, LaPorta should be much better. Having LaPorta as TE5 seems like a fair projection because you have to account for the loss of Ben Johnson as well. With Amon-Ra St. Brown still set to dominate, it's hard to see LaPorta having another TE1 season. We'll dive deeper into this last as the offseason goes on, but for now, these are my top five 2025 fantasy football TE rankings.
Yahoo
08-06-2025
- Sport
- Yahoo
Raiders' OL Reveals Significant Offseason Change at OTAs
Raiders' OL Reveals Significant Offseason Change at OTAs originally appeared on Athlon Sports. The Las Vegas Raiders failed to gain any traction during the 2024 NFL season. While injuries certainly did not help, poor coaching by Antonio Pierce and bad personnel decisions by general manager Tom Telesco were responsible for the team's four-win campaign as well. Advertisement Ever since being fired in January, Telesco has been dragged by Raiders fans for the addition of quarterback Gardner Minshew and the failure to re-sign 2022 First-Team All-Pro running back Josh Jacobs, However, Telesco made three great selections in the 2024 NFL Draft. This netted Las Vegas First-Team All-Pro tight end Brock Bowers, All-Rookie center Jackson Powers-Johnson and starting right tackle DJ Glaze. Las Vegas Raiders OL Jackson Powers-Johnson (58).Kirby Lee-Imagn Images Powers-Johnson overcame a slew of preseason injuries and was a solid starter for the Raiders at both guard and center last season. Now, the new regime in Las Vegas plans to play him exclusively at center. Advertisement He spoke to the media last week after an OTA workout and revealed that he made a significant change this offseason. "I've really hammered down a routine. I've lost 10 to 15 pounds," Powers-Johnson said. "I'm faster, I'm stronger, I'm getting a lot better at technique. ... I think I'm going to make a great jump. I'm going to give it as best as I got and have some fun." During his senior season at Oregon, Powers-Johnson won the Rimington Trophy. This is given annually to the best center in college football, so his position change makes sense. As a rookie, he gained ample experience as he played 956 snaps in 15 games, 14 of which he started. According to Pro Football Focus, he played 535 at offensive guard and 421 at center, earning an overall grade of 63.9, which ranked in the middle of the pack for interior offensive linemen. Advertisement Powers-Johnson has the ability to become an All-Pro or Pro Bowl-level player for the Silver and Black. He will need to continue growing and improving throughout his NFL career to achieve this, and he is already starting with a major change this offseason. Related: Ashton Jeanty Receives 4-Word Message From Raiders OL Jackson Powers-Johnson Related: Raiders Veteran LB Praises North Carolina Coach Bill Belichick This story was originally reported by Athlon Sports on Jun 8, 2025, where it first appeared.
Yahoo
05-06-2025
- Entertainment
- Yahoo
Brock Bowers Announces Exciting News on Wednesday
Brock Bowers Announces Exciting News on Wednesday originally appeared on Athlon Sports. Brock Bowers concluded his first season with the Las Vegas Raiders, having already established himself as a star in the league. Advertisement In Bowers' first season with the Raiders, Las Vegas posted a 4-13 record. Bowers played under head coach Antonio Pierce, who was eventually fired after the season. Next season, he will be playing under Super Bowl-winning head coach Pete Carroll. Before he prepares for his first season with Carroll at the headset, Bowers took to social media, announcing exciting news for fans. Brock Bowers will be hosting a youth football camp at Napa High School, his alma mater. Brock Bowers, InstagramBrock Bowers, Instagram Brock Bowers will be hosting the camp on June 30 with the Napa High School football camp. The camp will take place from "9-12 am," according to the flyer posted. Advertisement The cost of the camp is $75 and will be available to join for children between the ages of 7 and 14. Las Vegas Raiders TE Brock Bowers (89).Candice Ward-Imagn Images During Brock Bowers' first season with the Las Vegas Raiders, he posted five touchdowns and 1,194 yards on 112 receptions. He played himself into the upper echelon of tight ends in the NFL, being named in the same conversation as some of the biggest stars such as George Kittle, Travis Kelce, Trey McBride and Mark Andrews. Before playing with the Las Vegas Raiders during his rookie season, Bowers played three seasons with the Georgia Bulldogs at the collegiate level. In his last season at Georgia, Bowers posted six touchdowns and 714 yards on 56 receptions. Advertisement During his three-year college football career, Bowers had 26 touchdowns and 2,538 yards on 175 receptions. Related: Jason Kelce Turns Heads With Personal Announcement on Wednesday Related: LeBron James Had No Words for Exciting News on Wednesday This story was originally reported by Athlon Sports on Jun 5, 2025, where it first appeared.
