Ho. Ly. Crap. In the event you had given me 13 pictures at guessing who the Las Vegas Raiders would choose at No. 13, I can guarantee you that Georgia tight finish Brock Bowers wouldn’t have been on the checklist. One yr after deciding on tight finish Michael Mayer within the second spherical out of Notre Dame, the Raiders went again to the properly with an absolute stunner.
And? It’s onerous to hate it.
If the Raiders have developed a repute, it’s for reaching for guys that didn’t belong the place they have been picked — so to see them snatch up the man who fell into their lap was a primary. Dane Brugler of The Athletic had Bowers as his No. 7 prospect within the draft, Danny Kelly of The Ringer had him as No. 3, Daniel Jeremiah of NFL.com had him at No. 7, as did Todd McShay (previously of ESPN). Regardless of the place you look, the Raiders bought unbelievable worth, even when it wasn’t a place of utmost want.
And realistically, that’s the one nitpick: with obvious wants at offensive deal with and cornerback, the Raiders may have snagged a high-level prospect at both spot — but when the secret is risk-mitigation and considering long-term, it’s onerous to be too disillusioned. In Bowers, the Raiders are getting a man who led Georgia in receiving in every of the final three years — twice profitable the John Mackey Award given to the nation’s greatest tight finish.
From a dimension perspective, Bowers isn’t overwhelming — 6’3″ and 243 kilos — however this child ran a 4.5 40-yard sprint in highschool. Because of this, he racked up a median of 8.5 yards after the catch in school, a quantity that would be the key to producing the mandatory worth for his draft slot. If Bowers can replicate that manufacturing on the professional degree, his classification will shift from “tight finish” to “offensive weapon” — and his future earnings will profit due to it.
Concerning how this choose suits in Vegas, I believe the eye shifts to new Offensive Coordinator Luke Getsy and whether or not he can discover a method to maximize two weapons at tight finish on the sphere concurrently. Heck, in the event that they’re struggling to dam guys off the best aspect, now they’ve bought two threats at tight finish, and so they can stack on that aspect to each confuse the protection and provide some assist.
Lastly, what does this imply for common supervisor Tom Telesco and head coach Antonio Pierce for the remainder of the weekend? Truthfully, not a lot. There’s nonetheless an enormous want at each cornerback and deal with — and in the event that they don’t attempt to get again into the primary spherical to fill a kind of wants (I’d at the very least discover it, particularly if corners drop), then that needs to be the highest precedence alongside an inside lineman.
Backside line: This was a triple for the Raiders—not fairly the right marriage between want and worth, however you’ll be able to’t get lower than an “A” whenever you stroll away with one of many 5-7 greatest gamers within the draft regardless of choosing thirteenth.
