Brock Bowers Fantasy Overview

2024 Summary

Production & Fantasy Finishes

Perhaps you heard that Bowers had a pretty good first season. Here are the all-time rookie reception leaders:

1. Bowers, 112
2. Malik Nabers, 109
3. Puka Nacua, 105
4. Jaylen Waddle, 104
5. Anquan Boldin, 101

Bowers also delivered the 11th-most receiving yards in a season by a rookie, despite a mere 10.7 yards per catch.

He led all 2024 TEs in total PPR and half-PPR points, ranking second in non-PPR points. Bowers trailed only George Kittle in points per game (plus Taysom Hill in non-PPR).

Usage & Role

Bowers fell short of 70% playing time in the first three games of his rookie season – but no more beyond that.

Week 4 marked the first game that WR Davante Adams missed. The Raiders traded him to the Jets before he took the field again.

Week 4 also marked the beginning of TE Michael Mayer’s six-game disappearance from the lineup. From that week on, Bowers ranked 12th in the league – across positions – in target share, edging teammate Jakobi Meyers by 0.1 of a percentage point.

Efficiency Metrics

For the year, only Trey McBride accounted for a larger share of his team’s receiving yards among TEs than Bowers.

Among 47 TEs who drew at least 25 targets, Bowers ranked:

• fifth in yards per route
• 21st in yards per target
• 21st in yards after catch per reception
• sixth in TD share
• 10th in end-zone targets (caught one of seven)
• second in first-read rate
• 26th in catchable target rate

What does that all mean? Even though Bowers drew a historic number of targets and caught a historic number of passes, his situation left plenty of fantasy production unclaimed.

Injury History

Bowers needed tightrope surgery after a high-ankle sprain in his final college season. But he returned after only two games and showed no ill effects through his first year in the pros.

Bowers also remained durable through that rookie season, despite hurting a foot in August. That issue caused no missed time.

2025 Expectations

Projected Role & Competition

Perhaps a full season of Mayer challenges Bowers’ target share a bit more. But the rookie ranked second in target share at the position last year from Week 11 on, the span that started with Mayer’s return from his personal time away.

Bowers also ranked second at the position in air-yards share and tied for second in actual yardage share. So Mayer will need to prove that he’s a threat before we’re downgrading the rookie-year record-setter.

Otherwise, the offense presents little target competition. Jakobi Meyers returns to lead WRs. Second-round rookie Jack Bech was the group’s lead addition, and the Raiders added little behind him.

Supporting Cast

Remember the unfulfilled 2024 fantasy production mentioned above? Bowers could have scored even better with more accurate quarterbacking. And the Raiders clearly targeted such an upgrade.

They traded a Round 3 pick for QB Geno Smith. Among 64 QBs with at least 200 pass attempts over the past three seasons, Smith’s 68.5% completion rate ranks fifth – less than a half-point behind Joe Burrow.

Here’s how Smith ranked the past three years in Fantasy Points Data’s catchable throw rate:

• fifth in 2024
• 30th in 2023
• fifth in 2022

Coaching & Offensive Scheme

New OC Chip Kelly is best known for his offenses’ rushing success. But his system proved helpful to TE scoring over his three years as Philly HC, 2013 to 2015.

Those three teams finished 10th, eighth, and seventh in total TE PPR points, with a young Zach Ertz arriving via Round 2 and working into an offense that still included Brent Celek.

Perhaps we should even count Kelly’s 2016 Niners ranking 17th in TE scoring as a success, given that Garrett Celek led that group and ranked third on the team in targets and receptions.

Either way, it doesn’t take an offensive genius to recognize that Bowers should keep getting the ball.