Brock Bowers is the tight end on everyone’s lip in the class of 2024.
The former Georgia Bulldogs star is the consensus top tight end in the upcoming NFL Draft and a projected top-ten overall pick.
His speed and after-the-catch ability make him an explosive offensive weapon and one of the most attractive prospects of any position in this year’s draft.
Bowers’ qualities have even drawn comparisons to larger than life Chiefs TE Travis Kelce – a three-time Super Bowl winner and one of the best to ever do it.
But according to NFL Draft Insider Matt Miller, Bowers is much more like 49ers tight end George Kittle, who came off second best to Kelce in February’s Big Game.
“On the field, there’s some of it,” Miller said of the similarities between Bowers and Kelce.
“He’s [Bowers] quite a bit smaller. I think that’s something that gets overlooked. Travis is 6-5 and his weight has changed throughout his career, he’s dropped some weight.
“Brock Bowers was barely 6-1, just a little over 240 pounds. He’s actually kind of undersized for his position.
“I think if you were going to make a comparison as a player, it would be more of George Kittle. Somebody who almost operates as a slot receiver at times, gives you great run-after-catch power.
“He’s [Bowers] probably a 4.6 to 4.7 guy (in the 40-yard dash), which is good, really good. But he’s not this transcendent athlete.
“He’s just a really, really good football player. “
Kittle, 30, has made five Pro Bowls and four All-Pro teams after entering the league in 2017 as a fifth-round pick out of Iowa.
Since then he has established himself as one of the most unguardable receivers in the NFL as well as the premier blocker at the position today.
He and fellow ‘Tight End University’ co-founder Kelce are the two best tight ends in the league but Kittle has separated himself with his elite run-blocking game.
The 6ft 4in, 250 lb tight end routinely blocks the best edge rushers in the NFL and, according to PFF, has the best run-blocking grade among tight ends over the last decade.
Bowers’ emergence as a exceptional run-blocker means his game is more akin to Kittle than Kelce.
“He is a bulldog that attacks the edge and can block in-line,” one NFL Network analyst said of Bowers.
“As a blocker, he might be the strongest pound-for-pound tight end you’ll find,” PFF’s scouting report reads.
“Add in his reliable blocking ability on the line and in space, and you have an ultimate chess piece offensive weapon with All-Pro potential.”
Nobody is doubting Bowers’ potential – tight ends with dual threat ability don’t come around often.
But his draft stock could be impacted by the lack of importance teams often place on the tight end position.
QBs and wide receivers have always received the most attention in the NFL and college.
Tight ends tend to be overlooked, but the likes of Kelce, Kittle and New England Patriots legend Rob Gronkowski have demonstrated over the last decade the enormous upside of having a dominant TE breaking tackles and racking up yards after the catch.
Still, first round tight ends are rare – since 2014, only eight tight ends have been selected in the first round of the NFL draft.
They have enjoyed mixed success in the pros, but Kelce and Kittle are the exception to the rule and prove that the right combination of talent and environment can have a game-changing impact on a franchise.
And Bowers is already ahead of both coming out of college.
The 21-year-old is touted as one of the best TEs in college football history while Kelce and Kittle were only the No.63 and No.42 picks in the 2013 and 2017 drafts, respectively.
“The two guys we’re talking about were drafted in the third and fifth round, respectively, and now we’re talking about Bowers being selected in the top 15,” Miller added.
“It goes to show how much more important that type of player has become at tight end.”
Bowers finds himself in a stacked draft class loaded with top-end quarterback talent including Caleb Williams, J.J. McCarthy, Drake Maye and Jayden Daniels.
That may well affect his draft stock but there’s no denying his resume matches up with most players in this year’s class.
The talented pass catcher is a three-time All American (unanimous in 2023) and two-time national champion after helping Georgia win back-to-back national titles in 2021 and 2022.
The 21-year-old led the Bulldogs in receptions (56), receiving yards (714) and touchdown catches (6) this past season and is the the only player in history to win the John Mackey Award – given to the nation’s top tight end – twice since the award’s inception in 2000.
Bowers also holds the UGA school record for single-season receiving touchdowns with thirteen, and his 173 receptions for 2,538 yards and 26 touchdowns are all SEC records for a tight end.
At 34 and 30, respectively, Kelce and Kittle’s careers are against the clock.
One is chasing a fourth world championship trophy and the GOAT tight end status while the other is searching for his first Super Bowl ring.
Bowers, meanwhile, represents the new generation of tight ends set to dominate the NFL for the next decade following the giant footsteps of No.87 and No.85.
News Summary:
- Brock Bowers has some Travis Kelce in him but one underrated quality means he’s more comparable to this NFL Pro Bowl tight end
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