TIME Magazine’s annual award for the most influential figure in the world went to artist Taylor Swift. By the criteria of the award, she was well deserving. Being perhaps the most polarizing person in the world this past year, Swift captured the attention of the world with her massively successful Eras tour, along with the rerelease of her popular albums 1989 and Speak Now.
What catapulted Swift into the limelight even more was the news of her relationship with Kansas City Chiefs tight end Travis Kelce. It’s not like she’s dating some benchwarmer either, as Kelce has been the best at his position for quite some time. That time is running out though. As Taylor’s tour comes to a close, the Brock Bowers Era is all that matters now.
Bowers, the phenomenal Georgia TE, has garnered comparisons to many all-time greats at the position, including Kelce. At 6’4 240, he’s smaller than you’d expect for a generational prospect, but he makes up for it by possessing athleticism unheard of for someone his size.
As you might expect, he’s the consensus TE1 in the 2024 NFL Draft class.
His positives are abundant. He possesses the rare ability among TEs to separate against outside man coverage. He’s not exactly a sudden, quick-footed route runner, but his clean breaks and strength to disregard any contact will make him a true outside threat at the next level. Bowers also offers 4.4 speed, highlighted when he took an end around 75 yards for a TD against Kent State last year; beating the safety’s angle in a burst of speed you usually only see from receivers.
Bowers is just as dangerous after the catch. He’s impossible to bring down on first contact in the open field with his strength and elite balance to run through arm tackles. He led all TEs in missed tackles forced (via PFF) despite missing significant time due to injury.
Catching the ball isn’t a problem for him either. Against Auburn, Bowers made two one handed grabs through contact, the most impressive one coming when he had to adjust to a ball thrown behind him that he plucked out of the air effortlessly. He high points the ball well, looking much larger than 6’4 240 when he leaps to make a catch.
His negatives are all almost impossible to find, but no prospect is perfect. He’s undersized, which limits his blocking ability. Blocking is a huge part of playing the position, so he’ll probably fit best in 12 personnel heavy offenses. This won’t be a huge issue, as he’s such a weapon on offense that he can be impactful playing outside of the non-traditional TE position.
Bowers is a once in a generation talent, and will be an instant impact for whoever drafts him.
Photo Source: Georgia Dogs 2023 Roster, https://georgiadogs.com/sports/football/roster/brock-bowers/7345
