Las Vegas Raiders tight end Brock Bowers is only two games into his NFL career and he’s already earning comparisons to NFL greats like Rob Gronkowski — including from Gronkowski himself.
Bowers put the Baltimore Ravens and NFL on notice with his performance in Week 2. The rookie tight end caught nine passes for 98 yards while helping the Raiders orchestrate an upset win over the heavily favored Ravens. He already has caught 15 passes for 156 yards, and has the most receptions by a tight end in their first two NFL games.
Brock Bowers #89 of the Las Vegas Raiders reacts during the first half against the Baltimore Ravens at M&T Bank Stadium on September 15, 2024 in Baltimore, Maryland. He’s drawing comparisons to — and high praise from — retired tight end Rob Gronkowski.
Patrick Smith/Getty Images
Gronkowski has been impressed by what he has seen out of Bowers, and even said he believes Bowers can surpass him as a pass-catching tight end.
“Brock Bowers, I was a big fan of him when he was with Georgia,” Gronkowski said on the Up & Adams Show with Kay Adams. The guy’s a winner, the guy’s a playmaker whenever the ball is thrown to him. I love his explosiveness after the catch.
Gronk added: “I feel like he’s on track to be better than myself. I don’t think he can dominate in the trenches the way I dominated in the trenches, but overall as a pass-catching tight end, I think he can surpass me in many situations.”
Raiders wide receiver Davante Adams also had high praise for his young teammate through two games.
“[Brock] shows some promise of looking like this guy [Gronkowski] that’s on the screen with us right now … this young player is on a different level for a rookie,” Adams told Kay Adams and Gronkowski.
It’s not necessarily surprising to see high praise for Bowers, who was one of the top tight end prospects coming out of college in recent memory. It’s not often that tight ends are viewed as clear first-round picks, yet the majority of draft boards predicted Bowers to go in the first round, which he ultimately did when the Raiders took him at No. 13 overall.
More Newsweek Sports: Dolphins Officially Sign Pro Bowl Quarterback After Placing Tua Tagovailoa on IR
At Georgia, Bowers won two College Football Playoff National Championships and was a two-time winner of the John Mackey Award, an award given to the best tight end in college football.
What is surprising is to already see Bowers compared to Gronkowski, who is widely considered one of the greatest tight ends in NFL history. Over his career, Gronkowski won four Super Bowls, made first-team All-Pro four times, and is part of both the NFL 2010s All-Decade Team and NFL‘s 100th Anniversary Team. A matchup nightmare, Gronkowski played a critical role in the New England Patriots’ success over the second half of their dynasty.
Bowers has a long way to go before he can officially be considered an all-time great like Gronkowski — or better than him — but he is off to a strong start to his career.
