Antonio Pierce was pleased with Brock Bowers’ debut

Antonio Pierce was pleased with Brock Bowers’ debut

The Las Vegas Raiders struggled to generate much offense in Sunday’s season-opener against the Los Angeles Chargers.

One of their biggest bright spots, however, is rookie tight end Brock Bowers, who they selected No. 13 overall in the 2024 NFL Draft. Raiders head coach Antonio Pierce opened up about what he was impressed with most regarding Bowers this week.

“I thought we saw just a glimpse of what it is and what he can be,” Pierce said Monday. “What I really was excited about was him in the run game. I thought he had some really good examples of some blocks out there on their defensive ends, [Khalil Mack] and [Joey Bosa].”

The swiss army knife hauled in a team-high six catches for 58 yards, including a 26-yard reception in the second quarter. Here are all of his catches:

Every Single Brock Bowers Reception From Today
6 REC 58 yards in his debut,

All-Pro season loading pic.twitter.com/Q5b5skgxCN

— A.COLE ⚡️ (@Cultur3preneur) September 9, 2024

Caleb Williams isn’t worried after disappointing Week 1 performance

According to Raiders PR, his six catches broke a franchise record for most by a tight end in their NFL Debut; he also posted the second-most catches, trailing only Keith McKeller (9), set in 1987. According to Stathead, Bowers’ 58 receiving yards marked the 8th-most in franchise history for a rookie in his NFL Debut–the most since former fourth-round receiver Louis Murphy posted 87 (on four catches) in 2009.

Bowers accounted for 24.2 percent of the team’s target share, 24 percent of the receptions and 22.5 percent of the receiving yards. It remains to be seen whether or not he can sustain that level of production for a full season, but it was definitely an encouraging start for an offense that was flat for the majority of Week 1.

“Like any rookie, it’s his first game,” Pierce said. “I think he felt like he left some yards out there as well. But it was good for him to get into the flow of the game, get his first couple catches, make some plays, move the chains for us, and again, just keep involving him into our game plan.”

We don’t need to hype him up any more than the next guy; Bowers is already a Vendetta Favorite. If you don’t believe me, click here.

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