Las Vegas Raiders star tight end Brock Bowers might want to avoid becoming a scout when his playing days are over.
At least if his self-evaluation is any indication of his tendency to undertstate reality.
“I think I can be a pretty versatile player,” he said after Thursday’s OTA practice. “I think I can do a decent amount of stuff, so it’s just kind of however they want to use me, I’m ready for whatever they want me to do.”
Sure, one of the most gifted and productive athletic freaks to ever play the tight end position is pretty decent.
But subtlety aside, Bowers was speaking about new coach Klint Kubiak’s stated intentions to find new and creative ways to get the ball in the hands of Bowers more often.
There’s a reason Kubiak called him, after just a few practices, a “football robot from heaven.”
“That was a first, but I guess it’s a compliment. So, it’s pretty funny,” Bowers said, laughing, when asked about the nickname. “(My teammates) thought it was pretty funny, too. They were all poking fun at me and stuff, so it was cool.”
Road to recovery
It wasn’t all fun and games for Bowers in his sophomore campaign last year, however.
After smashing all sorts of records as a rookie, he suffered a knee injury in the season-opener last year that lingered through the season and greatly impacted his statistical performance.
Bowers insists that’s behind him, however.
“I feel great,” he said. “It feels good to be back out there, practicing at full speed, getting back into football with all the guys again. I had a good offseason working out, staying healthy, and trying to get back to 100 percent and I feel great right now, 100 percent ready to roll and excited for the season.
“Last year was frustrating. It definitely wasn’t how I planned my second year to go, but a little adversity, and I’ve just got to come back stronger this year.”
That includes a plan to sharpen not only his skills, but his ability to mitigate injury.
“I think just homing in on my game, and every single part of it, even staying healthy,” he said of how he is spending his time since the season ended. “ I’ve been trying to do a lot more preventative work, trying to stay healthy throughout the offseason, and going into camp especially, then going into the season. That’s half the battle, staying healthy and staying available week to week. Other than that, just trying to protect little things like releases, route running, blocking techniques, so all that stuff. ”
A healthy, and perhaps even somehow improved, Bowers would go a long way toward making the Raiders’ offense more dynamic.
Both Kubiak and offensive coordinator Andrew Janocko have talked about the excitement of finding new ways to get the ball in the hands of the skilled playmaker.
“I’ve been blessed to be a part of some great tight end groups and be around some great tight end groups and Brock certainly fits into that with those guys. When you have a great tight end that can do stuff for your offense that can change games, that can change the way you attack defenses,” Janocko said. “He has that approach where he just comes to work every single day. (Bowers, Michael Mayer and all the tight ends) just come to work, come to work, come to work. They know what to do, they know how to do it, and then they strive to get better.So, seeing Brock, seeing Mike in that room and how those guys then lead the rest of the offense, it’s something that we feel very strongly about, and something that, as we grow, it’s something we hope that helps to contribute to our success.”
Bowers doesn’t have to look far to see proof of concept.
Janocko and Kubiak ran a dynamic offense last year that carried the Seattle Seahawks to a Super Bowl championship.
“Everyone saw the success they had last year, so we’re just trying to see what (the Seahawks) did well and take it from there and try to build into our own offense and make it our own,” Bowers said. “So, we’ve got a good bunch of great guys here and we’ll see how it goes.”
It doesn’t hurt that the Raiders also have a pair of new quarterbacks in veteran Kirk Cousins and No. 1 overall pick Fernando Mendoza.
Bowers is quickly building a rapport with both, including a deep touchdown grab from Cousins during Thursday’s practice.
“He’s a veteran guy, so he’s seen a lot of stuff,” Bowers said of Cousins. “He throws the ball, he’s been around the league a while. He’s just a great QB. It’s hard to find too many things negative about him.”
The same can be said of Mendoza, based on Bowers’ assessment.
“He’s a great guy and a great guy to have in the locker room,” Bowers said. “Being a rookie quarterback, it’s a lot of stuff mentally. I think he’s been doing a really good job at that, and really being involved in the playbook, and just learning as much as he can, as fast as he can. I think he’s done a really good job with that.
“He’s trying to take it all in. They have all those rookie meetings after practice, so they’re all swept into those. But he’s been great and mentally, he’s all there and he’s all in.”
Maybe he’s better at giving scouting reports on others than he is at offering a self-assessment.
Contact Adam Hill at ahill@reviewjournal.com. Follow @AdamHillLVRJ on X.
