Mel Kiper Jr. on Brock Bowers: 'He is a nightmare trying to match up with'

Mel Kiper Jr. is a big believer in Brock Bowers. On ESPN’s First Draft show, Kiper revealed his top six players on his big board, and the Georgia Bulldogs tight end made the list. However, Kiper believes Bowers is more than just a tight end.

“Give me a break. He’s just a tight end? He’s everything,” Kiper said. “Watch him play. …You can use him in the backfield. You can put him anywhere on the football field. “He is a nightmare trying to match up with. I don’t care where he goes, he’s going to be a whale of a pick.

“He could be in line to be Rookie of the Year in the NFL if he goes to the right team and the right quarterback. I love Brock Bowers. I loved him when he came to Georgia. He was an immediate impact performer.”

The question when it comes to Bowers is where in the first round will Bowers land on draft night? In Kiper’s latest mock draft, he has Bowers going to the New York Jets at No. 10 overall. It would make sense for the Jets to land Bowers since the team is looking to get Aaron Rodgers as many weapons as possible, which is why the team acquired wide receiver Mike Williams to pair up with Garrett Wilson.

Brock Bowers was on another level at Georgia

Bowers had a memorable career at Georgia. Along with helping the team win back-to-back national championships, Bowers won the John Mackey Award two times and was a consensus All-American in 2023. In three seasons, Bowers caught 175 passes for 2,538 yards and 26 touchdowns.

In February, Bowers talked about how going up against the Bulldogs’ defense helped him prepare for the NFL. “We always said the practices were gonna be harder than the games and that’s how it was,” Bowers said on SportsCenter. “I mean coming in there going against guys like Travon Walker, having Jordan Davis, and Nakobe [Dean], and Quay [Walker], and all those NFL dudes. I mean I think after my freshman year all those dudes were on NFL rosters and just doing their thing. So it definitely made me better throughout my three years.”

Bowers was a consensus On3 four-star recruit coming out of Napa (Calif.) High School. He was ranked as the top tight end recruit in the country and the fourth-best recruit from California.