Brock Bowers draws comparison to NFL great at tight end
Georgia tight end Brock Bowers is expected to be a high draft pick next spring. He probably would have been either of the last two years but had to wait his turn and keep playing college football instead.
Bowers was the subject of some scouting on the Pro Football Focus podcast, NFLStockExchange. In their summer series looking ahead to the 2024 NFL Draft, Bowers was by far and away the top tight end and one of the best prospects they’ve seen from a numbers perspective regardless of position.
“The way that I have my scouting sheets and breakdowns, I take everything from measureables and combine results to production and film grades, all of that stuff into account. I’ve got to think Brock Bowers is going to be one of the top-10 players that I’ve really ever scouted. He’s incredible dude,” Trevor Sikkema said. “Brock Bowers is not going to be this home run, passes the eye test or the get off the bus test type of a player. He’s just not. But holy sh*t can this dude play the game of football. He had 92.9 and 90.5 receiving grades as an underclassman – a true freshman and true sophomore. Stupid. His 24 explosive plays of 15 yards or more last season were the most for a tight end for any FBS school, and his 76.5 contested catch percentage in 2022 was top 10 of any receiver in the FBS. It’s nuts.”
“Bowers would have been a first round pick if he could have declared as a true freshman,” he continued. “He is the total package for a modern day tight end. He gives you everything you want from a big receiver perspective, is excellent blocking in space and as a puller and has zero reps, zero, where he is not giving it his all, no matter what his responsibility is. This is an easy slam dunk top-10 overall draft pick.”
The Bulldogs’ leading receiver in both seasons he’s suited up between the hedges, Bowers holds both first and second place in the school’s record books for single-season receiving yards by a tight end, and his 13 touchdown catches in 2021 is a single-season record regardless of position.
In total, Bowers – who won the Mackey Award as the nation’s top tight end last season while also being among the semifinalists and finalists for awards that go to linemen and receivers – has almost 2,000 total yards to his name already and a combined 24 touchdowns rushing and receiving. Keep in mind, this guy’s got another year to add to his totals too.
“He is George Kittle. Every great thing about George Kittle this guy has,” Connor Rogers added. “Maybe he’s not the total killer as a blocker yet, but I think he’s going to get there. The way they use him in the screen game, his ability with the ball in his hands after the catch, the jump ball ability. I mean, it’s a fascinating high school situation. He played quarterback as a freshman on JV then sophomore year the team is 0-10, then as a junior when he is officially a tight end, receiver or whatever his official designation was, they go from being 0-10 to in the state playoffs because he has 1,500 yards and 14 touchdown catches. He’s a one man football team.”
“He’s one of the best players in college football and he’s been one of the best players in college football. I think the convo with Brock Bowers is going to reach the low hanging fruit question of, ‘Is he a better prospect than Kyle Pitts?’ We’ll have that convo when we do tight end rankings in January or whatever, but he’s unbelievable,” he continued. “What blew my mind when watching his tape from start to finish in 2021 to now was that he had earned the jump ball, high point target trust immediately. True freshman and it’s like, ‘He’s down there somewhere.’ Are you kidding? You’re on Georgia, the best team in the country and they looked at him like that. Todd Monken, Stetson Bennett, guys that have been through a lot are looking at this 18 year old and they’re like, ‘Yeah, this dude is it.’ He’s everything that’s perfect for this game.”
Bowers Scouting Report/Draft Potential
“He is a true power slot or big slot kind of receiver. Such a very, very good athlete for a receiver who is that big. Even if you say he’s a little bit small for a tight end, for a receiver who is 6-foot-3, 230 pounds, incredible athlete. Really good blocker in space, especially when he is lined up in the slot. Consistently looking for extra blocking work. His head is on a swivel at all times to block. The work ethic and play through the whistle, that mentality is unbelievable for him and what every single coach is looking for. He is a reliable and effective red zone threat as an outside receiver for fade passes. Incredible reliable. He is a natural yards after catch receiver, and more than just natural, I would say incredible. Super strong hands for contested catches in all situations at any point in the field, whether the ball is coming into his chest, way above his head, at the peak of his catch radius, left, right, whatever. This dude has super strong hands. The one weakness I have on him is the weight factor of him being like 230, 235ish, weight will limit his effectiveness of an in-line blocker, but his blocking technique is so good that he will even be able to hold himself against outside linebacker type players. The only real area of his game that I’m worried about is if you get this dude lined up against a 260, 265 pound true defensive end, yeah he might struggle a little bit just because the weight profile is a little bit further down. But if he gets between 240 and 245 at the NFL level, maybe that’s not going to be a problem at all.” – Trevor Sikkema, PFF
“He catches everything. He’s great after the catch through contact or no contact. It was so hard to write down negatives. I literally wrote two notes: can be an over aggressive lunger when run blocking, hope he can add 10 pounds. That’s it. And then the pros are like 80 lines. It’s just, he’s such a good player, and I’m not going to spend the time right now to do the whole, ‘How high can a tight end go? How much better does a tight end make your team?’ This guy is one of the best players in the draft undoubtedly, and he’s going to be a phenomenal pro. It’s almost a shame he has to play college football this year. I know Georgia fans probably cringe hearing that, but it’s almost a shame. I don’t need to see anything else.” – Connor Rogers, PFF
