Brock Bowers tabbed as nation's No. 1 returning TE per PFF
One of the top returning players in all of College Football wears a Georgia uniform and it has the number 19 on it. That guy is Brock Bowers and Pro Football Focus has him labeled as the top returning tight end.
“There are some positions where the best returning college player is debatable. Tight end is absolutely not one of them. Bowers is easily at the top because he’s arguably been the best tight end, period, in each of his first two seasons.
“As a true freshman in 2021, Bowers was the highest-graded Power Five tight end and the most valuable player at the position in college football, according to PFF’s wins above average metric. He was once again the most valuable tight end in the nation this past season and led the position in receiving yards (942), yards after the catch (479) and receiving yards after contact (274). He’s the reigning John Mackey Award winner, given to the best tight end in college football.
“And not only is Bowers the best tight end in the country, but he’s also on pace to be the best in the PFF College era.”
That’s super-high praise but it’s deserved. Bowers has been an absolute force since his first game at Georgia. The Napa, Calif. native has been UGA’s No. 1 receiver for each of the past two seasons.
As a freshman he caught 56 passes for 882 yards and 13 touchdowns while adding 56 rushing yards and a touchdown on four totes.
He improved upon some of those numbers as a sophomore, catching 63 balls for 942 yards and rushing nine times for 109 yards. Bowers became the first UGA tight end to ever reach 1,000 yards of total offense in a season and he scored 10 total touchdowns.
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Bowers has used the past two seasons to rack up 34 plays from scrimmage of 20 yards or more. That’s tops in the SEC for that time span. He also has five plays of 70 yards or more during that same stretch.
It’s not the first time Bowers has received plenty of love this offseason and it won’t be the last. ESPN’s Adam Rittenberg recently pointed to Bowers as the top returning player in the whole sport.
“Georgia tight end Brock Bowers. He won’t be the No. 1 overall pick in the 2024 draft — that will be USC quarterback Caleb Williams or North Carolina QB Drake Maye — but think about what Bowers already has accomplished in his career. In two seasons, he has 119 receptions for 1,824 yards and 20 touchdowns, helping Georgia to consecutive national championships. He’s almost impossible to stop on a consistent basis despite being the most consistent receiving option for the Bulldogs. Bowers strikes me as a player who should already be in the NFL but has to stick around the college level for another season. He’ll be working with a new quarterback this fall, but I expect another huge season for the Mackey Award winner.”
