Raiders make rare NFL Draft move with Brock Bowers pick: Las Vegas becomes first team in 50 years to do this

The Las Vegas Raiders had a number of wants going into the first-round of the 2024 NFL Draft, however when it was their flip to select on Thursday evening, they determined to throw these wants out the window in favor of taking the perfect out there participant. 

That participant turned out to be Brock Bowers and though he was the consensus high tight finish within the draft, it was a weird choose by the Raiders, if solely as a result of additionally they used a excessive choose on a decent finish final 12 months after they chosen Michael Mayer with the thirty fifth general choose. 

Selecting a decent finish that top in back-to-back drafts in virtually extraordinary: Earlier than this 12 months, the final time it occurred got here 50 years in the past. Again in 1973, the Buffalo Payments used the seventh general choose on tight finish Paul Seymour, after which they adopted that up in 1974 through the use of the 18th general choose on tight finish Reuben Gant. 

There is a cause you not often see groups do that and that is as a result of most groups produce other holes to fill. For example, the Raiders had wants at quarterback, cornerback and even offensive sort out, however they nonetheless determined to go along with Bowers. It did make sense for them to go on a quarterback when you think about that six had already been taken by the point they have been on the clock at thirteenth general, however the Raiders did have the choice of taking a high sort out or they might have taken ANY DEFENSIVE PLAYER they needed since no defensive gamers had been chosen as much as that time. 

Pete Prisco gave the choose a “C” grade and that was largely due to the truth that the Raiders used a excessive choose on Mayer final 12 months and since that they had different holes they might have crammed. 

Based on Raiders normal supervisor Tom Telesco, the explanation for taking Bowers was easy: It was all about getting the perfect participant left on their draft board. 

“You try to stick with [best player available] when you may,” Telesco mentioned, through RaidersWire. “It is more durable than you assume generally since you’re including to the soccer workforce, and we all know the place we’re at this time. We’re searching for at this time and the long run. However a participant like Brock, simply the scouting employees, the place they’ve him, what they considered him, what the teaching employees thought. He is actually a reasonably consensus man.”

Telesco, who was working his first draft because the GM of the Raiders, thinks there’s loads of room for each Mayer and Bowers to suit into the Raiders’ offense. 

“At Notre Dame, Michael was cut up out generally as a receiver,” Telesco mentioned. “Brock has been cut up as a receiver, Brock’s even performed some working again, after which our receivers can go inside and outdoors, so it will be a pleasant little group to work with.”

Now that Bowers is on the roster, Telesco would not assume that can change issues very a lot for Mayer. 

“We love Michael Mayer. I like Michael Mayer,” Telesco mentioned. “He is a extremely good participant, He’ll take one other huge soar this 12 months, however we had an opportunity so as to add one other dimension to the offense, whether or not it is tight finish, hybrid receiver, no matter it’s. We’d like extra playmakers on that aspect of the ball, so he’ll assist us there. Excessive degree participant in faculty, true junior, very younger, nonetheless creating, however he is bought some pure soccer expertise mixed with some excessive degree athletic capacity and velocity.”

There is no denying that Bowers is likely one of the most gifted gamers within the draft, however he may need ended up with the one workforce that would have bother using him, particularly since their quarterback state of affairs remains to be up within the air. Mayer solely caught 27 passes for 304 yards final season as a rookie and if the Raiders do not get extra manufacturing than that from Bowers, followers in Las Vegas will most likely begin scratching their heads about why the workforce determined to make use of their 2024 first-round choose on one other tight finish.