ESPN’s Jeremy Fowler dropped his annual tight end rankings this week, and the top spot came with a side of debate. Brock Bowers landed at No. 1 again, but it wasn’t the slam dunk it was a year ago.
Bowers caught 64 passes for 680 yards and seven touchdowns in 12 games last season. Those are solid numbers for most tight ends. For a guy who set the NFL rookie record with 112 catches in 2023, they felt like a step back. Injuries and a Raiders offense that could charitably be called dysfunctional took their toll.
But here’s where it gets interesting. A lot of folks inside the league still see Bowers as the most complete receiving tight end in football. One NFL coordinator told Fowler that his combination of route running, separation, zone instincts and yards-after-catch ability is simply better than everyone else in the room. He said a down year doesn’t change that.
The Athletic’s Ted Nguyen backed that up, too. He called Bowers “by far the best receiving TE” and predicted he’ll have a monster season in 2025 that makes the No. 1 ranking look obvious again. Injuries messed with his production last year, but the tape hasn’t changed.
The rest of Fowler’s top 10 tells a story
Behind Bowers, the list reads: Trey McBride, George Kittle, Sam LaPorta, Tyler Warren, Tucker Kraft, Colston Loveland, Kyle Pitts, Mark Andrews, and Travis Kelce dropping in at No. 10. That’s a mix of young ascending talent and aging legends. Kelce at the bottom tells you how fast the league turns over at this position.
McBride has been a monster in Arizona. Kittle still does everything at an elite level for San Francisco. LaPorta had a quieter year in Detroit but the talent is clearly there. And Warren out of Penn State is already making noise as a rookie.
What’s notable is how much the bottom half has changed. Andrews dealt with injuries last season. Pitts still hasn’t fully lived up to his draft billing. And Kelce, at 35, finally looks human after years of being impossible to cover.
What comes next for the Raiders offense
Las Vegas is quietly building something around Bowers. They’ve got Fernando Mendoza at quarterback and drafted Ashton Jeanty to run the ball. If Mendoza can keep defenses honest and Jeanty draws attention in the backfield, Bowers should find plenty of space over the middle. That’s the kind of setup that turns a tight end’s good season into a record-breaking one.
Nguyen said he expects Bowers to “go bonkers” this year. That’s not a statistical projection, but it’s a pretty clear vote of confidence.
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