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Andrew Lalama's NFL Draft rookie profile for TE Brock Bowers. Read his 2024 NFL rookie outlook, his NFL Draft prediction, and fantasy football value.
Welcome to Coach Knows Ball, an NFL Draft series analyzing the top prospects in the 2024 class. I'm a college football coach with nine years of NCAA experience and have been scouting NFL Draft prospects for over 15 years. This series will give a deep dive into the film of some of the top players in this draft class, with detailed insight into future NFL standouts' strengths, weaknesses, and projections.
Scouting NFL draft prospects is about projecting translatable traits. There is often overlap between translatable traits and college performance, but there's a reason many top college players are not considered legitimate professionals. For example, a wide receiver being able to get in and out of breaks efficiently will not change from college to pro. Conversely, an edge rusher who got most of his sacks due to hustle or missed offensive line assignments may not have shown translatable traits on film.
The film clips in this series show each pro prospect's positive and negative traits. Reading this article will give you a more in-depth look into each player with actual in-game visual evidence. We will continue our Coach Knows Ball series with Georgia TE Brock Bowers.
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Brock Bowers Rookie Profile
Brock Bowers is a 21-year-old tight end prospect with one of the most impressive prospect resumés in the history of the position. Bowers measured 6-foot-3, 243 pounds at the combine, quelling some mild concerns that he might be closer to 230 pounds. As a true freshman, Bowers led the National Champion Georgia Bulldogs in receiving, putting up 56 catches for 882 yards and 14 total touchdowns. He continued to produce in his sophomore season, leading the team in receiving again and contributing to a repeat national title. This past season, Bowers led Georgia in receiving yet again. Let's dive into the film.
Historic Breakout and Production
Brock Bowers had one of the greatest freshmen seasons in the history of college athletics, scoring 14 touchdowns while helping Georgia win the National Championship in 2021. In the 2021 SEC Championship game against Alabama, Bowers caught ten passes for 139 yards and a touchdown. He followed that performance up with touchdowns in each of the next two College Football Playoff games.
Players who break out at a young age are typically the best bets to make when it comes to the wide receiver position. Data has shown that breaking out younger is generally better for prospects. Bowers not only plays a more mentally demanding position than receiver but also had such a historic breakout freshman year that analytics nerds are salivating at his potential. It's for good reason.
The most glaring positive about Bowers' game when evaluating his film is how often his coaching staff prioritized getting him the ball to run after the catch. Typically teams scheme perimeter screens to receivers and running backs. Georgia utilized Bowers near the line of scrimmage, allowing him to use his unique RAC ability in space. It's not every day you see a TE go in orbit motion and get thrown a swing screen.
The clip below shows Bowers aligned at the X in a trips bunch set. Most teams use their best receiver on this type of perimeter now/smoke screen. Bowers hits the seam breaks multiple Alabama tackles and scores a TD. The translatable trait here is how violently he churns his legs through contact.
Bowers might not be the biggest TE in the NFL, but he still plays with tenacity and aggressiveness. He makes it a point to go forward -- you're going to have to work to stop his forward momentum. The clip below is a quick smoke screen typically reserved for receivers. As a TE split out wide, Bowers quickly transitions to a runner, hits the stiff arm, and runs up the sideline.
One of the most important traits to look at when projecting run-after-catch ability to the next level is how quickly a receiver transitions to a runner after the catch. In the clip above, the quarterback doesn't even deliver a particularly well-placed ball behind his beastly TE. Bowers still gets upfield quickly.
In the clip below, Bowers runs a stick route from his wing position, getting outside leverage on the defender and running out of the break on time. The ball is placed on his inside shoulder, which forces him to spin to complete the catch. His body control in how quickly he gets upfield is special here. He also falls forward on second contact.
The clip below shows more RAC from Bowers. He wins with a quick inside release at the line of scrimmage, stacks his cover defender, and gains separation at the top of the route. At the catch point, he's able to transition the ball into his outside arm quickly and burst upfield, using his balance to squeeze into the end zone through contact.
Hands that Translate
In addition to uncommon RAC ability for a tight end, Bowers also has traits that make him a solid bet to produce in conventional ways further down the field. While he may not be the most polished route-runner in terms of certain breakpoints and lateral agility, his hands make him a special receiver.
The clip below shows Bowers executing his assignment flawlessly, but the catch is a lot more difficult than it looks. The ball is in the air well before Bowers turns his head, and he uses the coaching point of getting his eyes to the sky rather than to the QB to find it quickly. His arm extension and rip into his body is clinic-worthy. He also gets more YAC, again falling forward into the end zone. This clip shows special hand-eye coordination and late hands.
One of the toughest catches in football is the left-hand-over for right-handed athletes. If you're a righty, catch a football with your right hand over first, then your left, and you'll feel much more natural with the right hand on top. The clip below is interesting because it could be argued that Bowers would be better served to get his pinkies down and flip his hands the other way. However, the ball does seem to die at the end and his instincts kick in. The key trait here is making the toughest catch in football with his left hand on top while also surviving the ground. Special stuff.
The clip below shows a cool one-handed catch. But the technique is terrific in terms of snapping his eyes, nose, and belly button to the ball. Catching the ball is an art, and Bowers shows an uncommon ability to make high-difficulty catches that lead to him finishing in traffic and dragging defenders afterward.
The grip strength and flexibility of Bowers' hands also show up while blocking. Bowers showed well in all different types of blocking assignments, including in the box and on the perimeter.
The clip below shows Bowers execute a down block against a defensive end in a pin-and-pull scheme. Bowers' initial footwork isn't great but he clearly understands leverage and aiming points. The trait that translates in a big way is the jolt he has in his hands. He also does an excellent job running his feet without crossing them over to finish with a pancake.
Bowers himself admitted he needed to work on secondary reaction blocking, including being able to re-fit and re-engage. However, the clip below shows the type of tenacity and functional strength that will excite run-game coordinators. That is how you seal the backside C-gap. You can see the jolt Bowers delivers, moving the defender back with hands inside.
It will be interesting to see how Bowers' blocking translates to the next level, where defenders will be bigger and stronger. His lack of ideal size is a question, but his aggressiveness and fight should make up for it.
Ceiling at Size?
Brock Bowers is an easy evaluation. He dominated in the toughest conference in college football as a teenager. He excelled with physicality and athleticism at the college level, leading to unprecedented production at the tight end position. The essential question about Bowers' translation to the pro game is: Is he big enough to be "Gronk-Dominant?"
While there's no doubt Bowers can play in the league, some team will invest a very high draft pick, and a merely solid all-around tight end is probably not worth a mid-to-high first-round pick. As a receiver, Bowers will be lined up against faster DBs than he faced in college. As a blocker, the box defenders will be bigger and quicker. It's fair to wonder if Bowers will actually play at 240 pounds.
I'm always leery of players with big-time RAC ability as a huge positive trait. It's simply so much harder to consistently break tackles at the NFL level. So what is Brock Bowers' ceiling? Is he big enough to be a force as a run blocker? Is he athletic enough to be an NFL team's top receiving threat? His college film is excellent, but it will likely not be a one-to-one translation considering he'll actually have below-average size for a starting NFL TE.
There were times on film when you could see his size limitations. He was unable to reach jump balls at times. He's not exactly Jimmy Graham at just over 6-3.
In the clip below, the Georgia QB throws a perfect fade ball to the back earhole of Bowers. His jump, size, and length are just not enough. You can see the coordination, but his fingers simply can't get that high.
There were other instances of Bowers reacting to a high ball and trying to get one hand up to snare it. He doesn't have the largest catch radius and isn't a huge target by NFL standards.
Bowers won with quickness at times, but he looked twitchiest when moving forward on slot fades and seams. He was also adept at winning early in routes by utilizing leverage on stems. The only area in which he struggled at times was on lateral breakpoints. This is by no means a huge negative, but with where his ultimate draft position will land, he'll be expected to produce in many ways.
In the clip below, Bowers runs an out route with a speed cut as the breakpoint. It's not a good route in that he doesn't sell vertical and breaks off the inside foot. The Tennessee defender then has a clear indicator that Bowers is going to change direction and breaks on the ball. He's moving quicker than the receiver, which is obviously not what you want.
Bowers can and likely will work on all types of breakpoints, including speed cuts. He's athletic and coordinated enough to get even better. However, there is some hip stiffness that can be expected from a TE. He's simply better moving forward rather than laterally.
The clip below shows how he uses quickness better moving forward. Bowers wins on the second-level release with a quick jab inside, beating the catch-man defender on a seam for a touchdown. He uses tempo changes and a head fake to burst past the flat-footed defender.
NFL Outlook
Brock Bowers is one of the best TE prospects of all time. His college film is outrageously good, as his positive traits shine as one of the best players on one of the best teams in modern college football history. He projects as a fine receiver and blocker at the next level, but it's fair to wonder if a player of his size can be truly dominant in the NFL. It's a bet I'd be willing to make at some point in the first half of the first round. He should be a highly productive pro and could hit a statistical ceiling if he's the No. 1 or No. 2 option in a potent passing attack.
If you want to read and watch some of my past film breakdowns, click the links below.
- Caleb Williams - QB, USC
- Drake Maye - QB, North Carolina
- Jayden Daniels - QB, LSU
- C.J. Stroud - QB, Ohio State
- Anthony Richardson - QB, Florida
- Bijan Robinson - RB, Texas
- Jahmyr Gibbs - RB, Alabama
- Breece Hall - RB, Iowa State (2022)
- Garrett Wilson - WR, Ohio State (2022)
- Ja'Marr Chase - WR, LSU (2021)
Thanks for reading, and stay tuned for more draft content in the coming days.
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