Raiders’ Brock Bowers on pace for historic season by a rookie tight end

He hasn’t found the end zone much, but otherwise, Raiders first-round pick Brock Bowers is on course to have the best season ever for a rookie tight end.

Bowers, the 13th overall pick in this year’s draft, leads all NFL tight ends in catches (47) and yards (477), though he has only one touchdown in his first seven NFL games. Those prolific numbers put him on pace to shatter the league’s rookie tight end records. He’s in line to get 1,158 receiving yards, breaking Mike Ditka’s record of 1,076, set way back in 1960, and he’s on pace for 114 catches, which would obliterate the rookie record of 86 set last year by the Lions’ Sam LaPorta.

The high volume of passes headed Bowers’ way makes him a rare tight end who is truly his offense’s No. 1 target, especially since the Raiders traded receiver Davante Adams to the Jets. Across the league, only three other tight ends are leading their teams in catches and receptions: the 49ers’ George Kittle, the Patriots’ Hunter Henry and the Cardinals’ Trey McBride.

Bowers isn’t just leading all NFL tight ends in catches and receiving yards, he has 102 more yards and 13 more catches than Kittle, who is second in both. He’s in great shape to make the Pro Bowl as a rookie — and would be the third rookie tight end in four years to do so, following LaPorta last year and Atlanta’s Kyle Pitts in 2021. What’s wild is there was just one rookie tight end who made the Pro Bowl in the 30 years before that — the Giants’ Jeremy Shockey in 2002.

Besides Bowers, the 2024 class of rookie tight ends is incredibly unremarkable. The rest of them combined have 544 yards, barely more than Bowers has himself. They collectively have three touchdown catches, well down from the past two years, when rookie tight ends had 26 touchdown catches each season.

More killer Bs: Beanie Bishop Jr. picks A-Rod twice

The jewel of this year’s undrafted rookies is easily Steelers nickel corner Beanie Bishop, who has already played 294 defensive snaps for Pittsburgh, more than double any other undrafted player in the league. On Sunday, Bishop did more than just play — he made plays, getting a pair of interceptions off Aaron Rodgers in the Steelers’ prime-time win over the Jets.

“He’s a Hall of Fame quarterback,” Bishop said after the game. “Got a lot of respect for that guy and just to be able to get not one but two of them off of him is crazy.”

Bishop is another case of NFL teams putting too much value on size. He’s just 5-foot-9 and 180 and is 24 as a rookie, which can drop a player on draft boards. He had a long path to the NFL, with four years at Western Kentucky, one at Minnesota, then a breakout 2023 at West Virginia, getting a team-best four interceptions and leading the nation in passes defended. The Steelers got him for just a $25,000 signing bonus, which is small even by undrafted standards.

How rare is it to pick off Rodgers twice in a game? It’s happened just four other times in his 20-year NFL career. The Saints’ Jason David did it in 2008, the Bills’ Bacarri Rambo in 2014, the Giants’ Janoris Jenkins in 2016 and the Lions’ Kerby Joseph in 2022.

The statistical oddity of the week is that two undrafted rookies — Bishop and the Rams’ Jaylen McCollough — each had two interceptions on the same day. That’s a first in NFL history. If you include first-year players, it’s happened once before, in 1960, when the Boston Patriots’ Gino Cappelletti and the New York Titans’ Fred Julian both did it on Oct. 16. McCollough is now tied for the rookie lead with three interceptions for the year, putting him even with Texans safety Calen Bullock.

History of 1-2 rookie QB showdown

Jayden Daniels’ health status due to a rib injury could jeopardize a much-awaited showdown of the draft’s top two picks as Daniels and the Bears’ Caleb Williams are scheduled to meet on Sunday.

These 1-2 showdowns aren’t always indicative of future success. A year ago, Bryce Young and the Panthers beat C.J. Stroud and the Texans in a Week 7 meeting, with Young throwing for 235 yards and a touchdown and Stroud throwing for 140. In 2021, Trevor Lawrence and the Jaguars lost to Zach Wilson and the Jets in another 1-2 meeting, with Wilson rushing for 91 yards and a score and throwing for 102 and another score.

Most lopsided such head-to-head rookie game in recent years? In 2015, the Bucs’ Jameis Winston and the Titans’ Marcus Mariota opened their careers against each other. Mariota went 13-for-15 with four touchdowns in a 42-14 rout that was 35-7 at halftime, while Winston had two touchdowns and two interceptions.

Rookie tidbits

In the first six weeks of this season, no team got more than 287 offensive and defensive snaps from rookies in a game, but in Week 7, four teams had at least that many. The Saints had 317, Rams had 312, the Giants had 292 and the Chargers had 287. … This year’s rookie running back class has shown flashes, but it’s telling that the top two rookie rushers in Week 7 were quarterbacks: Denver’s Bo Nix (75) and Daniels (50). And Daniels played only 10 snaps before his injury. … Undrafted rookie with the most offensive snaps? Saints receiver Mason Tipton, a Yale grad who has 85 receiving yards on the season. … It’s not as telling as sacks, but in terms of official quarterback hits, the leading rookie is the Rams’ Jared Verse, with nine. Second is the Bucs’ Chris Braswell, a second-round pick who has six on the season.

Greg Auman is an NFL Reporter for FOX Sports. He previously spent a decade covering the Buccaneers for the Tampa Bay Times and The Athletic. You can follow him on Twitter at @gregauman.

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