Over the last few seasons, young tight ends have poured into the NFL and its franchises. Dalton Kincaid, Trey McBride, Pat Freiermuth, Kyle Pitts, and Sam LaPorta are a few examples of players who have found quick success with their respective teams in real life and in the world of fantasy football. This year’s rookie class contains one tight end who will be looking to add his name to this list.
This offseason, the Raiders did everything they could to surround either Gardner Minshew or Aiden O’Connell with a positive and productive group of offensive skill position players after an up-and-down 8-9 2023 season. The long list of additions to the offense includes rookie tight end Brock Bowers, the former Georgia Bulldog who some claim to be one of the greatest tight end prospects in recent memory, if not ever. He is ranked as the TE1 in the 2024 class for dynasty leagues by a total consensus of dynasty managers.
Bowers was selected with the 13th overall pick in the 2024 NFL Draft. This move perplexed some, however. The Raiders drafted former Notre Dame tight end Michael Mayer in the second round of the 2023 NFL Draft the previous year, and many assumed that Mayer would be the team’s starting tight end for at least the next few seasons.
After all, he was one of the top prospects in a loaded 2023 rookie tight-end class, but the selection of Bowers makes things very interesting. It seems as though the strategy in Las Vegas was to take the best player available.
Many Raiders fans questioned the move as it seemed as though the position had been filled during the previous draft. However, the Raiders thought it was necessary to double down at the position, which could mean that the two tight ends could have different roles. The dynasty community wasn’t thrilled by this landing spot either, as both tight ends are now in competition for targets with one another.
There is much to sort out regarding the real-life and fantasy values of the two players, so it’s worth diving into the situation a little deeper and deciding which player presents the better opportunity in dynasty going forward.
Brock Bowers
6’4” 230 lbs
Bowers and Mayer may play the same position, but they are very different prospects. Bowers is one of the best receiving tight ends we’ve ever seen come out of college. He had three extremely successful seasons offensively in Athens, totaling over 2500 receiving yards during his collegiate career.
The Georgia product was also used all over the field as a weapon in the offense. He lined up on the outside and as a traditional tight end. Bowers handled carries out of the backfield and was schemed up to receive screen passes.
Brock Bowers is not only extremely versatile but also a threat with the ball in his hands, and he is an extremely talented route-runner. One of his best attributes is his ability to separate from coverage. He also has great hands, something that is important at both the tight end position and for skill position players as a whole.
More out of character for his position, Bowers is extremely fast (running a 4.53 40-yard dash at the NFL Combine) and has elite ability after the catch. His unique blend of size, speed, and athleticism makes him an extreme threat to opposing defenses. Bowers will be able to step in and make an impact in Las Vegas, maybe even establishing himself as an elite option in his rookie year. He does everything well and is a huge asset to the Raiders’ offense.
When all is said and done, Bowers is an elite and versatile tight end who can get it done in the receiving and blocking game. He is a great athlete and he excels at getting open and with the ball in his hands.
The 21-year-old is easily the best available tight end in dynasty rookie drafts and presents tremendous fantasy upside. The Raiders got a total package with this pick, and it will be very interesting to see how he is deployed.
Michael Mayer
6’4” 265 lbs
Mayer is the incumbent tight end in Las Vegas after logging 27 receptions off of 40 targets for 304 yards and two scores during his rookie campaign. The 22-year-old is a different player than his newest teammate, Brock Bowers, so it’s worth discussing their differences alongside Mayer’s strengths.
Mayer dominates at a few things. In the passing game, he is a great possession receiver, boasting a large catch radius, great hands, and a fantastic ability to find the soft spot in zone coverage, even if it requires some improvisation on his part. He is a solid route-runner and is great at breaking tackles after the catch.
Mayer is a great weapon in the short passing game, something that we saw a lot both in his college career with Notre Dame and during his rookie season in Las Vegas. During his rookie season, his average depth of target was a mere 5.5, ranked 30th among tight ends in 2023.
The 265 lb tight end is also a great blocker. He is very involved in all phases of the offense in this aspect. Mayer’s frame is also more adequate for blocking as a whole.
Unlike Bowers, Mayer has a season in the NFL under his belt that we can examine. He wasn’t as involved as you would’ve hoped, but rookies are rarely offensive centerpieces from the jump, so we can cut him some slack. He had a 9.4% target share in 2023, 30th among tight ends last year. In comparison, fellow rookie tight end Sam LaPorta logged a 21.1% target share in Detroit this past season.
However, it can be argued that LaPorta’s rookie season was more of an outlier. Not many rookie tight ends find as much success as he did in his first year. Another important stat for fantasy football is routes run per game. Mayer only ran 19 per game, as it took him longer to get involved, but Buffalo’s rookie tight end Dalton Kincaid ran almost ten more on average than Mayer, with around 28 routes per game.
Kincaid was much more involved with the passing game and logged over 300 more receiving yards than Mayer did in his first season. Las Vegas’ 2023 second-round pick will look to be more involved as a receiver in his second year.
On a more positive note, Mayer started to gain more trust with the coaching staff as his snap count began to increase as his rookie season went on. He had a 71.7% snap share, which was 16th among tight ends. He also racked up 11.3 yards per reception while showcasing surprising yards after the catch ability by breaking tackles.
It wasn’t a bad rookie season for Mayer, but dynasty managers will be looking for him to earn a larger role this year, and unfortunately for him, that may prove very difficult with Bowers in the mix. To me, it feels like Michael Mayer’s value is more associated with real-life success than fantasy football value.
Fantasy Consensus
In the end, both Bowers and Mayer are skilled players, but I believe that Bowers will be the most productive player in the future. For starters, he profiles better as a receiving tight end. He also has more college production and is perceived as the better prospect from an offensive weapon standpoint.
Bowers can be used more as an offensive chess piece and can attack all levels of the field better than Mayer is able to. It shouldn’t take long for the Georgia product to plant his flag as the TE1 of the Las Vegas Raiders.
Both players are extremely talented and should go on to have very successful careers, but from a fantasy standpoint, especially from a dynasty standpoint, Bowers has the higher upside.
Mayer fits more of a short receiving game/blocking tight end role, while Bowers can be more of a weapon that can be deployed all over the offense.
For fantasy, don’t be afraid to draft Bowers with a top-7 selection in your dynasty drafts. His value will skyrocket soon, especially once the Raiders find their franchise quarterback. As for Mayer, he will still find some volume, but I don’t think it will be comparable to the high-level production that can be expected out of Bowers.
If rostered in dynasty leagues, Mayer owners should try to shop him around their leagues in the hopes of trading him after an okay rookie season to an owner that still has a belief that he could still provide starting fantasy tight end production.
Don’t be surprised if Brock Bowers is one of the most impressive rookies in the NFL this year. He could be a dark-horse candidate to win the Offensive Rookie of the Year award by the end of the season.
