He hasn’t discovered the top zone a lot, however in any other case, Raiders first-round decide Brock Bowers is on tempo to have the most effective season ever for a rookie tight finish.
Bowers, the thirteenth general decide on this 12 months’s draft, leads all NFL tight ends in receptions (47) and yards (477), although he has scored only one landing in his first seven NFL video games. These prolific numbers put him on monitor to shatter the league’s rookie tight finish data. He is on tempo for 1,158 receiving yards, breaking Mike Ditka’s document of 1,076, set manner again in 1960, and is on tempo for 114 receptions, which might obliterate the rookie document of 86 set final 12 months by the Lions’ Sam LaPorta .
The excessive quantity of passes heading in direction of Bowers makes him a uncommon tight finish who is actually the No. 1 goal of his offense, particularly because the Raiders traded receiver Davante Adams to the Jets. League-wide, solely three different tight ends lead their groups in receptions and receptions: George Kittle of the 49ers, Hunter Henry of the Patriots and Trey McBride of the Cardinals.
Bowers not solely leads all NFL tight ends in receptions and receiving yards, however he has 102 extra yards and 13 extra receptions than Kittle, who’s second in each. He’s in nice form to make the Pro Bowl as a rookie — and he could be the third rookie tight finish in 4 years to take action, following LaPorta final 12 months and Atlanta’s Kyle Pitts in 2021. The wonderful factor is, there was just one tight finish rookie finish who made the Pro Bowl 30 years earlier: Jeremy Shockey of the Giants in 2002.
Other than Bowers, the 2024 rookie tight finish class is extremely unremarkable. The remainder of them mixed have 544 yards, barely greater than Bowers himself has. Overall they’ve three landing receptions, effectively down from the final two years, when rookie tight ends had 26 landing receptions every season.
Other B killers: Bishop Jr. cap singles A-Rod twice
The jewel of this 12 months’s undrafted rookies is undoubtedly Beanie Bishop, the Steelers’ nickel nook, who has already performed 294 defensive snaps for Pittsburgh, greater than double every other undrafted participant within the league. On Sunday, Bishop did extra than simply play: He made performs, getting a pair of interceptions from Aaron Rodgers within the Steelers’ primetime win over the Jets.
“He’s a Hall of Fame quarterback,” Bishop mentioned after the sport. “I’ve loads of respect for that man and simply to have the ability to take not one however two of them away from him is loopy.”
Bishop is one other case of NFL groups inserting an excessive amount of worth on dimension. He stands simply 5-foot-9 and 180 and is 24 years previous as a rookie, which may drop a participant on draft boards. He had a protracted path to the NFL, with 4 years at Western Kentucky, one at Minnesota, then a breakout 2023 at West Virginia, getting a team-best 4 interceptions and main the nation in passes defensed. The Steelers received him for only a $25,000 signing bonus, which is small even by undrafted requirements.
How uncommon is it to strike out Rodgers twice in a single recreation? It occurred solely 4 different instances in his 20-year NFL profession. Jason David of the Saints did it in 2008, Bacarri Rambo of the Bills in 2014, Janoris Jenkins of the Giants in 2016 and Kerby Joseph of the Lions in 2022.
The statistical oddity of the week is that two undrafted rookies – Bishop and the Rams’ Jaylen McCollough – every had two interceptions on the identical day. It’s the primary time in NFL historical past. If you embody first-year gamers, it is occurred as soon as earlier than, in 1960, when Gino Cappelletti of the Boston Patriots and Fred Julian of the New York Titans each did it on October 16. McCollough is now tied for the rookie lead with three interceptions for the 12 months, placing him on par with Texans security Calen Bullock.
Story of the rookie QB’s 1-2 showdown
Jayden Daniels’ well being standing with a rib harm may jeopardize the long-awaited showdown between the highest two picks within the draft as Daniels and the Bears’ Caleb Williams meet on Sunday.
These 1-2 fights usually are not all the time indicative of future success. A 12 months in the past, Bryce Young and the Panthers beat C.J. Stroud and the Texans in a Week 7 matchup, with Young throwing for 235 yards and a landing and Stroud throwing for 140. In 2021, Trevor Lawrence and the Jaguars misplaced to Zach Wilson and the Jets in one other 1-2 matchup, with Wilson dashing for 91 yards and a rating and throwing for 102 and one other rating.
Most lopsided rookie play lately? In 2015, Jameis Winston of the Bucs and Marcus Mariota of the Titans opened their careers towards one another. Mariota went 13-for-15 with 4 touchdowns in a 42-14 rout that was 35-7 at halftime, whereas Winston had two touchdowns and two interceptions.
News for inexperienced persons
In the primary six weeks of this season, no workforce received greater than 287 offensive and defensive snaps from rookies in a recreation, however in Week 7, 4 groups had a minimum of that many. The Saints had 317, the Rams 312, the Giants 292 and the Chargers 287. … This 12 months’s rookie operating again class has proven flashes, nevertheless it’s telling that the highest two rookie rushers in Week 7 had been quarterbacks: Bo Denver’s Nix (75) and Daniels (50). And Daniels performed simply 10 snaps earlier than his harm. …Undrafted rookie with probably the most offensive snaps? Saints receiver Mason Tipton, a Yale graduate who has 85 receiving yards on the season. … It’s not as vital as sacks, however when it comes to official quarterback hits, the main rookie is the Rams’ Jared Verse, with 9. The second is the Bucs’ Chris Braswell, a second-round decide who has six on the season.
Greg Auman is an NFL reporter for FOX Sports. He beforehand spent a decade overlaying the Buccaneers for the Tampa Bay Times and the Athletic. You can observe him on Twitter at @gregauman.
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