Raiders rookie Brock Bowers has burst on the scene and made an immediate impact as the top tight end in the league statistically midway through his first season.
The usual standard-bearer in that category will be in town Sunday when the Chiefs visit Allegiant Stadium.
Bowers said Travis Kelce is one of the tight ends he has looked up to and one of several he has tried to borrow from in developing his skills at the position.
“Some of the things he does, especially on off-schedule plays like scramble drill and that stuff,” Bowers said. “Just the way he works people is pretty impressive.”
Bowers has taken the lessons and hit the ground running in the NFL, sprinting out of the gates to a historic first year.
He is second in the NFL with 47 receptions this season, trailing only Tampa Bay receiver Chris Godwin (50). The closest tight end is George Kittle with 34. Bowers is the only tight end among the league’s top 23 in receiving yards, sitting eighth with 477.
Bowers is on pace to catch 114 passes this season, which would shatter Sam LaPorta’s rookie tight end record of 86 with the Lions last season.
Still, Bowers isn’t getting caught up on what he has done over the first seven weeks of his career.
“I think you just stay focused on each week, not really worry about what happened last week,” he said. “Just keep moving forward and try to have a short-term memory. Keep the attention on trying to get ready for the next game.”
That next game is his first career meeting with Kelce.
Bowers knows the kind of hype building around him and understands the comparisons to Kelce will come flying this week, but is doing his best not to buy into his own accolades.
“I still sometimes don’t feel like (I’m playing at such a high level),” he said. “I’ll watch a play and wish I had it back. It’s just knowing I can still get better at certain things and knowing I’m not great at everything, so I have to keep getting better.
“I always feel like I can get more yards after the catch and get more open. Just everything, really. I just want to keep improving and take my game to the next level.”
Injury report
The Raiders had their most positive injury report in at least a month Wednesday, including a notation that defensive end Maxx Crosby was a full participant despite a lingering ankle injury.
Crosby hasn’t participated in full much at all since suffering an ankle injury against the Ravens in Week 2. He’s rarely taken the field on Wednesdays despite missing only one game, so it should be seen as an encouraging sign that he is nearing full strength.
Receiver Jakobi Meyers participated in a limited capacity after missing the past two games with an ankle injury.
Tight end Harrison Bryant was a nonparticipant because of an elbow injury, and guard Dylan Parham missed the session with a foot injury that kept him out of last week’s game.
Starting left tackle Kolton Miller sat out Wednesday, as has become the routine.
Quarterback Gardner Minshew popped up on the injury report with an injury to his throwing elbow, but he was able to practice in full.
Mahomes No. 3?
Raiders coach Antonio Pierce didn’t hesitate at all when asked where Chiefs quarterback Patrick Mahomes ranked among all-time great quarterbacks Tom Brady and Peyton Manning.
“Three,” Pierce said, placing Mahomes behind the two legends. “I’m sure by the end of it, he’ll probably move up. But the two gentlemen you named obviously are Hall of Famers, and (Brady) is the greatest of all time. Just the amount of wins, victories and how he did it.”
Brady is, of course, one of Pierce’s bosses as a newly approved minority owner of the franchise.
Pierce certainly isn’t diminishing what Mahomes can do on the football field, pointing out all the sleepless nights he’s caused while preparing to play him.
“He’s a tremendous talent, very competitive,” Pierce said. “And to be honest, even with what’s going on in the season with interceptions, he’s still playing his best ball. I mean, there’s some stuff that he does that is just not accounted for.”
Contact Adam Hill at ahill@reviewjournal.com. Follow @AdamHillLVRJ on X.