Tight ends have dominated offseason conversation. A flurry of draft selections at the position has opened our imaginations to shifting personnel usage. The Mount Rushmore of current production may just be two players: Brock Bowers and Trey McBride.
Bowers holds the most intrigue.
Key points shaping Bowers' value:
- Historic Early Production
- The Shifting Positional Landscape
- A Recharged Environment
An Unprecedented Start
Given the attention around rookie tight end production, there is a decent chance you knew Keith Jackson held the record with 81 receptions in 1988.
Jackson's record felt like a reasonable number, as Sam LaPorta chased and ultimately broke it in 2023.
We are conditioned to 100+ catch seasons.
Realizing only three rookies hit 57 receptions in the first 100 years of NFL history, and Jackson's 24 catches blow by that number, provides incredible context on the history of rookies at the position. Prior to 2021, Jackson, Jeremy Shockey (74 in 2002), and Evan Engram (64 in 2017) were the only rookies to reach 60 receptions.
Since that point, seven rookies have topped the mark.
Bowers' 112 in 2055 was similar to Mark McGwire becoming the first to reach Roger Maris's 61 home runs in nearly 40 years, then flying past the mark with 70.
Context is everything.
Bowers left Jackson and LaPorta in the dust.
Digging deeper, there was plenty left on the bone. He posted 63% of his production (70 catches) in just 41% of his games (7 of 17). Bowers' first four games were strong; he paced to 85 receptions, just over LaPorta, before he went nuclear for 8 weeks at a 136 reception pace.
Bowers accomplished that rookie season while rotating quarterbacks between Aidan O'Connell, Gardner Minshew II, and Desmond Ridder.
Bowers carried the hype and expectations into his sophomore season, closing with a mid-2nd round Average Draft Position (ADP). Injuries limited his exposure to just 64 receptions in 11 games. Bowers was a disappointment relative to ADP.
Even while disappointing, Bowers made history.
There are only 27 other instances of a tight end hitting 64 catches in either their first or second season in NFL history. Unsurprisingly, Bowers is the only player to do it in each of his first two seasons. His 176 catches are the tenth most through a player's first two seasons in NFL history. He is the only tight end to top 150 catches to start their career. Sticking with the number 64 simply because that was Bowers' 2025 production, he is one of just 44 tight ends in NFL history with multiple 64-catch seasons. Tony Gonzalez has 14, Jason Witten 13, and Travis Kelce 12. Antonio Gates' eight seasons are the only other tight ends with more than seven.
That is a lot of numbers to say Bowers is off to the best statistical start of any tight end in NFL history.
