The Las Vegas Raiders got historic production from TE Brock Bowers in his rookie year with 112 receptions for 1,194 yards and five scores.
Yet, one fantasy analyst believes the dynamic TE could be a bit a overpriced in upcoming fantasy football drafts entering the 2025 fantasy football season.
Brock Bowers Named as a Player to Avoid in Fantasy Drafts in 2025
Bowers is a special talent who made a huge impact upon his arrival in the NFL last season, but Frank Ammirante of FantasyPros still has some hesitation about investing top draft capital in upcoming fantasy drafts in the Georgia product entering the 2025 NFL season.
Ammirante wrote, “The reason why I’m including Bowers as a tight end to avoid has nothing to do with the player and everything to do with his price. Even in a terrific rookie year, Bowers averaged 15.6 fantasy points per game in full-PPR formats. That ranked as TE3 behind George Kittle and Trey McBride. Despite this, Bowers is being drafted seven picks ahead of McBride and 39 picks earlier than Kittle.”
Bowers set the record for receiving yards by a TE in 2024 with 1,194 yards. This accomplishment becomes that much more impressive when you consider the subpar quarterback play — I’m looking at you Gardner Minshew, Aidan O’Connell, and Desmond Ridder — and that the tight end position is traditionally one of the most difficult positions to transition to from the college to pro level.
Ammirante added, “I understand that Bowers is a truly unique talent, but there shouldn’t be this much of a gap. On top of that, there’s a high opportunity cost with drafting Bowers at his current cost. The Raiders’ star is going ahead of Jonathan Taylor, Drake London, A.J. Brown, and Bucky Irving. You can easily take one of these players and just target Kittle a couple of rounds later.”
Ammirante steers clear of throwing any criticism about him as a player by praising his talent, but simply prefers other options in that range of fantasy drafts with a bit more stability under center.
Ammirante did mention the changes to the Raiders’ offense that could provide some optimism by writing, “Brock Bowers caught 112-of-153 targets for 1,194 yards and five touchdowns in what was arguably the best rookie tight end season in NFL history. This is a generational player who gets an upgrade at play-caller in Chip Kelly as well as a much better quarterback in Geno Smith.”
Geno Smith didn’t exactly light it up last season in Seattle, but most would agree he is an upgrade from what was under center for Bowers throughout his first season in the NFL.
What Does the Target Competition Look Like in Las Vegas Ahead of the 2025 NFL Season?
Outside of Bowers, the Raiders WR room is among one of the weaker groups in the league. Jakobi Meyers has been rock solid during his time in Las Vegas, but other players competing for targets in 2025 are Tre Tucker, Collin Johnson, along with a pair of rookie wideouts in Jack Bech and Dont’e Thorton Jr.
The addition of dynamic rookie RB Ashton Jeanty could provide a viable pass catching weapon out of the backfield, but I just don’t see anyone on the roster who is a legitimate threat to Bowers’ volume, which should make an elite option at the TE position for fantasy managers in 2025.
