Raiders News: Former GM Tom Telesco Explains Why Team Drafted Brock Bowers

The Las Vegas Raiders have an absolute cornerstone player on offense in tight end Brock Bowers. The Raiders certainly made the right call in taking him with the 13th overall pick in the 2024 NFL Draft, but at the time, it was looked at as a pretty big surprise.

But former Raiders GM Tom Telesco recently discussed what went into that selection, saying that when it came down to it, the Raiders just needed talent everywhere on offense, and he was the most talented player available, via Ezekiel Trezevant of Sports Illustrated:

“When it came down to it, we needed talent everywhere on the team. Certainly on offense. When I got there, the offense, really, just could not score. [We] did not have enough talent on offense. So, even though taking a tight end that high in the draft, probably is not always advisable,” Telesco said.

“So, I said, ‘Look, we need people who can score. If we have to put wide receiver on his [draft] card when we send it in, we will just put wide receiver on it, if it makes you guys feel better.’”

Telesco continued on about their thought process, adding that initially they were hesitant to consider Bowers as they had just drafted Michael Mayer in the second round of the prior draft, but are glad that they ignored that:

“It is funny because early in the process, we had talked about Brock Bowers, and I said the same thing. I’m like, “How are we going to take a tight end this high?,’ We had Michael Mayer, who we really like. We preferred to take a premium position in the first round of the draft. Just on the pay scale, tight ends do not fit in that group,” Telesco said.

“So, it was something we had kind of pushed to the side, even though we knew how good he was. As we got later in the process, the way I looked at it was: what he could bring to our offense, what he could do. I kind of went off the script a little bit and decided to go that route. I’m glad we did. He is an outstanding player.”

“We just felt like the infrastructure of the team had to get better. We had to add so much more talent. There were some of the quarterbacks that had we added them and not had resources to help them, it probably would not have gone well.”

It was immediately clear that Bowers was the right choice as he put together an all-time great season in which he led all NFL tight ends in receptions (112) and yards (1,194). He broke the all-time record for receiving yards by a rookie tight end and receptions by any rookie period while being named a First Team All-Pro and establishing himself as a truly elite tight end.

Geno Smith wants an ‘explosive’ Raiders offense in 2025

Brock Bowers will be a significant piece of the Raiders’ offense in 2025, and that offense has a new man under center in quarterback Geno Smith. And the Raiders’ new quarterback wants this offense to be an explosive one this season.

Smith recently spoke on this, saying that the Raiders want to be efficient, but also explosive and win one-on-one matchups when they get them. The quarterback added that the weapons he has at his disposal, such as Bowers, Ashton Jeanty and Jakobi Meyers, make things much easier on him.