Raiders News: Mike Mayock Believes Lynn Bowden Will Be ‘Joker’ In Jon Gruden’ Offense
Jim Dedmon-USA TODAY Sports

In day 2 of the 2020 NFL Draft, the Las Vegas Raiders came away with some more skilled-position players to fill holes on the roster. Perhaps the most notable addition of the bunch was Lynn Bowden, who played his college ball at Kentucky.

Last season, it was easy to see that the Raiders needed help at wide receiver and the team was able to deliver just that in the draft.

Bowden was drafted by the Raiders with the 80th overall pick and in his three years at Kentucky, he spent times not only on both sides of the ball, but in multiple positions with the offense. Initially brought in as a wide receiver, Bowden spent his junior year primarily as a running back, but also played significant time at quarterback.

Raiders general manager Mike Mayock seems truly excited to have added such an interesting player, but does believe he and head coach Jon Gruden will focus on preparing him as a running back, via Kyle Martin of Raiders.com:

“Ultimately, he’ll probably be what we call a joker, which is what I love in [Head Coach] Jon [Gruden’s] offense,” Mayock stated. “It’s somebody who can do multiple jobs. But day one, he’s going to come in and be a running back. In the SEC two years ago, he caught 60-70 passes as a slot. Last year as you guys know he was quarterback/wildcat. He gained over 1,000 yards. We think he’s one of the most athletic, tougher guys in this year’s draft. We’re going to train him to be running back, if he’s able to do that job, we’ll be able to do some other things with him.”

Among the “other things” Mayock and Gruden have planned for Bowden, they’ll start him out as a punt returner, which is a position the Raiders have needed to improve.

In addition to his offensive duties, Bowden did spend time with the special teams as a punt returns specialist. He returned only nine punts during his college years but did average 22.1 yards per return. Fortunately, he does have experience as kickoff returns specialist as well, returning 71 kickoffs in college, known to be dynamic with the ball in space.

No matter where the Raiders end up using Bowden, he should have some experience and the ability to break out big plays. Gruden will likely get even more creative with his play calls with the additions of him and Henry Ruggs III to the roster, making the offense even more dynamic in 2020 and beyond.