Coming into the first round of the 2024 NFL Draft on Thursday night, the Las Vegas Raiders owned the No. 13 overall pick and seemed to be aiming to bring in one of the many talented young quarterbacks expected to be taken in the first round.
Unfortunately for Las Vegas, a record was made for quarterbacks taken in the first round on Thursday night, with six quarterbacks being drafted before the Raiders were officially on the clock at 13.
With every big-name quarterback being taken from Caleb Williams to Bo Nix, Las Vegas had to pivot when it was their turn to bring in a rookie stud. As a result, the team went with the best player available, which turned out to be University of Georgia tight end Brock Bowers.
With the 13th pick in the 2024 #NFL Draft, the #Raiders select, TE Brock Bowers. @brockbowers17 becomes the 5th player out of @GeorgiaFootball drafted by the Raiders.
Bowers is the first tight end selected in the first round by the Raiders since 1996 (Rickey Dudley). pic.twitter.com/TJ8x7dkGxm
— Raiders PR (@RAIDERS_PR) April 26, 2024
This was an interesting pick by the Raiders, especially considering they brought in tight end Michael Mayer out of Notre Dame early in the second round of the draft last year. Mayer didn’t get a ton of work in his rookie season in Las Vegas but made an impact when given the opportunity.
Mayer caught 27 passes for 304 yards and two touchdowns in 14 games, with three of those games being a starter.
Although it seems redundant to bring in another tight end a year later, especially with Mayer showing some promise, the Raiders brought in the best player available and might see it pay off with Bowers being incredibly versatile.
Bowers can do many different things on the football field while playing a number of positions, which always benefits him if he’s productive while being used all over the field. It’ll be interesting to see how new head coach Antonio Pierce uses Bowers and Mayer next season and if it makes this team that much more dynamic offensively.
As for the quarterback position, it will be veteran newcomer Gardner Minshew, second-year player Aidan O’Connell and Anthony Brown on the depth chart moving forward. It’s beyond the realm of possibility that the team brings in a quarterback in the later rounds of the draft, but it’s safe to say O’Connell and Minshew will be battling it out for the starting job.
Raiders Reached Out to Commanders About Trading Up to No. 2
Ahead of the 2024 NFL Draft, the Lakers did their due diligence in trying to trade up to land a quarterback, namely Jayden Daniels, out of LSU. The Washington Commanders owned the No. 2 overall pick but weren’t selling, leaving the Raiders at the mercy of the 12 teams ahead of them.
Ultimately, Daniels ended up in the nation’s capital while the Raiders still have question marks at quarterback.
