Raiders OC addresses controversial drafting of Brock Bowers

The Las Vegas Raiders surprised many analysts when they selected tight end Brock Bowers with the 13th pick of the 2024 NFL Draft, even though they already had 2023 second-round selection Michael Mayer as their TE1.

Raiders offensive coordinator Luke Getsy recently spoke with The Athletic's Tashan Reed, Vic Tafur, and Ted Nguyen about various topics, including how Las Vegas will use Bowers and Mayer on the field simultaneously.

"Whether they’re tight ends, receivers, runners — whatever — having dynamic players that can do different things is really critical," Getsy said. "These defenses are doing everything they can to not let you capture edges and not let you get behind them, and to be able to challenge them in different ways and being able to run at them or being able to find creative ways to capture the edge is really important. And it comes down to those dynamic players."

The Raiders were routinely linked with quarterback prospects ahead of the draft on April 25 but ultimately could not move up in the draft order to acquire Jayden Daniels. The Washington Commanders stayed at pick No. 2 to take Daniels, and six signal-callers went off the board before Las Vegas grabbed Bowers.

"...The humility of the young man is what gets me," Getsy said about Bowers. "He is as good a teammate and as humble a young man as I’ve been around. When he gets out on the practice field, he’s relentless and he plays with a passion that’s just really cool. So that part of it probably shocked me more than anything — in just getting to know the human being. … The work ethic matches his play style, so that’s pretty evident."

Some believe the Raiders could make star wide receiver Davante Adams available to the New York Jets and other clubs if Las Vegas has a losing record heading into the Nov. 5 trade deadline. Having Bowers and Mayer as teammates could make such a decision easier to swallow, especially if Adams is as desperate to play alongside Jets quarterback Aaron Rodgers this fall as many assume.