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He hasn’t found the halt zone indispensable, but otherwise, Raiders first-spherical pick Brock Bowers is heading in the right direction to indulge in the most keen season ever for a rookie tight halt.
Bowers, the thirteenth total pick in this 365 days’s draft, leads all NFL tight ends in catches (47) and yards (477), though he has most keen one touchdown in his first seven NFL games. These prolific numbers establish him on fling to shatter the league’s rookie tight halt records. He’s in line to bag 1,158 receiving yards, breaking Mike Ditka’s file of 1,076, space manner abet in 1960, and he’s on fling for 114 catches, which would possibly perhaps perhaps perhaps obliterate the rookie file of 86 space final 365 days by the Lions’ Sam LaPorta.
The high quantity of passes headed Bowers’ manner makes him a rare tight halt who’s truly his offense’s No. 1 aim, especially since the Raiders traded receiver Davante Adams to the Jets. All the plan by the league, most keen three other tight ends are leading their groups in catches and receptions: the 49ers’ George Kittle, the Patriots’ Hunter Henry and the Cardinals’ Trey McBride.
Bowers is no longer factual leading all NFL tight ends in catches and receiving yards, he has 102 more yards and 13 more catches than Kittle, who’s 2d in each. He’s in massive shape to establish the Expert Bowl as a rookie — and would be the third rookie tight halt in four years to entire so, following LaPorta final 365 days and Atlanta’s Kyle Pitts in 2021. What’s wild is there became factual one rookie tight halt who made the Expert Bowl within the 30 years before that — the Giants’ Jeremy Shockey in 2002.
Moreover Bowers, the 2024 class of rookie tight ends is extremely unremarkable. The rest of them combined indulge in 544 yards, barely bigger than Bowers has himself. They collectively indulge in three touchdown catches, neatly down from the past two years, when rookie tight ends had 26 touchdown catches each season.
Extra killer Bs: Beanie Bishop Jr. picks A-Rod twice
The jewel of this 365 days’s undrafted beginners is without anxiety Steelers nickel nook Beanie Bishop, who has already played 294 defensive snaps for Pittsburgh, bigger than double every other undrafted player within the league. On Sunday, Bishop did bigger than factual play — he made performs, getting a pair of interceptions off Aaron Rodgers within the Steelers’ prime-time fetch over the Jets.
“He’s a Hall of Fame quarterback,” Bishop said after the game. “Bought loads of respect for that man and factual with a aim to bag no longer one but two of them off of him is loopy.”
Bishop is one other case of NFL groups striking too indispensable payment on dimension. He’s factual 5-foot-9 and 180 and is 24 as a rookie, which would possibly perhaps drop a player on draft boards. He had a protracted direction to the NFL, with four years at Western Kentucky, one at Minnesota, then a breakout 2023 at West Virginia, getting a crew-most keen four interceptions and leading the nation in passes defended. The Steelers got him for factual a $25,000 signing bonus, which is puny even by undrafted requirements.
How rare is it to pick out off Rodgers twice in a game? Or no longer it’s took space factual four other events in his 20-365 days NFL profession. The Saints’ Jason David did it in 2008, the Funds’ Bacarri Rambo in 2014, the Giants’ Janoris Jenkins in 2016 and the Lions’ Kerby Joseph in 2022.
The statistical oddity of the week is that two undrafted beginners — Bishop and the Rams’ Jaylen McCollough — each had two interceptions on the an identical day. That is a foremost in NFL history. At the same time as you encompass first-365 days avid gamers, it’s took space as soon as before, in 1960, when the Boston Patriots’ Gino Cappelletti and the Unique York Titans’ Fred Julian each did it on Oct. 16. McCollough is now tied for the rookie lead with three interceptions for the 365 days, striking him even with Texans security Calen Bullock.
History of 1-2 rookie QB showdown
Jayden Daniels’ neatly being space as a consequence of a rib hurt would possibly perhaps perhaps jeopardize a indispensable-awaited showdown of the draft’s prime two picks as Daniels and the Bears’ Caleb Williams are scheduled to meet on Sunday.
These 1-2 showdowns are no longer continuously indicative of future success. A 365 days ago, Bryce Young and the Panthers beat C.J. Stroud and the Texans in a Week 7 assembly, with Young throwing for 235 yards and a touchdown and Stroud throwing for 140. In 2021, Trevor Lawrence and the Jaguars misplaced to Zach Wilson and the Jets in a single other 1-2 assembly, with Wilson speeding for 91 yards and a rating and throwing for 102 and one other rating.
Most lopsided such head-to-head rookie game in latest years? In 2015, the Bucs’ Jameis Winston and the Titans’ Marcus Mariota opened their careers against each other. Mariota went 13-for-15 with four touchdowns in a 42-14 rout that became 35-7 at halftime, whereas Winston had two touchdowns and two interceptions.
Rookie tidbits
In the first six weeks of this season, no crew got bigger than 287 offensive and defensive snaps from beginners in a game, but in Week 7, four groups had on the least that many. The Saints had 317, Rams had 312, the Giants had 292 and the Chargers had 287. … This 365 days’s rookie working abet class has shown flashes, however it’s telling that the halt two rookie rushers in Week 7 were quarterbacks: Denver’s Bo Nix (75) and Daniels (50). And Daniels played most keen 10 snaps before his hurt. … Undrafted rookie with the most offensive snaps? Saints receiver Mason Tipton, a Yale grad who has 85 receiving yards on the season. … Or no longer it’s no longer as telling as sacks, but by manner of first price quarterback hits, the leading rookie is the Rams’ Jared Verse, with 9. Second is the Bucs’ Chris Braswell, a 2d-spherical pick who has six on the season.
Greg Auman is an NFL Reporter for FOX Sports. He previously spent a decade holding the Buccaneers for the Tampa Bay Instances and The Athletic. You would possibly perhaps perhaps perchance educate him on Twitter at @gregauman .
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