Raiders' rookie TE Brock Bowers doing it all at training camp

The Raiders’ offense found itself in an all-too-common slump near the start of an 11-on-11 period during Tuesday’s first padded practice until Brock Bowers found space on an out route in the middle of the field.

Quarterback Gardner Minshew stepped up in the pocket and found Bowers who turned up field for a 20-plus yard gain. A handful of plays later, Bowers took a handoff, beat the defense to the edge and tacked on another explosive play to his tally.

“Usually I can get on a tight end and I can let off, jog a little bit and turn it on, but not with him,” cornerback Nate Hobbs said of Bowers. “You’ve got to be locked in because he’s different. He’s a physical specimen.”

Bowers has arguably been Las Vegas’ most reliable weapon as the team enters the midway point of training camp with the eighth of 16 permitted practices scheduled for this evening at the Jack R. Hammett Sports Complex.

Not bad for a rookie playing a position that typically has one of the NFL’s steepest learning curves in tight end.

But the first-round pick out of the University of Georgia is playing so much more than tight end in an approach that should make Raiders’ fans excited, if not relieved.

The Raiders lived up to their long-running reputation for draft-night shockers by taking Bowers with the No. 13 overall pick in April’s NFL Draft. The pick wasn’t considered a reach skill-wise but the Raiders were considered to have more pressing needs, namely at quarterback, offensive line and the defensive backfield.

Las Vegas eschewed positional-value principles dictating most NFL teams’ drafts in the modern day by not only taking Bowers but doing so a year after trading up for a second-round tight end in Michael Mayer.

But general manager Tom Telesco and coach Antonio Pierce defended the selection by saying they had plans to get Bowers and Mayer on the field together frequently. And they didn’t see Bowers merely as a tight end, but rather someone who could single-handedly diversify the Raiders’ attack by lining up at different spots.

So far, they’ve lived up to their word as Bowers has not only frequently played alongside Mayer in 12 personnel — when one running back and two tight ends are on the field — but also sometimes as a slot receiver and fullback.

“It’s a little more challenging,” Bowers said when asked about learning all the various spots where he’s lined up. “I’ve tried to get to know everyone’s spot and what they’re doing on each play. Just so I’m prepared, being able to be versatile and be able to put in different positions is big for me.”

It’s not just plays with the football in his hands where Bowers is making an impression. Mayer is considered the better blocker of the Raiders’ top two tight ends, but Bowers has held his own in the department and then some.

There’s been nothing like last year where, on the first day of pads, edge rusher Maxx Crosby repeatedly steamrolled Mayer to prove a point. In fact, Bowers has held his own in limited blocking reps against Crosby and even sprung an open-field block on him that had the whole offense energized earlier this week.

Crosby habitually talks trash to the offense throughout practice leading veteran running back Ameer Abdullah to joke that “everybody” wished they could hit him in the way Bowers managed.

“Do you think Brock is going to be back there to block every play?” Pierce asked. “I hope not. But I’ll tell you what: He’s willing to do it. And, to me, it’s just the mindset, whatever it takes for the team and what you need to do for the team.”

That mentality might be part of the reason why Bowers and Mayer have worked so well together. There’s been no frostiness between the two despite the highly unusual situation of having two of the highest-rated young tight end prospects of the last two years on the same team.

Bowers admitted to being as stunned as everyone else when the Raiders selected him on draft night, and Mayer experienced some initial confusion but they’ve both quickly gotten past those feelings.

Pierce felt encouraged when he headed downstairs at the team hotel one morning and caught Bowers and Mayer eating breakfast together.

“The first day Brock got here in the spring, I told him, ‘Dude, look, we’re in this thing together now. We’ve got to talk. We’ve got to communicate. It’s not going to work out if we don’t,’” Mayer said.

Mayer joked that, as everyone may expect, he dominates the off-field conversations. The second-year player is one of the most verbose presences in the locker room while the rookie rarely says more than word or two at a time.

The dynamic flips in a way when it comes to their roles on the field. Mayer is having a productive training camp himself but mostly as a traditional tight end.

He’s usually the one taking the first-team snaps when only one tight end is in the game.

Bowers’ role has been more elaborate. That’s just what the Raiders need to make sure their unconventional move to draft him pans out.

“I'm not going to say much, but I'm going to go out there, do my job, and just do everything to my best abilities and just compete out there,” Bowers said. So, I think that's where I fit in.”

Case Keefer can be reached at 702-948-2790 or [email protected]. Follow Case on Twitter at twitter.com/casekeefer.Case Keefer can be reached at 702-948-2790 or