Bowers’ historic early-season breakout is just the beginning for Raiders TE

The absence of Brock Bowers over the final few weeks of training camp threw the Raiders fan base and the fantasy football community into a mild panic.

Raiders coach Antonio Pierce kept insisting a foot injury suffered by the first-round rookie draft pick out of the University of Georgia was nothing serious and the team was just playing it safe.

Turns out, Pierce was living up to his reputation as a “straight shooter” once again after Bowers has been a full-go during the Raiders’ 1-1 start to the season. He was telling the truth about the Raiders’ handling of Bowers, but there was also another added benefit to not showcasing Bowers in too many practices open to the media and the final two preseason camps.

“We slowed him down a little bit because he was pushing himself and, to be honest, we knew what we got, we just didn’t want to speak on it until he did it,” Pierce said. “Now there’s no hiding it.”

There’s no hiding it because Bowers is off to the best start for a tight end in NFL history. The 21-year-old, Napa, Calif. native has carried over the success that saw him serve as a centerpiece on back-to-back national championship teams in college to the next level.

He has 15 receptions for 154 yards so far, both NFL records for a rookie tight end's two games.

There’s always a limelight on the first-round pick going into a team’s home opener, but that will be especially true at 1:05 p.m. Sunday afternoon at Allegiant Stadium when Las Vegas hosts the Carolina Panthers.

Bowers is likely to get a hero’s welcome after emerging as one of the leaders of the Raiders’ comeback victory at the Baltimore Ravens last week.

“It feels good just knowing that the team has my back and they’re confident in what I’m able to do, just giving me my shot,” Bowers said.

That’s about as much Bowers will ever say.

For as loud as his play has been on the field, he might be the most reserved player on the Raiders’ roster in the locker room.

Asked how he’s broken the ice with Bowers, star receiver Davante Adams joked, ‘we’re still skating.’ But Adams, who has 13 more yards and one more target than Bowers on the year but one less catch, loves that about his primary sidekick on the Raiders’ offense.

The veteran receiver said he felt an intensity from the young tight end from the first time they met, when the former spoke to the Raiders’ rookies during their minicamp after the draft.

“I could just tell by the way he spoke and the way he was locked in, it didn’t seem like he cared about anything other than football,” Adams said. “You’ve got those type of dudes when they’re young and come in like that, just locked in and grow and learn from all the veteran players, you can see something special.”

Bowers’ most special play so far came in the third quarter against Baltimore to set up Las Vegas’ first touchdown of the game.

Quarterback Gardner Minshew was forced out of the pocket, and Bowers turned to improvising to find a hole in the defense. He came back toward the line of scrimmage, and the quarterback zipped in a pass at the five-yard line.

Bowers showed off his strength in carrying and spinning away from defenders all the way down to the 1-yard line where Alexander Mattison punched in a score on the next play.

“I reverted back to our training through our offseason,” Bowers said. “When (Minshew) scrambles, you’ve got to get open and find a way to get the job done.”

Minshew and Bowers developed a connection right away in training camp, perhaps an underappreciated reason why the former ended up winning the quarterback competition with Aidan O’Connell.

There’s a trust between the veteran passer and rookie tight end that’s uncommon for players who have only spent a few months playing together.

“I had to take a shot to him on third down, and he goes and makes a huge play for us,” Minshew said of the third-down conversion against the Ravens. “Man, I think he is going to be really special. We have to continue to develop chemistry there.”

Pierce might have tried to keep it as much of a secret as he could, but he said he knew Bowers would be a big part of the Raiders’ offense from, “the day he walked into the door.”

There was no reason for fans to fear his missed time, and now they should be excited about his potential even beyond the record-breaking start.

If the time Bowers did practice during training camp is any indication, Las Vegas has a lot more planned for him. He’s notably yet to log a rushing attempt despite getting a series of handoffs and end-arounds over the summer.

They are surely coming in the regular season at some point and will be just another way for Bowers to differentiate himself like no other rookie tight end ever has before.

“He's a really good football player, he's tough, he loves the game,” Pierce said. “He doesn't care how he looks, how he talks, he just wants to play ball and that fits our mentality."

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