Pros, Cons of Las Vegas Raiders picking Georgia football's Brock Bowers in 2024 NFL Draft

Brock Bowers from Georgia football is officially an NFL rookie after being picked by Las Vegas Raiders in the first round of the 2024 NFL draft. He was selected 13th overall.

Here's what Bowers brings to Raiders, based on our own observations from the tight end's tenure at Georgia:

What Brock Bowers brings to Las Vegas Raiders in 2024 NFL Draft

The only thing that probably kept Brock Bowers from playing in the NFL a year or two ago is that rules don't allow college players to jump to the league in their first two years out of high school. Bowers did about everything for Georgia's offense except snap or throw the ball. He's arguably the driving force behind back-to-back national championships, a playmaker with the ball in his hands from wherever he lines up. He was as impactful an offensive player as Herschel Walker four decades earlier, leading the Bulldogs in receiving in all three of his seasons.

Brock Bowers highlights, strengths, weaknesses at Georgia football

Bowers became the first two-time winner of the Mackey Award for nation's top tight end and could have made a case for a third his freshman season. He was a yards-after-the-catch machine with 486 last season, 479 in 2022 and 522 in 2021, according to Pro Football Focus. He played 2,028 snaps in three seasons but his final year was curtailed after surgery for a high ankle sprain. He missed two games after the injury, returned and sat out two others. Those looking to knock him could point to his size and blocking, but that seem to be nitpicking.

Brock Bowers stats at Georgia football

175 catches, 2,538 yards, 26 receiving touchdowns, 5 rushing touchdowns and 193 rushing yards.

Brock Bowers player comparison (or potential) in NFL

Bowers is a unicorn of sorts at the college level. Not many players can be a threat to go the distance by outrunning defenders, can take a jet sweep for big yards and block effectively in obvious running downs. NFL.com mentions San Francisco's George Kittle as a comparison but says Bowers will "be an adequate move blocker and give effort at the point of attack, but that is the one area where his game falls short of George Kittle’s."

This article originally appeared on Athens Banner-Herald: Las Vegas Raiders draft Brock Bowers in 2024 NFL Draft. Pros, cons