Raiders' Bowers breaks Ditka's 63-year-old rookie TE receiving record

NEW ORLEANS (AP) — Raiders rookie tight end Brock Bowers didn't set any statistical goals for his rookie season, he said, because he had “no clue what to expect, coming from college to the NFL.”

Then he proceeded to break a 63-year-old record in his first 16 games as a pro — just one of three notable marks he set Sunday during the Las Vegas Raiders' 25-10 victory over the New Orleans Saints on Sunday.

Bowers’ seven catches for 77 yards give him 108 receptions for 1,144 yards in 16 games this season, eclipsing Mike Ditka’s 1961 rookie tight end mark of 1,067 yards receiving and Puka Nacua’s 2023 mark of 105 catches by a rookie at any position. Bowers also surpassed Darren Waller’s 2020 franchise mark of 107 receptions in a season.

“It’s pretty shocking to me,” Bowers said. “I try not to put goals — like numbers and stuff. I just try to ask myself, ‘How can I help the team the best way that I can?’ And just catch the ball when it comes to me.”

Drafted by the Las Vegas Raiders 13th overall out of Georgia, the 6-foot-3, 243-pound Bowers eclipsed Ditka's mark when he made a 13-yard catch late in the second quarter.

“He's super impressive. He looks like a vet out there,” Raiders quarterback Aidan O'Connell said. “I played as a rookie. I know how hard it is. ... and then to set historic records is insane.

“Just a testament to him and he definitely, just knowing him, is going to want to keep going and want to keep pushing,” O'Connell added.

Bowers conceded that he knew “not a ton," about Ditka, who set his rookie mark in what was then a 14-game regular season.

Bowers was more familiar with Ditka as the coach of the Super Bowl champion 1985 Chicago Bears, about 17 years before he was born, "but I also knew he played a little bit.”

Bowers starred for three seasons at Georgia, winning national championships with the Bulldogs in the 2021 and 2022 seasons.

He finished his college career with 2,538 yards and 26 touchdowns receiving in 40 games before declaring for the 2024 NFL draft, in which he was the first tight end to be selected.

Now Bowers has broken a more than 50-year old NFL record set by the very first tight end, in Ditka, to be inducted into the Pro Football Hall of Fame.

“I said from Day 1, he was special when he walked in the door and he was special again today," Raiders coach Antonio Pierce said. "Doesn't want no attention. ... All he cares about is winning and smiling. He can break records, but just watch him after victories. That's the true Brock Bowers because he's a competitor. He's a true pro. It's scary how good this kid can be."

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