In a survey of NFL executives, coaches, and scouts, Brock Bowers emerges as the top ranked tight end.
The verdict is in on the NFL’s top 10 tight ends. ESPN surveyed NFL coaches, executives, and scouts to get a ranking on the best tight ends in the league. After a superb 2024 rookie campaign, Brock Bowers takes the No.1 spot.
Bowers had 112 receptions on 153 targets in 17 games played and was the TE1 in fantasy. Bowers surupasses George Kittle who is an originator of Tight End University. Travis Kelce falls from the top spot down to 5 as he enters his age 35 season.
A very interesting wrinkle to the rankings are both Ravens tight ends Mark Andrews (6th) and Isaiah Likely (8th) making the list. This respect around the league for Likely shows how strong a tight end room the Ravens have. There has been growing pressure on Andrews to be traded and fantasy gamers wishcasting Likely to the top of the Ravens depth chart.
While this survey is mere opinion, it gives incredible insight to how each player at the position is viewed. Fantasy rankings are rampant and this survey is unique in that it peels back the curtain on how the NFL’s decision makers think as far as player evaluation.
Author: Jeremiah Retzlaff (@coachretzlaff1)
Las Vegas Raiders tight end Brock Bowers (undisclosed) was ...
Las Vegas Raiders rookie tight end Brock Bowers is ...
There's still no sign of Las Vegas Raiders rookie tight end ...
The Raiders rookie wide receivers are heading in opposite directions on Underdog.
The Las Vegas Raiders are not considered a team that is deep at wide receiver. Jakobi Meyers is an ever present value in best ball as he is going in round 6 on Underdog as the WR40. The offense is set to run through tight end Brock Bowers and stud rookie running back Ashton Jeanty in 2025.
With Jakobi Meyers being the best Raiders wide receiver by default, it leaves opportunity for another receiver to emerge. After the 2025 NFL Draft it was initially believed that Jack Bech would be the logical player to rise in Pete Carroll and Chip Kelly’s offense. Instead, it is Dont’e Thornton who is catching plenty of buzz as he has stood out in minicamp.
As this word has gotten out it has sent the two rookie receivers in opposite directions. In the last week on Underdog, Thornton has risen 9.7 spots into the early 17th round. Divergent from Thornton has been Jack Bech who has fallen 6.5 spots into the early 13th round.
Bech was selected in round 2 of the NFL Draft while Thornton went in round 4. There is still an appropriate gap in drafts, but as fantasy gamers get wise to Thornton’s ability the gap will certainly close. Clicking both Bech and Thornton at ADP will help build unique lineups and will be particularly unique when stacking with quarterback Geno Smith.
Author: Jeremiah Retzlaff (@coachretzlaff1)
The Las Vegas Raiders have hired Chip Kelly as their new Offensive Coordinator and Greg Olson as QB coach.
The Las Vegas Raiders, in the midst of restructuring their coaching staff under new head coach Pete Carroll, have brought in two veteran coaches to handle the offense. Chip Kelly has been hired as the Offensive Coordinator, and Greg Olson will take over as the quarterbacks coach. Both coaches bring extensive experience from both the NFL and championship-caliber college football.
Kelly, 61, has previously served as the head coach for the Eagles, 49ers, and the University of Oregon and UCLA. Most recently, Kelly was the Offensive Coordinator for the 2024 National Champion Ohio State Buckeyes. He joins a growing list of successful NCAA coaches making the jump to, or returning to, the NFL after National Championship bids, including Jim Harbaugh, Todd Monken, and Ryan Grubb. All three saw significant turnarounds with their new NFL teams in their first year, something that is a pressing need for owner Mark Davis, new GM John Spytek, and Carroll. Kelly has long been regarded as an innovative mind, and the tape from the Buckeyes’ 2024 season shows he hasn’t missed a step.
Olson returns to the Raiders for his third stint, having previously served as the Offensive Coordinator in Oakland. His last NFL stop was as quarterbacks coach in Seattle in 2023 under Carroll. While the Raiders’ plan at quarterback for 2025 remains uncertain—given the upcoming free agency period and NFL Draft—the team must be confident that regardless of whether they sign a free agent, draft a quarterback in an early round, or proceed with Aidan O’Connell, the offense will be in knowledgeable hands.
Kelly’s reputation is built on increasing the speed and efficiency of the offense, which has implications for fantasy players like tight end Brock Bowers and wide receiver Jakobi Meyers. Bowers, already considered TE1, will likely continue to play a major role in the offense. Meanwhile, Meyers, who thrived in 2024, is expected to return to a slot role, where he is best suited. Bowers has already established himself as one of the best rookie receivers in history, and Meyers will look to build on his breakout season. The Raiders will need to add a true “alpha” receiver to fill the role once occupied by Davante Adams before he was traded to the New York Jets. The futures of the quarterbacks and running backs, including Zamir White and Alexander Mattison, remain uncertain.
Writer: Brendon Booth (@bigbonededFFB)
The Las Vegas Raiders and Pete Carroll have reportedly agreed to make Carroll the new Raiders Head Coach.
The Las Vegas Raiders concluded their disappointing 2024 season by relieving Head Coach Antonio Pierce and General Manager Tom Telesco of their duties. In an attempt to reconstruct the leadership of the team, the Raiders have hired John Spytek as GM, and have reportedly reached a deal with Pete Carroll to be the Head Coach.
Spytek, with his previous connections to Tom Brady, helped build a Super Bowl champion in Tampa, and Carroll won his own ring as the HC of the Seattle Seahawks, so the respective legacies aren’t in doubt. The fact that Carroll is 74 years old, and the contract is only a 3 year deal, allude to more turnover in the Raiders’ near future, which is a head scratcher. Mark Davis had the opportunity to hire someone younger and more “fresh” with the idea of building a lasting program. Instead, it seems the idea is to allow Carroll to put pieces in place that will carry on what he builds, when he, inevitably, departs.
The team personnel, free agency, and draft implications remain to be uncovered as Spytek and Carroll begin to build the coaching staff. Offensive Coordinator is up for grabs and the future of Defensive Coordinator Patrick Graham is uncertain.
Author: Brendon Booth (@bigbonededffb)
Tom Telesco is out as Las Vegas’ General Manager, after terrible year.
Two days after relieving Antonio Pierce of his head coaching duties, the Las Vegas Raiders have fire General Manager Tom Telesco. Telesco had been with the Raiders for about one calendar year.
Telesco served one draft cycle for the Raiders and orchestrated one of the best drafts the team has seen in it’s history. While not being able to add a quarterback in the early rounds, Telesco drafted TE Brock Bowers who set all-time rookie records for receptions and TE receiving yards. He also added Jackson Powers-Johnson and DJ Glaze to the offensive line, both being good enough to earn major roles, and CB Decamerion Richardson who played very well in a limited capacity.
While he had a good draft, the rest of Telesco’s tenure was fraught with failure. The hiring of OC Luke Getsy stands out as a terrible move, hand-in-hand with the signing of quarterback Gardner Minshew and making him the starter to begin the season.
The Raiders will, likely, now hire a GM who will make the head coaching decision. These moves will have no effect on the fantasy prospects of Brock Bowers or Jakobi Meyers in 2025, and both remain imminently rosterable, with Bowers being the likely TE1 in all formats
Brendon Booth | @bigbonededFFB
The Las Vegas Raiders have fired Head Coach Antonio Pierce.
After finishing with a 3-14 record, with zero wins in division, the Las Vegas Raiders have moved on from Head Coach Antonio Pierce. Defensive Coordinator Patrick Graham is the only remaining member of the staff leaders that began 2024.
The rumors will be flying until owners Mark Davis and Tom Brady have made a decision on the Raiders’ 7th HC in 13 seasons, but the bottom line is that Pierce wasn’t the answer. The Raiders struggled as soon as Gardner Minshew was named as the starting QB, and the listing ship never recovered. To contrast, the Raiders lost bookend contests against the LA Chargers in weeks 1 and 18, losing to another new regime in LA, who had hired Jim Harbaugh, who had been long linked to the Raiders. Harbaugh turned the Chargers into a playoff team in year 1, while Pierce slid the other way, with the Raiders losing more games than in the previous year.
Brendon Booth | @bigbonededFFB
