If the New York Jets stay at No. 10, the correct pick would be Georgia “tight end” Brock Bowers.
The debate among the faithful of the Jets is whether the franchise should take an offensive lineman at 10 or a pass catcher. If Bowers is still available, there should be no drama. The card should be run to the podium without hesitation. “With the 10th pick in the 2024 NFL Draft, the New York Jets select Brock Bowers, tight end, Georgia.”
Let’s dive into why he should be the 10th overall pick in the 2024 NFL Draft if he falls and the Jets stay there.
Brock Bowers Makes Perfect Sense for the Jets at No. 10
Drafting for Depth in the First Round is a Mistake
The Jets have had a lot of recent history with injuries along the offensive line. They also have two offensive lineman on the wrong side of 30 coming off injuries from 2023. Tyron Smith missed time, and Morgan Moses didn’t but had offseason surgery.
Not drafting Brock Bowers after signing those two would still be a mistake, even with those two facts. Yes, they need depth to cover for injuries, but if the goal was to draft an offensive lineman, they should’ve just signed a veteran backup and drafted a lineman anyway. The strategy makes no sense any other way.
Much More Than a Tight End
The Jets lined up in either 11 (one back, one tight end) or 12 (one back, two tight ends) personnel 82.3% of the time in 2023. That was 19th most in the NFL, but with Aaron Rodgers behind center expect not only the total to go up, but the percentage. That’s for two reasons:
1. The Jets total number of offensive plays will go up.
2. 11 personnel is what Aaron Rodgers is most comfortable operating in.
Additionally, if you’re one of those people who says that tight ends take too much time to acclimate to the NFL, then you’re mistaking Brock Bowers for a traditional in-line tight end. He’s a movable chess piece for the Jets offense. He can play in-line tight end — albeit mostly as a pass-catcher — in the slot, outside at X or Z, or H-back. This means Bowers can be both TE2 and WR3 and be on the field in both personnel groups.
He also fits with Rodgers perfectly, as the following route tree from Tej Seth (via @StatsBomb_FB) shows us.
brock bowers route tree from @StatsBomb_FB
pretty unique in the sense he can run deeper routes and the screen/flat routes more than the average tight end pic.twitter.com/ujRAJdqA4c
— Tej Seth (@tejfbanalytics) March 22, 2024
Rodgers loves either short stuff for easy completions that keep the team on schedule or bombs downfield.
Traits + New Rules Favors Bigger Receivers
Bowers is a big guy. He weighed in at his pro day at 241 lbs.
Georgia TE Brock Bowers and OT Amarius Mims had their makeup Pro Day today. Bowers, at 241 pounds, looked explosive/moved well. Mims declined to weigh in. Both only did position drills—no testing for either.
Giants TEs coach Tim Kelly, Jets TEs coach Ron Middleton were on hand.
— Albert Breer (@AlbertBreer) April 10, 2024
He has YAC ability because of his size, and he does has some speed to break away from defenders for a time. They may catch up to him, but it will be too little, too late — at least in terms of stopping him from gaining extra yards.
Now, you also have to factor in the new banning of the hip-drop tackle into the equation. When you combine his speed edge over linebackers and his size over defensive backs with this new rule, he’s going to be even tougher to bring down.
When you factor everything together, Brock Bowers is the best option for the Jets at No. 10.
Main Photo: Jake Crandall-USA TODAY NETWORK
