Brock Bowers Fantasy Projection 2026: Will the Raiders Superstar Finish As the TE1?

With a new offense led by Klint Kubiak and a new QB under center (Fernando Mendoza or Kirk Cousins), can Brock Bowers finish as the TE1?

The Las Vegas Raiders have seven wins over the past two seasons combined and have posted just one winning campaign since going 12-4 in 2016 when they called Oakland home.

This franchise is struggling, but they’ve got some flashy pieces and are fresh off a draft that was universally praised. Rock bottom appears to be in the rearview mirror, and as progress becomes evident, everyone involved stands to gain value in the fantasy football world.

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Should You Draft Brock Bowers in Fantasy Football?

The Bowers profile is beautiful in its simplicity. He missed five games last season and still led this team in catches (64) and touchdown receptions (seven). The team is building around him, but not in a particularly threatening way.

Jalen Nailor was brought over from Minnesota, and Mike Washington Jr. was drafted out of Arkansas, but neither poses a real threat to take food off the plate of one of the most involved young players we’ve seen in recent memory.

Active Players: Leaders in 5+ Catch Games Through 29 Career Contests

  • Christian McCaffrey: 21
  • Puka Nacua: 21
  • Ja’Marr Chase: 20
  • Chris Olave: 19
  • Bowers: 19

Nailor is a fine player, but his next 30-catch season as a pro will be his first. Washington is an interesting prospect with an NFL-ready body, but the profile is underwhelming, he’s older than Ashton Jeanty, and the draft capital spent (pick #122) hardly demands the Raiders force him into more than a get-Jeanty-a-blow option.

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With Fernando Mendoza in town and those minor tweaks around the outskirts of this roster, there’s a glimmer of hope that an offense that scored 13.6% fewer points than anyone else in 2025 can put their All-World tight end in a position to return value, even at an ADP that reflects just how special he is.

Try this one for size. Through two seasons, Bowers’ 17-game AVERAGE is 103 receptions for 1,099 yards and seven scores. That’s what he has taught us to expect from him should he go through a season from start to finish without injury.

That stat line has only been achieved seven times by a tight end during the 2000’s. Seven. And that’s closer to an expectation than an outlier for this machine out of Georgia.

Preseason Fantasy TE Rankings

  1. Brock Bowers | LV
  2. Trey McBride | ARI
  3. Colston Loveland | CHI
  4. Tyler Warren | IND
  5. Tucker Kraft | GB
  6. Sam LaPorta | DET
  7. George Kittle | SF
  8. Harold Fannin Jr. | CLE
  9. Kyle Pitts Sr. | ATL
  10. Isaiah Likely | NYG
  11. Travis Kelce | KC
  12. Dallas Goedert | PHI
  13. Jake Ferguson | DAL
  14. Mark Andrews | BAL
  15. Juwan Johnson | NO
  16. Dalton Kincaid | BUF
  17. Chig Okonkwo | WAS
  18. Brenton Strange | JAX
  19. Hunter Henry | NE
  20. Kenyon Sadiq | NYJ
  21. Dalton Schultz | HOU
  22. Greg Dulcich | MIA
  23. AJ Barner | SEA
  24. T.J. Hockenson | MIN
  25. Oronde Gadsden II | LAC

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