Report: Surprising Take on Las Vegas Raiders' 13th Pick

A surprising report from a respected NFL writer believes the Las Vegas Raiders should select tight end Brock Bowers with their 13th overall pick in this month's NFL Draft.

It's the time of year where mock drafts start to get more and more outlandish.

With most experts having had months to develop a consensus on many of the top 2024 NFL Draft picks, the media has to start getting more creative and bold with its takes.

Adam Rank of NFL.com made it clear in his recent mock draft that it wasn't intended to be a predictions piece but one based on what he believed teams "should" do with their first-round picks.

Even so, his take on how the Las Vegas Raiders should use their 13th overall pick was a little out there.

Rank said Las Vegas should use its first-round pick on tight end prospect Brock Bowers, the top tight end in this year's draft class.

Again, it's not a prediction, so save the argument that Bowers will likely be off the board before 13, But as far as what the Raiders should do, the tight end position should be one of the club's last concerns going into next season.

Not only do the Raiders have one of the top up-and-coming tight ends in the league in Michael Mayer, but they also just replaced Austin Hooper with a solid potential backup in Harrison Bryant, who could even share the load with Mayer.

Taking a tight end on Day 3 for the sole purpose of adding depth is a reasonable option for the Raiders, but wasting their delicate first-round pick on a position of little need calls for a major head-scratcher.

However, that is not to say adding a talent like Bowers isn't fun to think about.

"You might be tempted to go quarterback here," Rank wrote. "I get it. But I also believe you can get by with Aidan O'Connell and Gardner Minshew. Hell, Minshew nearly led the Colts to the playoffs last season.

"Cornerback is another position you could target, and the offensive line needs help. But I love Bowers in this spot as a top-10 talent going to a team that could use more playmakers. New Raiders OC Luke Getsy liked to use "12" personnel with the Bears last year; combining Bowers with Michael Mayer would be straight up fire, like Gordon Ramsay cooking something up in Hell's Kitchen."

The NFL Draft will be held in Detroit, Mich., on April 25-27, 2024. The Las Vegas Raiders currently have the No. 13 overall pick.

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