Fantasy Football Risk Versus Reward: Is Brock Bowers a First Round Draft Pick?

How high should Brock Bowers be drafted in 2026 fantasy football?

May 20, 2026; Henderson, NV, USA; Las Vegas Raiders tight end Brock Bowers (89) warms up during organized team activities at Intermountain Health Performance Center. Mandatory Credit: Candice Ward-Imagn Images | IMAGN IMAGES via Reuters Connect

Brock Bowers — some view him as the TE1 in 2026 fantasy football; some view him as the TE2. Regardless, the Raiders pass-catcher is darn good. He will lead the pass-catching crew as Klint Kubiak aims to bring playoff relevancy in his newfound tenure. The hope is that Bowers has a career year, doing so with the best quarterback he may have ever had in Kirk Cousins. Cousins is the expected Week 1 starter over Fernando Mendoza.

The question that we will ask today is: how high should Bowers be drafted in fantasy football? Is he a first-round draft pick? How about second or third? The upside is massive, so how high can we allow his hype to go before it becomes irrational? Let us dive into the debate.

Drafting Brock Bowers in Fantasy Football...

As per FantasyPros, Bowers is the TE2 in fantasy football and the 30th overall pick on ADP (Standard Scoring). In PPR formats, Bowers ranks much higher: 19th overall.

Recently, we released our own Fantasy Sports On SI Projections. Our standard-scoring list finds Bowers as the TE2 in fantasy football. He projects to average 61.2 yards and 0.4 touchdowns per game. Season-long, that is 1,040 receiving yards and 7.5 touchdowns.

Bowers has often been labeled as an injury-prone player. However, the sample size does not quite support that argument. Bowers has played 29 of 34 possible games in his two-year NFL career.

In PPR formats, Bowers ranked as the TE2 in 2025 and the TE3 in 2024 on fantasy points per game.

Largely, Bowers has met preseason expectations over his first two NFL seasons. Given his preseason rankings and his ranking this season, he does not quite live up to first-round potential. Bowers would have to put up statistics comparable to those of CeeDee Lamb or Justin Jefferson to command such a price.

Over Bowers' first two seasons, he is averaging about 64 yards per game, or about 20% less than the likes of Lamb and Jefferson. He does compare on touchdowns scored, at about 0.4 per game.

Bowers is certainly not far out of first-round range. He ultimately does not desire to go there. This is a player who is a second-round pick. Given demand and ADP, he must not go sooner.

The game of fantasy football is not just about numbers, but also value. Where is a player ranked in ADP, and how can you get the best value out of that?

Sure, Bowers could have top-10 returns, but if he can be drafted at 20th overall, that is not the soundest investment to take him at 10. Just like any sleeper that may come from rounds 8... 9... 10..., that player should still not go in round 5 or 6. You lose value opportunity in such a move.

Bowers does have big upside. If the Raiders exceed expectations, Bowers may loom large. Nonetheless, we cannot expect that to happen. Time must show it.