Could the Colts land Brock Bowers in the 2024 NFL Draft?
Mock draft season is upon us, which means over the next few months, we will see countless different prospects "selected" to the Colts by NFL draft analysts. Friday brought the first mock draft of the year for NFL Network's Daniel Jeremiah. Jeremiah gave a brief explanation for his pick by saying the following. "Bowers is […]
Mock draft season is upon us, which means over the next few months, we will see countless different prospects "selected" to the Colts by NFL draft analysts.
Friday brought the first mock draft of the year for NFL Network's Daniel Jeremiah.
Jeremiah gave a brief explanation for his pick by saying the following.
"Bowers is going to be tricky to place in mock drafts. The talent suggests he should be a top-five pick, but the debate about positional value could push him down as far as the Colts at No. 15."
Could Bowers fall to 15:
Some may be shocked by Jeremiah's selection of Bowers for the Colts at 15 because they doubt he will fall that far. While Bowers is believed to be a special talent, he plays a nonpremium position as a TE. This will impact where he gets drafted, but the question is how much.
Something that will play into the Colts favor is how many quality prospects there are at premium positions. People are projecting at least three QBs to hear their names called in the top 15: Caleb Williams, Drake Maye, and Jayden Daniels. And when you look at the WR and OT positions, it isn't out of the question that 3-4 WRs and 3-5 OTs hear their names called before the Colts pick.
Bowers fit with the Colts:
Some will criticize drafting a TE in the first round, but Bowers isn't your average TE. Bowers is arguably the most anticipated TE prospect at the NFL level in well over a decade after his stellar career at the University of Georgia. His best season came his freshman year, with 56 receptions for 882 yards and 13 touchdowns. He would end his three-year college career with 175 receptions for 2,538 yards and 26 touchdowns.
Even more impressive is that he did it without an NFL starting-caliber QB in all three seasons; in my opinion, this past year with Carson Beck was the closest he's come to that. The previous two years, he had Stenson Bennett as his QB, who lacked true NFL arm talent. But Bowers' ability to make plays after the catch helped hide Bennett's flaws and lead the Georiga offense toward their national championship his sophomore season.
The Colts will be entering year two, or should I say one and a half, with 2023 rookie Anthony Richardson as their QB since they were only able to see him suit up for four games, which may not seem like enough playing time to decide if they have found their guy or not. But I've been told that the organization has belief from the top to the bottom that Richardson is their next franchise QB. And I expect them to operate as such this offseason.
So drafting a player like Bowers to be Richardson's safety blanket for years to come could be a perfect fit. Bowers has a solid balance of underneath work and home run ability on his college film. Pairing him with a QB that possesses next-level arm strength like Richardson's and a lay caller of Shane Steichen's status would open up a new world of possibilities for Bowers' game. He could be the missing piece to this offense if he's there at 15, and I don't know how the Colts could turn down that opportunity.
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