Brock Bowers just dropped a 10-catch, 116-yard, one-touchdown bomb in his 2026 debut, and if you’re a Seattle fan, that kind of breakout production with unheard-of target share should sound VERY familiar. The dude got a first-read target on a mind-blowing 50% of Las Vegas’ pass attempts last week, a number we almost never see in the NFL.
Klint Kubiak’s Fingerprints Are ALL Over This
Think about that 50% first-read target number for a second. For context, our very own Jaxon Smith-Njigba put up a 44.6% number last year, which was the highest in the last five seasons! Now, Bowers is already surpassing that, and it’s no coincidence. New Raiders head coach and offensive designer Klint Kubiak is a straight-up talent elevator, and we in the Emerald City know that firsthand. His fingerprints were all over JSN’s monster season last year, a season that put JSN on another level. Kubiak knows how to get his playmakers the rock, and he is doing it again, this time with Bowers.
It’s wild how Kubiak is unleashing Bowers. After missing the first two games following a meniscus procedure, Bowers came back and ran a route on 94.6% of the dropbacks, way up from his 84% and 80% marks the past two years. This guy has always been an outlier, too. He’s the only player to win the Mackey Award multiple times, and his rookie year in 2024 was an absolute party, snagging 112 catches for 1,194 yards and 5 scores. Even after missing five games last year, he still had seven touchdowns and averaged 56.7 yards per game. He just keeps proving everyone wrong, and with Kubiak scheming for him, it looks like he is truly back to break the game wide open.
Cousins and The Tight End Connection
Another factor here is Kirk Cousins, who at 38, might have more left in the tank than folks realize. And let’s be real, Cousins knows how to get production from a tight end. Just last December, he orchestrated that historic Kyle Pitts Sr. game, where Pitts hauled in 11 catches for 166 yards and three touchdowns on a Thursday night. That kind of history with tight ends only bodes well for Bowers.
While some folks, like the fantasy analyst in the source, were all-in on Trey McBride as TE1 all summer, Bowers’ Week 3 performance is making everyone rethink things. The Raiders’ offense looks better than expected, and with their modest talent at receiver, they need Bowers to absolutely dominate targets. And guess what? He’s doing it. This is why you get that FOMO feeling, watching Bowers just toy with overmatched linebackers and defensive backs. The Falcons, on the other hand, are still figuring things out with QB Michael Penix Jr. After not even getting a red zone trip in their first two weeks, they finally showed up in Week 3. Penix has definitely helped Drake London and Bijan Robinson, but Kyle Pitts Sr. hasn’t seen the same lift yet.
Bowers is back with a vengeance, and with Klint Kubiak pulling the strings, we might be watching a player put up numbers that make JSN’s incredible 2025 season seem like just the beginning of what Kubiak can do. Get ready for three months of Bowers going off.
This article was created with AI assistance and published under Seattle On Tap’s editorial standards. See our Editorial Policy.
Originally reported by Yahoo Sports.
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