College News & Analysis

Nobody in college football dominates their position like Brock Bowers

2RYEHYW Georgia tight end Brock Bowers (19) scores the winning touchdown during the second half of an NCAA football game against Auburn on Saturday, Sept. 30, 2023, in Auburn, Ala. (AP Photo/Stew Milne)

• Brock Bowers led the way against the Tigers: The junior had eight catches for 157 yards and a touchdown in Georgia’s 27-20 win over Auburn.

• Most dominant player in the sport?: Nobody stands head-and-shoulders above their position more than Bowers, as he's PFF's highest-graded tight end since 2014.

• Already one of the greatest tight ends ever: By the time this season is finished, Bowers could be cemented as the greatest tight end in college football history

Estimated reading time: 4 minutes

Georgia was on the ropes. 

The defending back-to-back national champs trailed unranked Auburn 17-10 late in the third quarter this past Saturday. If the Bulldogs lost, it would’ve been their first defeat since the SEC Championship Game two years ago.

Then, the top-ranked team in the country remembered it had the most dominant player in the country. Brock Bowers went off against the Tigers to the tune of six catches for 148 yards and a touchdown in the second half alone

Following the game, one Auburn fan posted on X, “Yet we didn’t double/bracket this guy” with a clown emoji tagged on at the end. The Tigers’ defensive coordinator, Ron Roberts, responded in a since-deleted post,

“Don’t know what game u were watching! He was bracketed most of the day”. 

Bowers has been leaving defensive coordinators scratching their heads for much longer than just this past Saturday. He’s been named to PFF’s All-American team in each of his first two seasons and won the John Mackey Award last season, which is given to the best tight end in college football. Even though he’s not even halfway through his junior year, he’s already atop the PFF record books in most receiving statistics.

Brock Bowers among Power Five tight ends since 2014 (PFF College’s inception)

Stat Amount Rank
Receiving grade 94.3 1st
Receiving yards 2,240 1st
Receiving touchdowns 23 T-1st
Receiving yards after contact 609 1st
Missed tackles forced on receptions 39 1st

Bowers’ 88.9 grade this season is five points higher than the next-closest tight end. He’s the current favorite to take home the Mackey Award once again. If he does, he’ll become the first two-time winner in the award’s 24-year history. And if he keeps carrying the Bulldogs to victories like Saturday, he may even earn an invite to New York as a finalist for the Heisman Trophy, an unheard-of honor for a tight end.

Nobody, not even Caleb Williams, towers over their position quite like Bowers does. There’s a strong argument to be made that the junior is the best player in the country. Once this season wraps up and he moves on to Sundays, Bowers could go down as the greatest tight end college football has ever seen.

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