Brock Bowers broke a record that stood for 63 years.
Oh yeah, and the Raiders rookie surpassed the legendary Hall of Famer Mike Dikta in the NFL annals.
Bowers, a three-time All-American at Georgia, set the rookie receiving yards record for tight ends on Sunday. He surpassed Ditka’s record of 1,076 yards set in 1961 early in the Raiders game against the Saints. Bowers entered the game needing just 10 yards for the record. He set the mark with a 13-yard catch in the second quarter, his third reception of the day. Raiders quarterback Aiden O’Connell delivered the pass.
Bowers entered Sunday’s game with 101 receptions for 1,067 yards. He finished with seven catches for 77 yards in a 25-10 win over the Saints. His season totals are now 108 receptions for 1,144 yards, both rookie tight end records. He has four touchdowns.
“I mean, it’s pretty awesome,” Bowers said. “It’s always been a childhood goal to play in the NFL, obviously, and then to come in here and be able to catch as many balls as I did and get as many yards as I did ... it’s pretty shocking to me, I guess. It’s pretty cool.”
Ditka set the mark in a 14-game season. Bowers set the record in his 16th game. He still has one more game to play this season.
Last week, Bowers became the third rookie tight end with 1,000 receiving yards, joining Ditka and the Falcons’ Kyle Pitts, who had 1,026 yards in 2021. He also already owns the record for most receptions by a rookie tight end, surpassing the Lions’ Sam LaPorta when he caught his 100th pass last week.
Bowers, the No. 13 overall pick, also set a Raiders franchise record for most catches in a season. Tight end Darren Waller caught 107 passes in 2020, and Hall of Fame wide receiver Tim Brown had 104 catches in 1997.
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