NEW ORLEANS — Brock Bowers has made a splash in his first professional football season.
After becoming the first Mackey Award two-time winner in Georgia football history, Bowers went on to have one of the strongest rookie NFL seasons by a tight end in history.
He broke Mike Ditka’s 63-year-old record for most receiving yards by a rookie tight end, finishing with 112 receptions for 1,194 yards and five touchdowns. Bowers also set the record for most receptions by a rookie, besting the 105 receptions by Puka Nacua last season.
NFL fans may have been surprised that Bowers was that good from the jump; however, his former position coach Todd Hartley was not in that camp.
“I don’t think it was a surprise to anybody that stayed around Brock for the last three to four years,” Hartley said prior to Georgia’s loss to Notre Dame. “You knew what Brock could do. It was just trying to tell these other people outside of Georgia that he really is what we tell you he is, right?”
Bowers was the first tight end taken in the 2024 NFL Draft. The Pro Bowl tight end sent Hartley a signed jersey for Christmas, which Hartley intends to frame and put in his office.
Bowers might be Hartley’s greatest success story, but he’s far from the only one that Hartley has helped get to the NFL. Georgia has had a tight end taken in every NFL Draft since 2019, starting with Isaac Nauta.
Benjamin Yurosek seems poised to continue that trend after coming in from Stanford this offseason. Oscar Delp could make the jump to the NFL as well, though he has another year of eligibility.
“There are times this year where he has had unbelievable competitive excellence,” Hartley said of Delp. “They all want more. They want more catches. They want more touches. They want more yards. And there’s only one football. And with the amount of skill you have on our offense and the guys you’re bringing in, it’s hard to get the ball to everybody as much as they want, but he’s done a good job of doing what we’ve asked him to do and making those plays when he had to make them for our offense.”
Despite being one of the more talented position groups on the team, the production fluctuated this year. Delp was the only tight end to finish with a catch in the loss to Notre Dame.
Delp had two crucial catches in the overtime SEC Championship win over Texas, looking like a reliable target for Gunner Stockton.
“It’s awesome. I know what I’m capable of. I think everyone on the team does,” Delp said prior to the Sugar Bowl. “Just to have the ball come my way and make a play in a critical moment, it feels good.”
Delp finished the year with 21 catches, 248 yards and four touchdowns. Sophomore Lawson Luckie led the room in receptions and receiving yards, finishing with 24 catches for 348 yards to go along with three touchdowns.
Georgia’s tight ends this season combined for 62 receptions, 799 yards and seven touchdowns this season. As a junior, Bowers alone had 56 receptions for 714 yards and six touchdown catches in just 10 games.
“I mean, obviously the production that Brock had there left a void in the offense for somebody to fill those shoes and to take that role,” Hartley said. “But I’ll say this, and I’ve said it multiple times, I’ve never wanted anybody else to be like Brock. I’m not gonna say, ‘Hey, I want you to be like Brock,’ because that’s unfair to the guys in our room, that’s unfair to the people that I’m recruiting. I want them to be the best version of themselves.”
Hartley has confidence in the position group moving forward. Even with potential NFL losses, Hartley seems to have signed two promising tight ends in five-star prospect Elyiss Williams and four-star prospect Ethan Barbour.
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