Brock

Bowers

Bowers seemed to be battling some sort of minor injury for most of the game, missing a few high leverage plays while staying loose on the sideline. Bowers was second on the team in targets behind Tre Tucker (12), who did most of his damage in garbage time. Bowers, who has at least nine targets in every game this season, has as high a weekly floor as any tight end in recent memory. Hopefully he’ll be able to explore some of his upside in Week 8 against the Jets.

A Friday afternoon tradition unlike any other, Bowers was cleared after getting in two full sessions on Thursday and Friday. He can be played as an elite TE1, as usual.

Phew. Seeing Bowers return to full participation today is heartening. The star tight end appeared on the injury report as a limited participant yesterday, leaving some questions as to when the injuries occured, and how severe they are. Ideall, he remains full tomorrow and can be started as an elite TE1 as usual against the Rams this week.

Bowers is usually a limited practice participant due to his knee injury, before upgrading to full and eventually playing. However, this week is notable as he was listed with hamstring and calf injuries instead of a knee injury. He was still limited as usual on Wednesday but the new designations are something to keep an eye on throughout the week.

After being held without so much as a target in the first half of Sunday’s loss, Bowers still managed to finish the day with 70 receiving yards on a team-high nine targets. The Bills effectively shadowed Bowers with cornerback Christian Benford for much of the game but Bowers took advantage of a few holes in the Bills’ zone defense to make a few plays, which included back-to-back catches of 18 and 29 yards in the fourth quarter. Bowers did in one half what most tight ends need a full game to do, which speaks to his ability as one of the top play-making tight ends in the league. He’ll remain on the TE1 radar next week against the Rams.

One of these days, Bowers will be removed from the injury report for good. For now, we will continue to let you know that the Raiders’ star player gets a half day on Wednesday before practicing in full for the rest of the week. Bowers is the overall TE1 in fantasy football each week. Start him accordingly.

The Raiders continue managing Bowers’ practice reps early in the week, though he plays unrestrictedly on game day. The Raiders face the Bills in Week 6, likely facilitating a fantasy-friendly game environment. Bowers should be treated as the overall TE1 as usual this week.

Bowers continues his trend of practicing limited to open the week before upgrading to a full practice later in the week and getting cleared off the injury report. Fantasy managers can again expect to see Bowers return top-five fantasy tight end value in Week 6 against the Bills.

Bowers was again unstoppable both from the slot and from the boundary. The injury-ravaged New England secondary had no chance of stopping Bowers, whose ten targets led the Raiders. Bowers had three receptions of over 20 yards. His day could’ve been bigger if the Raiders had not rested their starters in the fourth quarter of the lopsided loss to the Patriots. With outrageous usage in Klint Kubiak’s offense, Bowers has as much upside as any player in fantasy for now. He gets the Bills in Week 6.

He practiced in full each of the last two days after a limited session on Wednesday. Bowers should be started with confidence in Week 5, though it looks like the knee injury will continue to limit his practice reps.