Brock

Bowers

Mendoza is all but certain to land with the Raiders, who have the first overall pick in the 2026 NFL Draft. After displaying “elite accuracy and overall arm talent to throw to all levels of the field” during his final season at Indiana — leading the Hoosiers to the team’s first national title — Mendoza should be a good fir for Kubiak, fresh off turning Sam Darnold into a Super Bowl winning quarterback. “Mendoza brings a strong frame and in-pocket mobility with enough creativity to handle duress out of structure,” Yates said. “And his quick-processing skills point to a successful starting NFL QB.” Even if Mendoza struggles as a rookie, he will be a major upgrade for Brock Bowers and the rest of the Vegas pass catchers.

It comes out of nowhere but makes sense considering Bowers has dealt with a knee injury all season and the Raiders were long ago eliminated from postseason contention. NFL Network’s Tom Pelissero said “the decision was made to get it taken care of now and focus on being 100% in 2026.” That could mean Bowers will undergo surgery in the offseason after playing through the knee ailment for four months. Bowers ends 2025 with 64 receptions for 680 yards and seven touchdowns on 84 targets over 12 games. All of his metrics remained similar to his outstanding rookie campaign in 2024. He’ll be an elite fantasy producer in 2026, hopefully with a different quarterback and coaching staff.

The Raiders managed to get Bowers a few underneath looks on early downs, but between Geno Smith’s deep accuracy being unreliable and Houston’s pass rush, Bowers-reliant managers should feel lucky that he found the end zone early in this one. He was bracketed between two Texans defenders on a third-and-goal in the end zone, so it took a great throw from Smith to find him. Start Bowers if you’ve got him in Week 17, though, on account of a teed-up matchup against one of the NFL’s worst defenses — the Giants — in a game that could determine the fate of the No. 1 overall pick.

Bowers’ 8.8 PPR points were frankly a miracle as Kenny Pickett produced 29 yards net passing in the Raiders’ second 31-0 loss of the season. He was the only Raider to make any positive box score contribution whatsoever in what was yet another new low in the Raiders’ catastrophic “Pete Carroll year.” As fantasy managers wait for the Raiders’ inevitable next coach and quarterback in 2026, Bowers is a volatile TE1 despite upside that should make him the weekly TE1 overall. You probably can’t bench him for the fantasy quarterfinals against the Texans, but that’s another potential shutout loss on the road for the league’s least competitive team.

Bowers continues to make the most of his frustratingly small workloads, frequently producing highlight reel plays. Bowers scored a touchdown on the Raiders’ first drive, lining up in the slot and running right past Broncos slot CB Ja’Quan McMillian, who was focused on RB Ashton Jeanty’s route out of the backfield. Broncos’ S Talanoa Hufanga opted not to pursue Bowers as he broke outside on a corner route, leaving Bowers wide open in the end zone. Raiders QB Geno Smith got the ball to him for the score. Bowers later made a juggling, one-handed catch on the play where Smith (right shoulder) was injured on the Raiders’ final play of the third quarter. Broncos LB Alex Singleton had Bowers’ left arm trapped, but the talented tight end was evidently unbothered, securing the pass with his right hand before trotting out of bounds. Bowers remains an elite TE1 in Week 15 against the Eagles.

The talented tight end helped bring the ball down to the Chargers’ five-yard line on the Raiders’ fourth drive by ripping off a 24-yard gain on a corner route via play action. Two plays later, QB Geno Smith found him wide open in the back of the end zone for his first touchdown of the day. His second punctuated an unbelievable red zone sequence on the Raiders’ ninth drive. Bowers somehow secured a one-handed catch by falling backward, to the left, with his left hand outstretched, saving the ball from hitting the ground by inches. Bowers remains an elite TE1 against the Broncos next week.

Bowers did fantasy managers a solid with two catches for 19 yards on a meaningless three-play drive to close the game. He had struggled to get much going before the pair of garbage-time catches. Bowers erupted for 127 yards and three scores in his first game back after missing a few weeks with a knee injury. He has since logged yardage totals of 31, 72, and 55 yards. Bowers is still one of the best fantasy tight ends in the league, but the Raiders’ struggles on offense are hurting both his floor and his ceiling. He will slot in as the TE2 overall, behind Trey McBride, in the fantasy ranks for Week 13.

He added, in words that are a dagger to Ashton Jeanty owners: “I don’t really care about pleasing people with our run/pass mix. I’m trying to move the football.” And as bad as Geno Smith has been this year, it’s hard to argue with the fact that Jeanty had nowhere to go on Sunday with just seven yards on his six carries. It’s possible the Raiders will lean into being a pass-first offense down the stretch, something that would be music to the ears of Bowers-reliant managers.

The 12 looks handily led the team, but it was two drops and routine plays that left a sour taste in fantasy managers’ mouths in this one. Neither instance would have taken significant points off the board considering the Raiders really only threatened paint on one drive, but it remains noteworthy that Bowers has now struggled in back-to-back games following his three-touchdown eruption in his first game back from injury in Week 9. Bowers has all the runway in the world for fantasy liftoff after the team traded wide receiver Jakobi Meyers at the deadline, but he has yet to make good on the upside case. Even so, fantasy managers can likely count on top tier production from their second round pick the rest of the way as the team has little competition for targets in its current state.

After a dominant effort against the Jaguars in Week 9, Bowers was a non-factor outside of the 31-yard connection. In fact, Michael Mayer ended up receiving more receptions (3) and yards (37) as Geno Smith didn’t feel comfortable looking Bowers’ way. Credit to Denver for clearly taking the second-year wideouts looks away — and it’s worth noting that the weather played a factor in the contest — but the results are still massively disappointing. Expect Bowers to be much more involved against the Cowboys in Week 11 on Monday Night Football.