Rap: Expect Brock Bowers (knee) to play in Week 3

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.

The Raiders’ No. 1 pass catcher is good to go for his team’s Week 5 game against the Patriots. Bowers primarily lines up as a wide receiver, and the Patriots could be without starting perimeter cornerbacks Christian Gonzalez (shoulder) and Carlton Davis (neck). He is an elite TE1.

Bowers starts out the week limited, though he has played through his knee injury while getting limited practices the past couple weeks. Barring setbacks, Bowers should be cleared off the injury report Friday and will be a TE1 for Week 5 once again.

Bowers’ 11 targets again led the Raiders on Sunday. He’s now racked up 24 targets over the last two weeks and converted those opportunities into 16 receptions for 202 yards and two touchdowns. Bowers came up big for the Raiders late in the fourth quarter in Sunday’s game against the Chiefs. With the Raiders trailing 30-19 and less than two minutes to go in the game, Kirk Cousins avoided a sack and rolled right in the pocket to find Bowers in the end zone for a 20-yard touchdown, cutting the Chiefs’ lead to 30-25 before Cody White converted a two-point conversion try on the following play. To the surprise of nobody, Bowers has been the top target in head coach Klint Kubiak’s offense. He’ll look to build on his hot start in Week 5 when the Raiders take on the Patriots. It should go without saying that Bowers is a must-play.

Despite being questionable with a knee injury and an illness that was announced early Sunday, Bowers is active in what’s a surprisingly pivotal Week 4 matchup between undefeated AFC West teams. Bowers caught 10 passes for 116 yards and a touchdown on 14 targets last week and will be a high-end TE1 this week. While Bowers is active, the Raiders did declare QB Aidan O’Connell, CB Darrell Luter Jr., S Tristin McCollum, OL Jackson Powers-Johnson, and DT Jonah Laulu inactive for Week 4.