2024 NFL Draft: Why the Los Angeles Chargers should target Brock Bowers

• GOAT college tight end: As a three-time All-American with ridiculous numbers, Brock Bowers has an argument as the greatest tight end in college football history and the greatest tight end prospect in NFL draft history.

• Harbaugh’s utilization of the position: Since 2015, only Iowa has targeted its tight ends more than Harbaugh’s Michigan teams among the entire FBS.

• The Los Angeles Chargers need help at the position: Los Angeles’ tight ends were the fourth-lowest graded in the league this season.

Estimated reading time: 5 minutes

The Los Angeles Chargers made the biggest move of the offseason so far by hiring Jim Harbaugh as their next head coach. Harbaugh is fresh off a national championship at Michigan and is making his long-awaited return to the NFL. From 2011 to 2014, he led the San Francisco 49ers to a Super Bowl appearance and three straight NFC title games during his four years there. 

Two of Harbaugh’s biggest assets as he begins his tenure in Los Angeles are quarterback Justin Herbert and the fifth overall pick in the 2024 NFL Draft. Many expect the Chargers to use that selection on either a wide receiver or an offensive tackle to help out their franchise signal-caller. However, there’s a third option that makes just as much sense: Georgia tight end Brock Bowers. 

For starters, Bowers is the greatest tight end college football has ever seen. He was named to both PFF’s and the Associated Press’ All-American teams in all three of his seasons. The junior is also the only two-time winner of the John Mackey Award, given to the best tight end in the country. When looking at Bowers’ receiving numbers since we began charting college football in 2014, he laps the field. 

Brock Bowers among Power Five tight ends since 2014 (PFF College’s inception)

He’s also one of 14 tight ends since 2014 with 75-plus career PFF run-blocking and pass-blocking grades and is capable of taking jet sweeps 75 yards to the house, an unheard-of feat for a tight end. All in all, Bowers might not just be the GOAT college tight end, he might also be the GOAT tight end prospect. 

You’d be hard-pressed to find many coaches who value tight ends more than Jim Harbaugh. This season, Michigan ran 12 personnel (one running back, two tight ends) on 48.7% of its plays, the highest rate in the Power Five and third-highest in all of college football. Since Harbaugh took over the Wolverines in 2015, he ran 12 personnel on 32% of their plays, the fourth-highest rate in the Power Five.

Michigan also targeted its tight ends 100 times this year, the sixth-most in the nation. During Harbaugh’s tenure in Ann Arbor, only Iowa has targeted its tight ends more than the Wolverines (733). Some of the Hawkeyes’ tight ends during that span were George Kittle, T.J. Hockenson, Noah Fant and Sam LaPorta. 

The Chargers have also struggled at the position for years. As a group, Los Angeles’ tight ends graded out as the fourth-worst in the league this season (55.7). They’re also the fifth-worst over the last three years (59.1 grade). In fact, the Chargers haven’t had a tight end grade in the top-10 of the NFL since Hunter Henry in 2017, who’s now with the New England Patriots. If Harbaugh is going to run his offense similarly to the one he ran at Michigan, he’s going to need more than Gerald Everett and Donald Parham Jr. in his tight end room.

Many may feel squeamish about taking a tight end within the top five, as it’s generally not thought of as one of the most valuable non-quarterback positions, like wide receiver or offensive tackle. PFF attempts to quantify the value of a player with our wins above replacement metric, which takes into account A) how well the player performed B) what the player did and how important that task is to winning football games and C) how often the player did the various things on the field. When looking at the WAR by position from last season, it shows that tight ends are more valuable than one may expect.

Average WAR of a top-10 player by position in the NFL in 2022

While many draft analysts are penciling in a player like Malik Nabers or Joe Alt to the Chargers in their mock drafts, don’t be surprised if Harbaugh selects Bowers in the top five of the draft or utilizes a trade down to grab him. Considering how good of a prospect Bowers is, how much Harbaugh utilized tight ends at Michigan, how much the Chargers need talent in their room and the underrated value of the position, can you blame him?