Georgia's Brock Bowers is a gifted prospect. He may be the most talented tight end prospect of all time. The two-time John Mackey Award winner is an elite talent regardless of position. Yet his potential landing spot may be as big of a question the week before the actual event than any other projected top-10 talent.
Three obstacles create the uncertainty.
First, tight end falls toward the bottom of positional hierarchy. The incoming crop of talent, particularly near the top, will be dominated by quarterbacks, wide receivers and offensive tackles.
Besides, three tight ends have heard they names called among the top 10 in the last 10 years. Eric Ebron made one Pro Bowl but bounced between three teams. The Detroit Lions traded T.J. Hockenson before the end of his rookie deal, though he's made a pair of Pro Bowls. The Atlanta Falcons' Kyle Pitts is still hoping to be fully utilized.
It's been a mixed bag.
Second, taking a tight end with such a high draft pick negates some of the benefit of a rookie deal. For example, a quarterback on a rookie deal can save a team tens of millions of dollars, whereas Pitts is still on his rookie deal but will have the ninth-highest cap hit among tight ends.
Finally, Bowers chose not to complete a full workout during the predraft process.
While NFL front offices often downplay the testing portions of the evaluations, those around the league like to have all of the possible information at their fingertips to make the most informed decision. Bowers doesn't provide that opportunity. His evaluation is based on an outstanding collegiate career and one positional workout. It should be enough, but some grumbling almost certainly occurred.
So difficult decisions will be made by squads in the top half of the first round when potentially choosing between the B/R Scouting Department's second-ranked prospect or an elite prospect from a more important position. Five potential landing spots should place him in this year's top 15, with one particularly situation being the perfect pairing.
