When the Pittsburgh Steelers make their longest road trip of the season in Week 6 against the Las Vegas Raiders, two exciting rookies will be taking the field opposite each other. The Raiders used their first-round pick on Georgia TE Brock Bowers at No. 13 overall, and the Steelers took NC State ILB Payton Wilson at No. 98 overall in the third round.
Bowers was easily the most talented TE coming out of college this year, and Wilson has a strong argument as the top inside linebacker. He slid to the end of the third round due to injury concerns, but those injury concerns are more about the longevity of his career rather than his immediate availability.
The Raiders also drafted TE Michael Mayer in the second round last year in 2023, so it is unclear what the division of labor will look like in that tight end room. Given the high investment, Bowers should get plenty of opportunities to win the starting job. He is more of a move tight end, or an oversized receiver, but that is the way the game has been trending for some time now. Dalton Kincaid had a lot of success filling a similar role as a rookie last season for the Buffalo Bills. At 6031, 243 pounds, Bowers is a similar size to Payton Wilson, who is 6037, 233 pounds.
As for Wilson, his role with the Steelers isn’t very clear yet either. Elandon Roberts and Patrick Queen will likely open the season as the starters, but the Steelers used a three-man rotation early last season with success. Wilson is a lot more athletic than Roberts, so his role early could be in nickel defense where he might be tasked with covering Bowers.
Bleacher Report’s Ryan Fowler listed his most anticipated rookie matchups to watch in 2024, and highlighted Bowers and Wilson.
“Las Vegas Raiders tight end Brock Bowers and Pittsburgh Steelers linebacker Payton Wilson are two of the most dynamic athletes in this year’s draft class. This Week 6 clash between the two should be a flat-out brawl from start to finish,” Fowler wrote. “Whether Bowers is asked to work up to the second level and seal Wilson in the run game or Wilson is asked to stay hip-to-hip with Bowers up the seam, these are the types of matchups that make the NFL special.”
This would be a matchup between the John Mackey Award winner, given to college football’s best tight end, and the Bednarik and Butkus Award winner, given to the top defensive player and linebacker in college football. The pedigree of this matchup is definitely enough to get excited about, but Week 6 of their rookie seasons may be too early to get a full look with both players starting.
The Steelers have had a problem with covering tight ends for years now. With the additions of Patrick Queen, Payton Wilson, and DeShon Elliott, that has a chance of finally changing for the Steelers moving forward.
Just look at their 2023 stat lines for a reason to get excited about this matchup.
Wilson: 138 total tackles, 69 solo tackles, 17.5 tackles for loss, three interceptions, six passes defensed, six sacks, one forced fumble, one defensive touchdown
Bowers: 56 receptions, 714 yards, seven total touchdowns
The two players never faced each other in college, so this would be the first time to watch two of College Football’s finest face each other head to head on the gridiron.
