Georgia's Brock Bowers ready to make his case as NFL's next great tight end?

INDIANAPOLIS — Brock Bowers has been here before, with arguably even more on the line.

As the Georgia tight end walked into Lucas Oil Stadium, where the NFL Combine's on-field testing is taking place this week, he couldn't help but think back to January 2022 and the national championship game against Alabama, when he caught a fourth-quarter touchdown to help the Bulldogs to the first of back-to-back titles.

"It looks a lot bigger from the stands than on the field," he said, a rare instance of anything seeming too big for the draft prospect.

Bowers caught 13 touchdowns as a true freshman at Georgia that season, immediately cementing himself as a future first-round draft pick, perhaps the future of the position in the same month that Rob Gronkowski played his final game. The league has star tight ends such as the Chiefs' Travis Kelce and the 49ers' George Kittle, and Bowers has put himself in position to quickly put his name among the best in the league.

"I grew up watching Gronk. I love watching Gronk," said Bowers, who met Gronkowski briefly at the Super Bowl in Las Vegas. "He's kind of like a huge role model for me, looking at him when I was growing up. I also love watching Kittle and Kelce."

Bowers isn't as big as Kelce (6-foot-5, 250) or Kelce (6-foot-4,250), being listed by Georgia as 6-foot-4, 240 pounds and admitting Thursday that he played last season closer to 235 pounds. His 40 speed, especially for his size, is unquestionably strong, potentially under 4.5 seconds at a weight where that's a rare number. He averaged more than 15 yards per catch in each of his first two seasons at Georgia, and his ability to produce yards after the catch is an NFL asset for sure.

Where does the tight end fit in today's pass-happy NFL offenses? There's still a value in quicker, pass-catching tight ends being used in high volume: Six tight ends caught 80 or more passes in 2023, two more than in any other season in league history and as many as the previous three seasons combined.

But to merit a high draft pick, a player must be a scoring threat, and when it comes to touchdowns, tight ends haven't had the same production in the post-Gronk era. From 2009-15, the NFL had three tight ends with at least 10 touchdowns five times in seven years — that had happened only once in history before then, and hasn't happened since. The NFL has had three total 10-touchdown seasons from tight ends over the past three years, with the Lions' Sam LaPorta as the only one this past season.

In general, tight end isn't a young man's position. After Gronkowski in 2011, there weren't any 80-catch seasons by tight ends under 25 years old until this year, when both LaPorta, 22, and Arizona's Trey McBride, 24, did so. Bowers would have the potential to make such a broad impact as a rookie in the right offense, much like LaPorta.

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If Bowers is seen as NFL-ready, he would point to three seasons of practicing against future first-round draft picks on Georgia's defense, which has dominated the top of the draft the past two years.

"We were going up against first-round dudes on defense every single day in practice," he said. "That kind of development, going up against that kind of competition every day, really improved my game and helped me out."

How high could Bowers go in April? It's rare to see a tight end go in the top 10 these days -- Florida's Kyle Pitts went fourth in 2021, but his lackluster production in three seasons with the Falcons hasn't encouraged more of the same. Iowa's T.J. Hockenson went eighth in 2019 and has made two Pro Bowls, but you have to go back to UNC's Eric Ebron, 10th in 2014, to find another tight end in the top 10.

Yet Bowers is projected to go as high as fifth overall to the Chargers. He's also linked to the Jets at 10 and a handful of teams in the middle of the first round. Receiver is a strength at the top of this draft, so Bowers is competing directly against elite downfield threats who lack his size but are compelling targets for high draft picks.

"I'd just say versatility," he said when asked for his pitch to NFL teams. "I feel like I can do it all and be a mismatch for defenses."

Bowers has played some of his best football in the biggest of games. When Georgia won a second national title by routing TCU his sophomore year, he had another touchdown and a team-best 152 yards on seven catches in the win. His junior year was cut short after 10 games due to an ankle injury, but he now has a chance to show what he can do at the sport's highest level.

"I'm a pretty quick learner," he said of his confidence to find the same success quickly as a pro. "In the meeting room, I can translate well to the field. I think that will help me a lot, learning the playbook and learning all the little things about the NFL."

Greg Auman is FOX Sports' NFC South reporter, covering the Buccaneers, Falcons, Panthers and Saints. He is in his 10th season covering the Bucs and the NFL full-time, having spent time at the Tampa Bay Times and The Athletic. You can follow him on Twitter at @gregauman.