When Raiders tight end Brock Bowers and Chargers wide receiver Ladd McConkey take the field at Allegiant Stadium on Sunday, almost two years will have passed since the duo won their second College Football Playoff National Championship at Georgia, a dominant 65-7 victory over TCU.
Bowers paced the Bulldogs in that game with seven receptions for 152 yards and a touchdown. McConkey was the team's second-leading receiver, adding five catches for 88 yards and two scores.
A lot has changed for the two rookies since winning back-to-back collegiate titles. Bowers, a California native, wound up in Las Vegas with the Raiders as the 13th overall pick in the 2024 NFL Draft. McConkey left his home state of Georgia to join the Chargers, who traded up to select him with the 34th pick.
While their home stadiums and team colors are different, their production has remained consistent.
Bowers currently leads all rookies in receptions (108) and receiving first downs (58) and is second in receiving yards (1,144). McConkey isn't far behind. He ranks in the top five in all the same categories and is tied for second among rookies with seven receiving touchdowns.
"We kind of have a little competition," Bowers said with a laugh. "I don't know if he knows but I've been keeping up with his numbers and trying to stay ahead of him."
"It's been pretty cool just seeing him go out and do his thing, do everything that we knew he could in college when everyone was kind of doubting him," the tight end added.
Throughout the draft process, the two Bulldogs kept in touch and were constantly asked about each other during media appearances.
"Shoot, you turn on his film and watch him play, every single play will be like a wow moment," McConkey said of Bowers in an interview with Fox Sports. "But he does that day in and day out. He's an all-around guy, can play every single position. [You] can probably put him on defense, and he'd go out there and get it done. I know he's going to go high and he's going to make some team real happy."
Raiders tight ends coach Luke Steckel held similar feelings about Bowers' potential as an NFL player.
"He's probably the best college tight end I had personally evaluated coming out of college," Steckel said. "I think there were a lot of people in this building that agreed with me on that evaluation. When I saw a lot of the players going off the board that weren't him, I knew there was a possibility. As it got closer to our pick, I was getting excited. Still thought it was too good to be true. Got a quick heads up before it was announced on television and I couldn't have been happier. I was excited, pounding the table celebrating. My birthday falls around draft weekend, it felt like a pretty good gift at the time."
McConkey, meanwhile, is somebody the Raiders will certainly be keyed in on defensively this weekend. He has led Los Angeles in receiving yards in 10 of his 15 games played and is coming off a 94-yard, two-touchdown performance last week against New England.
"As soon as he got here in OTAs, we've kind of talked about how special he was," Chargers quarterback Justin Herbert said this week. "He's just got such great feel for the game. As quickly as he picked up the offense, we knew that he was going to be able to be out there and we were going to ask a lot of him. We ask a ton of him route-wise and positional, so he's done just a fantastic job, and I don't think anyone is really surprised with how good he's been."
The trust Bowers and McConkey have garnered from their respective coaching staffs and teammates has helped the two put together historic rookie campaigns.
In Week 17, McConkey set new Chargers rookie records in receptions (77) and receiving yards (1,054), surpassing Keenan Allen's marks of 71 catches and 1,046 yards set in 2013.
Bowers has also set new franchise records for receiving yards by a rookie and receptions by a player of any experience level. He also passed Pro Football Hall of Fame tight end Mike Ditka (1,076 in 1961) for the most receiving yards by a rookie tight end in NFL history.
It's all part of a resume that Steckel believes is more than deserving of winning Offensive Rookie of the Year.
"I do have a lot of respect for the players in this league and certainly the ones that are having a great season," Steckel said. "People are probably going to call me biased and they wouldn't be wrong. But in my opinion, Brock Bowers is having the best rookie season of any tight end in NFL history.
"He's too humble, and I don't want to put this target on his back and call him the best tight end in football, but I think you can make a very strong argument that he's certainly having the best season of any tight end in football. ... When you couple that with the fact that he's having the best season of any rookie tight end in history, it doesn't make a lot of sense to me why there's not more discussion about him winning the Offensive Rookie of the Year."
Regardless of the accolades, Bowers is looking forward to seeing McConkey on Sunday. The two met up in Week 1, a 22-10 victory for the Chargers.
This time around, Bowers is looking forward to swapping jerseys with his former college teammate, but more importantly, to finish the season strong with a win.
View the best photos from Las Vegas Raiders 2024 first-round draft pick tight end Brock Bowers' first day in Las Vegas.
Las Vegas Raiders first round draft pick tight end Brock Bowers arrives to Intermountain Health Performance Center following his selection in the 2024 NFL Draft.
Las Vegas Raiders first round draft pick tight end Brock Bowers arrives to Intermountain Health Performance Center following his selection in the 2024 NFL Draft.
Las Vegas Raiders first round draft pick tight end Brock Bowers arrives to Intermountain Health Performance Center following his selection in the 2024 NFL Draft.
Las Vegas Raiders first round draft pick tight end Brock Bowers and Head Coach Antonio Pierce during a tour of Intermountain Health Performance Center.
Las Vegas Raiders Assistant General Manager Champ Kelly greets first round draft pick tight end Brock Bowers at Intermountain Health Performance Center.
Las Vegas Raiders first round draft pick tight end Brock Bowers during a tour of Intermountain Health Performance Center.
Las Vegas Raiders first round draft pick tight end Brock Bowers during a tour of Intermountain Health Performance Center.
Las Vegas Raiders first round draft pick tight end Brock Bowers during a press conference at Intermountain Health Performance Center.
Las Vegas Raiders first round draft pick tight end Brock Bowers during a press conference at Intermountain Health Performance Center.
Las Vegas Raiders first round draft pick tight end Brock Bowers during a press conference at Intermountain Health Performance Center.
Las Vegas Raiders first round draft pick tight end Brock Bowers records a podcast in Cox Studios at Las Vegas Raiders Headquarters.
Las Vegas Raiders first round draft pick tight end Brock Bowers records a podcast in Cox Studios at Las Vegas Raiders Headquarters.
Las Vegas Raiders first round draft pick tight end Brock Bowers records a podcast in Cox Studios at Las Vegas Raiders Headquarters.
Las Vegas Raiders first round draft pick tight end Brock Bowers interviews after a press conference at Las Vegas Raiders Headquarters.
Las Vegas Raiders first round draft pick tight end Brock Bowers interviews after a press conference at Las Vegas Raiders Headquarters.
Las Vegas Raiders first round draft pick tight end Brock Bowers poses for a photo at Las Vegas Raiders Headquarters.
Las Vegas Raiders first round draft pick tight end Brock Bowers poses for a photo at Las Vegas Raiders Headquarters.
Las Vegas Raiders first round draft pick tight end Brock Bowers meets defensive end Janarius Robinson (97), defensive lineman David Agoha (62) and linebacker Elerson Smith (92) during a tour of Intermountain Health Performance Center.
Las Vegas Raiders first round draft pick tight end Brock Bowers meets cornerback Jack Jones (18) during a tour of Intermountain Health Performance Center.
Las Vegas Raiders first round draft pick tight end Brock Bowers during a tour of Intermountain Health Performance Center.
Las Vegas Raiders first round draft pick tight end Brock Bowers during the Raiders Draft Pick Welcome Party Intermountain Health Performance Center.
Las Vegas Raiders first round draft pick tight end Brock Bowers is interviewed by broadcaster JT the Brick during the Raiders Draft Pick Welcome Party Intermountain Health Performance Center.
Las Vegas Raiders first round draft pick tight end Brock Bowers during the Raiders Draft Pick Welcome Party Intermountain Health Performance Center.
Las Vegas Raiders first round draft pick tight end Brock Bowers poses for a photo with fans during the Raiders Draft Pick Welcome Party Intermountain Health Performance Center.
Las Vegas Raiders first round draft pick tight end Brock Bowers poses for a photo with fans during the Raiders Draft Pick Welcome Party Intermountain Health Performance Center.
Las Vegas Raiders first round draft pick tight end Brock Bowers poses for a photo with the Raiderettes during the Raiders Draft Pick Welcome Party Intermountain Health Performance Center.
Las Vegas Raiders first round draft pick tight end Brock Bowers during a tour of Intermountain Health Performance Center.
Las Vegas Raiders first round draft pick tight end Brock Bowers during a tour of Intermountain Health Performance Center.
Las Vegas Raiders first round draft pick tight end Brock Bowers tries on a helmet in the equipment room during a tour of Intermountain Health Performance Center.
Las Vegas Raiders first round draft pick tight end Brock Bowers tries on a helmet in the equipment room during a tour of Intermountain Health Performance Center.
Las Vegas Raiders first round draft pick tight end Brock Bowers tries on a helmet in the equipment room during a tour of Intermountain Health Performance Center.
Las Vegas Raiders first round draft pick tight end Brock Bowers during a tour of Allegiant Stadium.
Las Vegas Raiders first round draft pick tight end Brock Bowers during a tour of Allegiant Stadium.
Las Vegas Raiders first round draft pick tight end Brock Bowers during a tour of Allegiant Stadium.
Las Vegas Raiders first round draft pick tight end Brock Bowers during a tour of Allegiant Stadium.
Las Vegas Raiders first round draft pick tight end Brock Bowers during a tour of Allegiant Stadium.
Las Vegas Raiders first round draft pick tight end Brock Bowers during a tour of Allegiant Stadium.
Las Vegas Raiders first round draft pick tight end Brock Bowers during a tour of Allegiant Stadium.
Las Vegas Raiders first round draft pick tight end Brock Bowers during a tour of Allegiant Stadium.
Las Vegas Raiders first round draft pick tight end Brock Bowers during a tour of Allegiant Stadium.
Las Vegas Raiders first round draft pick tight end Brock Bowers during a tour of Allegiant Stadium.
Las Vegas Raiders first round draft pick tight end Brock Bowers during a tour of Allegiant Stadium.
Las Vegas Raiders first round draft pick tight end Brock Bowers during a tour of Allegiant Stadium.
Las Vegas Raiders first round draft pick tight end Brock Bowers during a tour of Allegiant Stadium.
Las Vegas Raiders first round draft pick tight end Brock Bowers and his parents during a tour of Allegiant Stadium.
Las Vegas Raiders first round draft pick tight end Brock Bowers during a tour of Allegiant Stadium.
Las Vegas Raiders first round draft pick tight end Brock Bowers during a tour of Allegiant Stadium.
Las Vegas Raiders first round draft pick tight end Brock Bowers during a tour of Allegiant Stadium.
Las Vegas Raiders first round draft pick tight end Brock Bowers during a tour of Allegiant Stadium.
