Dynasty Rookie Report Card: Brock Bowers and Tyrone Tracy Jr
Each week throughout the 2024 NFL season, I’ll cover two rookies in the Rookie Report Card and will generally write about the most prominent performers from that particular week. I’ll discuss how well he’s lived up to expectations at the NFL level and then grade the player in three categories: performance to date, rookie season potential, and long-term upside.
Brock Bowers, TE LV
Week 5 stats: Eight receptions on 12 targets for 97 yards and one touchdown.
With Davante Adams out of the lineup, Bowers scored his first career touchdown in week five. He’s tallied 28 receptions on 36 targets for 313 yards so far, and it stands to reason that he’ll be more involved as the season progresses, so expect those averages to tick up going forward. Bowers is already leading the Raiders in receptions and receiving yards and is tied for the team lead in targets. As is, if his averages hold up, he is going to first with 100 receptions and 1,000 yards, but as he transitions to the team’s top option in the passing attack, he could easily blow past those numbers.
In college, Bowers led Georgia in receiving all three years he was on the team. That includes a true freshman season where he played among current NFL players Ladd McConkey, Jermaine Burton, Adonai Mitchell, James Cook, Kenny McIntosh, Darnell Washington, George Pickens, and Zamir White and led the team in receptions, yards, and touchdowns. He repeated that feat as a sophomore, leading Georgia to back-to-back National Championships in the process, and then completed the triple-crown, three-peat as a junior.
Bowers was already locked in as a first-round pick, and as a result, he skipped the NFL combine, as all he could do would hurt his draft stock. At his pro day, he ran a 4.55-second 40-yard dash and had a 40-inch vertical as well, good enough numbers to keep him locked into the early-to-mid-first round in the eyes of NFL talent evaluators. At the combine, those numbers would have had him ranked second and tied for first, respectively, in those events. Eventually, Bowers was selected 13th overall by the Raiders, just one year after using an early-second round pick on tight end Michael Mayer.
Following the NFL draft, in superflex dynasty rookie drafts, Bowers was locked in a top-eight pick. This year was slightly unusual, as we had a clear consensus top-eight in drafts from start to finish, and nothing ever changed. Now, draft-to-draft, any of the top eight could go anywhere within that top eight, but rarely- if ever- did anyone fall out of that top group, and none of them ever slipped out of the first round entirely. Bowers was even more highly sought after in single quarterback leagues, as he had an ADP of 4th overall in those drafts. In DLF’s most recent start-up mock drafts, Bowers is already TE5 as the 50th overall selection.
Performance to Date: A+
Don’t look now, but through five weeks, Bowers is the TE1 overall in PPR leagues. You can’t do better than that, so he gets an easy A+ to date. He’s 17th overall in receiving yards, 22nd in targets, and 10th in receptions with 15 first downs, good enough to be tied for 15th most in the NFL.
Rookie Season Potential: A-
With what appears to be the imminent trade of Davante Adams, Bowers will likely be the Raiders’ top target in the passing game going forward. Sounds good, but I can’t give him an A or A+ for two reasons. First, the Raiders have a less-than-ideal situation at quarterback. Gardner Minshew has been lackluster in five games, and Aiden O’Connell isn’t exactly a fantasy game-changer, either. Their poor quarterback play will likely hurt Bowers as the top target in an offense. The other cause for concern is that as Bowers gets better and keeps performing, opposing defensive coordinators will take notice and do their best to shut him down over their next 12 games.
Long-Term Upside: A
Bowers is already TE5 in start-up drafts, and if this season continues on this trajectory, I suspect he’ll be TE3, maybe TE2, by December. Many considered him to be one of, if not the best, tight end prospect of all time. So far, in his early career, he is performing to that level, and there is no reason to think he can’t keep this up for the duration of his career.
Tyrone Tracy Jr, RB NYG
Week 5 stats: 18 carries for 129 yards and one reception on two targets for one yard.
An injury to Devin Singletary thrust Tracy into a starting role for the Giants in week five. After amassing only 12 carries through week four, Tracy got a full workload as a starter, carrying the ball 18 times in a big road victory over the Seattle Seahawks. His performance will probably keep the Giants from hurrying Singletary back before he’s ready, and should keep Tracy more involved for the remainder of the season. Finishing as the week’s RB14 in standard leagues and RB18 in PPR leagues is probably better than many people expected from the fifth-round pick in his first start in the NFL.
Over his six-year college career, Tracy began as a wide receiver at Iowa. Eventually, after a redshirt season, a COVID season, and a transfer, he found himself at Purdue, where he eventually transitioned to running back, where he led the Big Ten in yards per attempt in 2023. That explosiveness also shows up in the NFL, as he only has 63 fewer yards than Singletary on 26 fewer carries while averaging nearly 1.5 yards more per carry. The most shocking part so far is that he hasn’t been used as a receiver much despite his pedigree at wide receiver. You’d think Brian Daboll and the Giants would have had a better plan for his usage early in the year, given his history as a player.
In a very top-heavy rookie running back class, Tracy ended up as RB9 as the dust settled, typically going 36th overall in rookie drafts after initially going completely undrafted in early mocks back in February. In the most recent start-up mock drafts, Tracy is now RB48, and there is plenty of room for him to climb if he builds off of what we saw in week five. Settling in around RB30 by season’s end is probably more likely as I scan the players’ names currently ahead of him- and he still hasn’t been used as a pass catcher yet.
Performance to Date: B-
Although it is solely based on one strong performance in week five, Tracy is currently 16th among rookies in scoring and is RB3 in the 2024 class. Thus far, he has outperformed several bigger name backs, like Trey Benson and Blake Corum, so it’s been a solid start to the season and his career.
Rookie Season Potential: B+
Tracy has definitely earned more touches based on his small sample size as a starter. Devin Singletary has proven to be very durable in the NFL, so this missed game is either a blip on the radar or could be the beginning of the end. Either way, Tracy should get more work as the season continues, and fantasy owners should see a reasonable return on their investment for the rest of the year, especially if you factor in the cost of acquiring him.
Long-Term Upside: C+
As an older rookie, Tracy turns 25 in November. So, even if he were to explode as a player, the window is already starting to close on him as a long-term dynasty asset. By comparison, Braelon Allen is only 20 and, in theory, could have ten years of production remaining, while Tracy is only looking at a five-year run of dominance at best. He could stick as a change of pace back as he gets older, but his receiving chops have yet to be tested at the NFL level to this point.
- Final Rookie Report Card: Quarterbacks - January 11, 2025
- Dynasty Rookie Report Card: Michael Penix and Keon Coleman - January 4, 2025
- Dynasty Rookie Report Card: Drake Maye and Kimani Vidal - December 28, 2024
