The Skinny

Coming out of high school, Nick Bowers wasn’t the highest rated tight end of the 2015 recruiting class, but was a highly athletic tight end to say the least, and ended up committing to Penn State over Pitt.

Bowers career at Penn State probably didn’t go as planned as the Kittaning, Pennsylvania native has battled his fair share of injuries during his time in Happy Valley. After a redshirt season, Bowers would go down in 2016 with an injury that would keep him out for the entire 2016 season and nearly half of 2017. He would get banged up again following the 2017 season, making him a limited option at times, during the 2018 season.

Finally, in 2019, Bowers was able to stay healthy and appeared in all 13 games for the Nittany Lions. With that, he was able to put together a career season as a Nittany Lion while serving as Pat Freiermuth’s primary backup. In 2019, Bowers finished the season with ten receptions for 214 yards and three touchdowns.

Overall, despite his injuries, Bowers has always been a media darling and someone the coaching staff loved to praise, and rightfully so. Bowers has great athleticism for his size at 6-foot-4 and 260-pounds, and is sound in all facets of his game.

What You’re Getting

By no means is Bowers expected to go to the next level and become an NFL starting tight end, as he is most likely going to be a free agent pickup. That being said, Bowers’ skill set, athleticism, and size should all be good enough to earn him a spot in a training camp ahead of next season.

As mentioned before, Bowers is truly sound in all facets of the game and was praised by coaches and media alike when he had the opportunity to showcase his talents. He has solid and reliable hands when needing to make a catch but also has quality hand work and power when in blocking situations, which could make him a valuable commodity in the NFL. That being said, there will always be one question regarding Bowers, which is: Can he stay healthy?

To be fair and honest, based off his past, it’s hard to be confident that he could stay healthy for the long term, especially at the next level. Perhaps being able to stay healthy for most of the past year-and-a-half means that he is turning the corner in that aspect of his career. Until proven otherwise however, his health will be the biggest knock on his NFL prospects.

When looking at the floor and ceiling for Bowers, the floor is a training camp body. He may be someone who floats around for a few years in training camps and practice squads serving as an extra body. The ceiling for Bowers is probably a backup tight end who will most likely be more utilized in a blocking role. Either way, Bowers would be a quality addition for a team both in the locker room and on the field.

Projections for Bowers are currently that of being an undrafted free agent.