We might not know the position he’ll play in the NFL, but we do know that confidence is not something that the University of Kentucky’s Lynn Bowden Jr is lacking for. The 5-11 and 204-pound athlete has played everywhere during his tenure at Kentucky. He’s played receiver, kick returner, punt returner, running back and he’s found marked success at each spot.
When the Wildcats were ravaged by the injury bug at the quarterback position in 2019, Bowden became the natural replacement because of his versatility. When asked to make the switch to the quarterback spot, he didn’t even blink. Instead, Bowden went on a historic tear, breaking numerous school and SEC rushing records at the quarterback position over the course of the season.
“[NFL teams] liked that,” Bowden said of his switch to the quarterback position. “They like that I was a team player first and that I didn’t think about myself.”
In November of 2019, Bowden’s versatility was put on display in another way. A video of one of his plays from high school went viral on social media. During the play, he was playing punter and had to punt from the back of his own endzone. The punt went awry and he bobbled the snap, so naturally, he picked up the ball, ran through the entire defense and returned it for a touchdown.
QB, WR, RB, Punter…
Lynn Bowden's hudl film is the TRUTH. 🤯🥵@LynnBowden_1 @UKFootball pic.twitter.com/TZWVIDhxt6
— Hudl (@Hudl) November 22, 2019
While Bowden hasn’t played punter since high school, playing special teams is still a big weapon in his arsenal. He’s amassed 71 kick returns for over 1,600 yards during his time with Kentucky. He’s also returned 2-of-9 career punt returns for touchdowns.
“I want to do everything I can,” Bowden told Chiefs Wire at the NFL combine. “If I’m fortunate enough to get [to the NFL] I want to play everything. I’m not trying to be a basic guy. I want to be THAT guy. I want to be a superstar at every position I can.”
Kansas City Chiefs LB coach Matt House is very familiar with Bowden, as he used to be the defensive coordinator for the Kentucky Wildcats during Bowden’s freshman and sophomore seasons. House’s defense was regularly tasked with stopping him in practice, and more often than not, they found themselves frustrated by the athlete.
“I got under [Matt House’s] skin because his defense couldn’t tackle me and he didn’t like that,” Bowden said. “Coach House and I, you know, we were competitive. I talked my stuff to him and he talked his stuff to me, but I’d always win at the end of the day.”
If Bowden happened to be reunited with House on the Chiefs, he still expects that he’d be able to frustrate him and his linebacker corp.
“Yeah, I would,” Bowden said. “Anybody — [I’ll frustrate] anybody.”
Bowden claims to have met with nearly every NFL team in either a formal or informal capacity at the 2020 NFL Scouting Combine. If he remained as confident with NFL teams as he was with the media, you can rest assured he’ll find a home in the league. In fact, his demeanor and confidence would fit in well with the Chiefs’ newly-found “Championship Swagger.” His versatility would add yet another mismatch to the high-powered offensive unit that they’ve built Kansas City.