With the 80th pick in the 2020 NFL Draft, the Las Vegas Raiders selected Kentucky star Lynn Bowden Jr. Coming into the draft, most teams and evaluators graded Bowden as a receiver as that is the position that he played for most of his college career.
But when commissioner Roger Goodell announced the pick, the Raiders named Bowden a “running back.” After the draft, general manager Mike Mayock said that Bowden will start his career in the backfield. However, both he and Jon Gruden made it clear that Bowden will be used in a “Joker” role in the offense.
Recently, Bowden was working out with Derek Carr, running routes and catching passes. Here is a short clip of some of the routes Bowden was running with Carr:
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— Hoku (@hokucurnan) July 3, 2020
Bowden was a productive receiver in the SEC, catching 114 passes for 1,303 yards during his short college career. In 2018, he led the team in receiving, playing both in the slot and on the outside.
As Mayock mentioned, Bowden will likely get most of his snaps from the backfield. However, don’t be surprised if Bowden moves out to wide receiver should injuries happen. In fact, he may be Hunter Renfrow’s primary backup and could potentially share the field in four-wide receiver sets.
Look for the former Paul Horning Award winner (nation’s most versatile player) to be on the field a ton for the Raiders during the 2020 season.
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