Bowers And Crosby Make List Of Top NFL Players At Mid-Season

In his nine years playing with the San Diego Chargers from 1979-87, Kellen Winslow redefined the tight end position, and earned a spot in the NFL Hall of Fame while doing it.

His 1,290 yards receiving during the 1980 season - 46 years ago - is still the eighth-most in a single season for a tight end and he had three seasons in which he had 1,075 or more yards receiving and 88 or more receptions.

There's no doubt that Winslow was the pioneer who blazed the trail for the "Golden Age of Tight Ends" that we currently live in, with the Las Vegas Raiders' third-year TE Brock Bowers quickly becoming one of the shiniest baubles in this golden age.

After missing the first two games of the 2026 season with an injury, Bowers has returned with a vengeance. In his seven appearances for the 4-5 Raiders, he has rolled up 48 catches for 658 yards, per game averages of nearly seven grabs and 94 yards per contest with six TD catches thrown in for good measure.

At his current pace, Bowers would finish the season with 103 catches for 1,410 yards - in only 15 games - with that yardage putting him within shouting distance of Travis Kelce's all-time record of 1,416 single-season receiving yards for a tight end, which he compiled in 2020 with the Kansas City Chiefs.

The 103 catches would tie Bowers for 11th all-time in single-season grabs; of course, Bowers ranks fourth all-time in single-season TE catches after he snared 112 in his rookie season of 2024.

He will also make a heckuva security blanket for rookie quarterback Fernando Mendoza, who has been handed the reins of the Raiders' offense after Kirk Cousins was traded to the Minnesota Vikings on Tuesday.

Those eye-popping numbers made Bowers a cinch choice for the Top 50 Players in the NFL through the 2026 season's first half - a list that was compiled and released by Fox Sports' Steven Ruiz and Henry McKenna on Thursday - but Bowers has also ascended to the rarefied air of the top 10 with an overall placement of 8th.

"Bowers may be listed as a tight end, but the Raiders use him as a do-it-all receiving threat," Ruiz wrote. "Linebackers and safeties stand no chance of covering him, and cornerbacks don’t fare much better when Bowers splits out wide. He has had some issues staying healthy early in his career, but even with two games missed, Bowers leads all tight ends in receiving yards and is tied for the league lead in touchdowns."

Joining Bowers on Fox's Top 50 list is Maxx Crosby, who is listed 40th overall and seventh among edge rushers.

Now in his eighth season and despite recovering from season-ending knee surgery in 2025, Crosby remains a nearly unstoppable force coming off the edge. He has started all nine games for the Raiders and compiled four sacks with a team-best 31 quarterback pressures, which puts him well-within reach of his career-high of 50 in 2023.

In addition to consistently harassing QBs, Crosby remains stout in defending the run game; his 33 tackles for loss in the 24 games he has played since the start of the 2025 season are the most among edge rushers.

"Crosby isn’t putting up gaudy sack numbers, but he remains one of the NFL’s most complete edge defenders. He’s a disruptive force who can cave in a pocket or blow up a run play in the backfield," said Ruiz. "Another underrated aspect of Crosby’s game: he rarely comes off the field. He leads all edge defenders with 505 snaps played."