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The Las Vegas Raiders did something no other team has done in 50 years when they selected Georgia tight end Brock Bowers in the first round of the 2024 NFL Draft.

According to ESPN’s Bill Barnwell, the Raiders are the first team to take a tight end with a top-40 pick in back-to-back years since 1974 after also taking Michael Mayer with the No. 35 pick last year. In addition, they are the first team to take a tight end in the first two rounds of the NFL Draft in back-to-back years since 2002-03.

So, what was the last team to do the latter? Well, it was actually the Raiders, when they took Doug Jolley (No. 55 overall) in 2002 and Teyo Johnson in 2003 (No. 63 overall), with both selections coming in the second round.

Of course, the Mayer pick was under a different general manager, so Telesco was not responsible for both picks, although I’m not sure that’ll save him from the frustration some Raiders fans are feeling about the selection due to the fact that it didn’t address an immediate need.

In fairness to Telesco, he did make it clear that he was not going to be drafting based on need alone and would think about the future, so it shouldn’t be totally shocking to see him go with a player who was clearly the best available prospect on his board.

And Bowers isn’t some slouch, either, as he was widely considered one of the better players in this draft, regardless of position.

But only time will tell just how right or wrong the Raiders general manager was.