“A football robot from heaven.”

After Sunday, it’s clear Las Vegas Raiders head coach Klint Kubiak wasn’t lying in the offseason. Those are the words Kubiak used to describe his All-Pro tight end Brock Bowers over this offseason. Against New Orleans in Week 3, it was Bowers’ first time suiting up for the season, and he’s no doubt the No. 1 option for this Raiders offense.

The Impact He Had

Bowers was targeted 13 times, catching 10 of them for 116 yards and one touchdown. That touchdown became the game-winner for the Raiders in the fourth quarter.

Kubiak also made a great call on the touchdown play. He knew he’d get man coverage by New Orleans, so he called a rub concept with Raiders wide receiver Jalen Nailor running a rub route to spring Bowers open in the flat. Nailor ran the route to perfection, and Bowers made the catch. The play was executed to perfection, showing just how well-coached this Raiders team is.

Having a player like Bowers is a luxury. He’s labeled as a tight end, but the Raiders don’t use him that way. On Sunday, Bowers had 41 snaps on passing plays, but he barely lined up as an in-line tight end.

The overall impact of a player like Bowers boosted the Raiders’ overall passing numbers as well. In Week 3, the Raiders passed it 10 percent more than they usually do offensively. In Weeks 1 and 2, Las Vegas ran pass plays 49.6 percent of the time, while against New Orleans they ran them 58.7 percent of the time.

What’s not surprising is the personnel: Over half the game, the Raiders had at least two tight ends on the field. While in 12 personnel, the Raiders had an EPA/Pass of 0.31, with 25 of their 33 passing attempts coming from that set.

What does it mean for the Raiders offense?

Having Bowers back opens up the offense to a different level than we saw in Weeks 1 and 2. Being able to primarily come out in a 12 personnel means teams have to respond with heavier packages to negate the bigger bodies on the field, right?

New Orleans came out in nickel 64.3 percent of the time, meaning they treated a player like Bowers as a wideout rather than a tight end, and with his skill set, it makes sense. The one aspect of his game that isn’t “elite” is his run blocking.

Bowers isn’t the only factor, but the Raiders had a rushing success rate of 25.9 percent against the Saints, averaging 0.62 yards before contact per carry. Those numbers aren’t what Kubiak wants to see from an offense he’s calling, so the Raiders will have to improve in the coming weeks.

An extension of the running game is the run-pass option. The Raiders have run a decent amount of it in the first two weeks, but with Bowers running the option routes, it’ll give quarterback Kirk Cousins extra trust to throw those routes over the middle.