Lynn Bowden’s now a Raiders running back. (Yes, you read that right.)
Lynn Bowden — the University of Kentucky wide receiver who spent most of last season playing quarterback — was selected by the Las Vegas Raiders in the third round of the NFL Draft on Friday night.
Graphics on the television broadcasts touted Bowden as a wide receiver. When NFL Commissioner Roger Goodell announced the Raiders’ selection, however, he was declared a running back. That was not in error: Las Vegas, coached by offensive guru Jon Gruden, sees the Wildcat as a jack-of-all-trades.
“Ultimately, he’ll probably be what we call a joker — which I love in Jon’s offense — it’s somebody that’s able to do multiple jobs,” Mike Mayock, the Raiders’ general manager, told reporters Friday. “But day one, he’s going to come in and be a running back. In the SEC two years ago, he caught 60-70 passes as a slot. Last year, as you guys know, he was quarterback/wildcat. He gained over 1,000 yards. We think he’s one of the most athletic, tougher guys in this year’s draft. We’re going to train him to be running back. If he’s able to do that job, we’ll be able to do some other things with him.”
Kentucky’s coaches throughout last season — one in which Bowden became the first quarterback since Cam Newton to lead the Southeastern Conference in rushing — suggested that the star junior could play defensive back if they worked with him for a practice or two. UK co-offensive coordinator Eddie Gran repeated that refrain in a phone call with the Herald-Leader on Saturday.
“You could have announced him as a quarterback, athlete, DB, wide receiver, anything you want,” Gran said. “That’s one thing that he’s proven, is that he can do a lot of things. If they see him as a running back, so be it. I’m sure Coach Gruden is gonna have a plan once they see his talents and how smart he is.”
Gran also is Kentucky’s running backs coach. Bowden mostly took direct snaps from the center after making the switch to quarterback, but he doesn’t think he’ll have a hard time adjusting if asked to take hand-offs or line up in formations that don’t involve immediately feeding him the ball.
“If he’s in the gun (formation) that’s just like getting the ball from the center,” Gran said. “If he’s in the I (formation), he’s gonna get the ball deeper and will be able to see those cuts. He’s got great vision and everybody always talked about his patience. The great thing about it is, he’s going to be coached and will be able to take that coaching.
“He’ll be like a sponge, and if he’s rusty at some things if he’s playing tailback, he’s gonna get that rust off real fast.”
The Wildcats’ coaching staff, with two quarterbacks sidelined due to injuries through five games, had to install Bowden as the starting quarterback following the team’s bye week. He remained the starter through the remainder of the season, finishing with a 6-2 record as UK’s signal-caller and helping the team set multiple school rushing records.
“Everything happens for a reason,” Gran said. “God’s got a plan. It’s the best thing that happened for our football team, it’s the best thing that happened for Lynn and it certainly helped for this day, where they got to see him touch the ball every single snap.”
Including offensive lineman Logan Stenberg, who was drafted in the fourth round Saturday, 11 UK players have been drafted during the seven-year tenure of head coach Mark Stoops. Bowden was the first second skill player to be selected in that time (Benny Snell was the first last year) and was the first wide receiver picked from the program since Randall Cobb in 2011.
It’s a continuing testament to the “recruit-and-develop” mentality that Kentucky has stressed internally and outwardly over the last few seasons, Gran said. Of UK’s 11 draftees under Stoops, seven were selected between last year’s draft and this year’s event.
“You hope that just keeps going with the cycle, as we continue to grow from that young team from last year, you start seeing, on a consistent, guys playing in the NFL.”
