2026 NFL Draft Summer Scouting: Tight End Overview

College & Draft Sports

add

• Max Klare is the preliminary TE1: The Ohio State transfer brings explosive athleticism and good hands to the position.

• Miles Kitselman has potential as a blocker: The Tennessee tight end possesses size, strong hands and a good weight.

Estimated Reading Time: 14 minutes

The 2025 college football season has just begun, but it’s never too early to break down prospects for next spring’s draft class.

PFF Lead NFL Draft Analyst Trevor Sikkema offers his breakdowns for 15 tight ends in the 2026 NFL Draft, including Max Klare, Kenyon Sadiq and Marlin Klein.

F TE

Max Klare, Ohio State

Strengths

• Fluid, explosive overall athlete
• Nuanced route runner. Understands how to create separation and makes good decisions on choice routes
• Sure hands, even over the shoulder
• Good after-the-catch potential on routes that allow it

Weaknesses

• Smaller size for the NFL
• Low PFF blocking grades throughout his college career
• Overpowered by most defenders looking to shed blocks

Scouting Summary

Klare brings the movement skills and route-running savviness that every NFL team will covet. His PFF receiving grades and high target total in 2024 showed he is ready to be a major piece of a passing attack. Klare wins with great overall athleticism and nuance as a route runner to create separation windows. As a blocker, he has been unreliable throughout his career — and that’s when blocking from the slot or in-line. Better production there could be the key to his achieving TE1 status for 2026.

Kenyon Sadiq, Oregon

Strengths

• Impressive athlete for his size
• Looks and plays like a big receiver
• Reliable hands
• Can angle lighter defenders when blocking
• Generally good grip strength when blocking

Weaknesses

• Does not bring much as an in-line blocker
• Will likely be overpowered versus most NFL linemen and linebackers
• Minimal production entering 2025

Scouting Summary

Sadiq is an alluring combination of size and athleticism, even at a position with many of those types of prospects. He played both sides of the ball effectively, as a receiver and a defensive back, in high school, and was also a multi-sport athlete. He plays and is deployed like a big receiver, and one whom you won’t want to be attached to the line of scrimmage to block. His movement skills give him a lot of alignment versatility. We just need to see Sadiq as a focal point TE1 in 2025.

Tanner Koziol, Houston

Strengths

• Massive size and a big catch radius as a receiving tight end
• High level of production in just three seasons
• Decent ability to sink his hips and turn on routes for his size (former wide receiver)
• Impressive concentration and one-handed catches
• High number of contested catches. Great contested-catch rate in 2024

Weaknesses

• Thin frame on his Ball State tape
• Low separation rates versus single coverage in 2024

Scouting Summary

Koziol has the frame and the game to be a contested catch monster — he already showed that to be the case at Ball State. He has a long, slender build with a massive catch radius that he maximizes consistently as someone who wins “above the rim.” He shows decent nuance in his routes with tempo and cuts, but his separation rates were still low in 2024. He is a willing blocker, but his thinner frame at Ball State limited his effectiveness in that area. Gaining some good weight and becoming a bit more consistent with separation could push Koziol into the top-100-pick range.

Eli Stowers, Vanderbilt

Strengths

• Big catch radius with an above-average wingspan
• Explosive player with good acceleration and top speed
• Route running significantly improved from his first season at the position in 2023
• Excellent trick-play passer with quarterback background
• Can be a feisty, effective blocker against defensive backs despite overall troubles

Weaknesses

• Conscious of having active hands, but could still work on punch timing as a blocker
• Will likely lose the strength battle when blocking NFL defensive linemen or linebackers

Scouting Summary

Saying that Stowers has been on a college football journey entering his final eligible season would be an understatement. He was a four-star, dual-threat quarterback coming out of high school and committed to Texas A&M. After two years as the backup, he transferred to New Mexico State, where he lost the quarterback battle to Diego Pavia and switched positions to tight end.

There was clearly no love lost between the two, though, as Stowers then followed Pavia to Vanderbilt to be his No. 1 target in the SEC. Stowers is small for the position by NFL standards, but he is a top-tier athlete. If you think of him as more of a big receiver, he brings a ton of value to the passing game.

Justin Joly, North Carolina State

Strengths

• Reliable at the catch point. Caught 70.5% of contested targets across 2023 and 2024
• Appears to have very long arms. Massive catch radius
• Good grip strength and a wide base as a run blocker
• Strong overall athlete for his size

Weaknesses

• Competitive blocker, but lacks the sand in the pants to anchor versus edge defenders

Scouting Summary

Joly was just a two-star receiver coming out of high school, but he has since proven that he more than belongs. He has developed into one of the best receiving tight ends in college football, earning PFF receiving grades above 72.0 in each season he’s played. Joly recorded an incredibly impressive contested catch rate above 70% from 2023 to 2024. He isn’t the strongest blocker, but he’s competitive with good grip strength to maintain blocks well enough. His long arms and all-around athleticism give him a good ceiling as a receiving tight end in the NFL.

Jack Endries, Texas

Strengths

• Tall, long tight end prospect with a big catch radius
• Will stick his nose in as a split-zone blocker
• Good athlete with long strides for get-away/vertical speed
• Experience both in the slot and in-line
• Very sure-handed in 2024. Attacks the ball in the air

Weaknesses

• Good effort blocker, but not always effective
• More weight is needed to improve blocking strength

Scouting Summary

Endries presents a long, athletic build that comes with long strides for get-away or vertical speed and a big catch radius. His bread and butter in the league will be as a receiver. As a blocker, he is feisty and competitive in nature but seems to lack the strength (weight and mass) to be consistently effective, especially in-line. Endries will have to find the right balance in weight for blocking and speed and fluidity as a route runner.

John Michael Gyllenborg, Wyoming

Strengths

• NFL-caliber height and weight
• Above-average athlete at tight end
• Brings flexibility and fluidity in route running

Weaknesses

• Good coordination as a blocker, but it won’t be his calling card
• Loses leverage battle consistently as a blocker

Scouting Summary

Gyllenborg has a long, tall frame that is well above average for the NFL, at over 6-foot-5. If his listed weight of 250 pounds is legitimate, that is also right around average for the league. His strengths are evident in the passing game: good movement skills and a playmaker’s mentality. His hands are decently reliable, but he struggles catching through contact. Gyllenborg’s height makes it tough for him to win the leverage battle as a blocker, although blocking won’t be where he makes his mark in the league. He simply needs not to be a liability in that facet to get the most out of his receiving ability.

Lawson Luckie, Georgia

Strengths

• Good all-around athlete for the position
• Alignment versatility with decent size and movement skills
• Impressive change-of-direction flexibility
• Disciplined blocker. Approaches blocks with a fundamental mindset

Weaknesses

• Seems light in the blocking category
• Not much production or high single-game PFF grades in his career

Scouting Summary

Luckie is the next Georgia tight end to pay attention to, following in the footsteps of the notable prospects the Bulldogs have collected at that position recently. He’s on the smaller size for NFL standards, but not as much when you consider him more as a slot or a wingback option. Pound for pound, he is a disciplined blocker but can get overmatched versus box defenders.

While Luckie is a decent overall athlete, he appears to be more effective in short areas rather than with vertical explosiveness and yards after the catch.

Joe Royer, Cincinnati

Strengths

• Great hand-eye coordination, even with fully extended arms
• Reliable hands in 2024, including through contact
• Good body control and wiggle with and without the ball

Weaknesses

• Liability as a blocker. Does not approach blocking with enough consistent tenacity
• Short stride length limits after-the-catch potential

Scouting Summary

Royer will be one of the older prospects in the 2026 NFL Draft class as a sixth-year senior. Last season was his first with a full-time workload, and 2025 should be more of the same as one of the Bearcats’ top receiving options. He has a good frame with long arms and solid hand-eye coordination to be a reliable receiving tight end, including through contact. While his shorter strides limit his after-the-catch potential, he does have some decent wiggle for separation with and without the ball.

To raise his draft stock, Royer must improve his tenacity and consistency as a run blocker — there are too many negative blocking reps on his tape where his assignment was the reason a play was stopped.

Michael Trigg, Baylor

Strengths

• Appears to have long arms, creating a large catch radius
• Competitive athlete when the ball is in his hands
• Adequate overall athleticism for the NFL level

Weaknesses

• Effort level appeared inconsistent in 2024
• Posted a low separation percentile versus single coverage in 2024
• High variance as a blocker — has the strength but lacks reliability

Scouting Summary

Trigg, now at his third Division I program, is an athletic receiving tight end with long arms and a large catch radius. He plays competitively at the catch point and looks eager to add yards after the catch. However, his 2024 tape revealed inconsistent effort and too much variance in his blocking — often focusing on highlight-reel knockdowns instead of executing reliable, assignment-sound blocks. To thrive at the next level, Trigg must embrace the finer details and dirty work of the position with the same intensity he brings to the passing game.

RJ Maryland, SMU

Strengths

• Consistently wins the leverage battle as a blocker
• Good body control when attacking the ball in the air
• Can stretch the field vertically with sharp post and corner routes
• Strong yards-after-catch (YAC) percentage in 2024

Weaknesses

• Career catchable pass percentage remains below 90.0%
• Undersized for traditional in-line blocking responsibilities
• Career PFF run-blocking grades have been poor (though improved in 2024)

Scouting Summary

Maryland is a size outlier for the tight end position at the NFL level. As a result, his PFF blocking grades have been a liability at times, particularly when aligned in line and tasked with key blocking responsibilities. However, as a receiver, he plays with confidence, displays solid athleticism, and shows the body control to attack the ball in the air. He also runs clean vertical routes with sharp cuts, giving him potential as a flex or move tight end at the next level.

Y TE

Miles Kitselman, Tennessee

Strengths

• Prototypical NFL tight end size
• Decent straight-line athleticism for his frame
• Strong hands and extended catch radius
• Solid weight profile to anchor in in-line blocking situations

Weaknesses

• Won’t separate much with horizontal route breaks
• Unlikely to be a major yards-after-catch threat at the next level
• Limited receiving production across three college seasons

Scouting Summary

Kitselman looks the part of an NFL tight end. He brings an all-around skill set and has experience aligning in-line, in the slot, and as a wingback. His PFF run-blocking grades have been consistently reliable and impactful over three seasons in the SEC. In 2024, he also demonstrated encouraging growth in the passing game, recording a career-high in receiving volume. While he may not become a top-tier separator or YAC threat, Kitselman projects as a scheme-versatile tight end who fits what every NFL team needs — it’s just a matter of how highly he’s valued on draft day.

Marlin Klein, Michigan

Strengths

• Long stride length — can look lumbering, but covers ground quickly
• Strong grip strength as a blocker despite a lighter frame
• Solid experience from an in-line alignment
• High-effort player with good energy on tape

Weaknesses

• Very limited receiving production entering his fourth season in 2025
• Route running lacks polish and sharpness — primarily a vertical runner
• Needs to add mass if he’s to fully embrace a traditional Y-tight end role

Scouting Summary

Klein’s journey from Cologne, Germany, to the States — where he picked up football as a high school sophomore — has been a slow and steady developmental arc. He now shows NFL potential as a high-effort tight end with strong technical skills in pass protection and experience playing in-line. His high PFF pass-blocking grades contrast with lower run-blocking marks, reflecting good technique but limited power due to his leaner frame. As a receiver, Klein hasn’t produced much, but his long strides make him a sneaky vertical threat. He projects as a low-volume, in-line blocking tight end who could surprise defenses if left unchecked in the passing game.

Oscar Delp, Georgia

Strengths

• Very impressive overall athleticism for his size
• Lacrosse background shows up in his quickness and footwork
• Explosive first step
• Good flexibility and acceleration when changing direction

Weaknesses

• Lacks the ideal play weight to be a consistent in-line tight end at the pro level
• Limited experience and production as a pass-catcher and YAC threat

Scouting Summary

Delp has strong movement skills and doesn’t shy away from contact as a blocker, showing a willingness to take on a variety of assignments. However, he has yet to establish a consistent role as a receiving threat, despite his athletic profile. Entering the 2025 season, Delp projects as a Day 3 tight end worth taking a chance on — thanks to his adequate size, athleticism and positional versatility.

Jack Velling, Michigan State

Strengths

• Versatile alignment experience — has lined up in-line, in the slot, at wingback and even at fullback
• Career catchable pass rate above 90.0%

Weaknesses

• Below-average overall athleticism
• Stiff in and out of route breaks
• Needs to add size to be effective in a blocking-focused role
• Lacks the upper-body strength and power to sustain blocks consistently

Scouting Summary

Velling brings valuable versatility, having lined up in nearly every tight end role — in-line, slot, “X” receiver and fullback. However, his athleticism grades out as average at best, and his frame needs more bulk to hold up as an NFL-level blocker. To stick on a roster, he’ll likely need to lean into a physical, blocking-first profile while continuing to capitalize on his sure hands.

This news was originally published on this post .

Tagged as:
College & Draft

Share on

email

Previous

trending_flat

Fantasy Football: It all comes full circle — biggest lessons we’ve learned over the offseason

Sports

Next

trending_flat

College football Week 1 best bets: Take the over in Georgia-Tech-Colorado

Sports