It's a weird year for rookie tight ends. Just one was selected in the first 50 picks – Kenyon Sadiq. But another eight were selected in the next 50, the most ever. (And twice as many as any of the previous six drafts.)
If we’re picking today, I don’t know that any of those eight guys will be drafted. Luke Wilson, writing up the rookies for the magazine, has Oscar Delp (underused at Georgia) as the best of that group, but he’s going to a team that already has a capable pass-catcher at the position (Juwan Johnson).
Until and unless something substantial occurs at training camp, I’m not thinking about using a pick on any of those guys in a 2026 draft.
Yet, the big-picture numbers suggest there’s a good chance a couple of those eight will eventually amount to something.
In the last 10 years, 26 tight ends have been selected outside the top 50 picks but inside the top 100 – in essence, late in the second round or sometime in the third. And seven of those players (just over a quarter) at some point in their career have had a top-10 season in leagues using PPR scoring.
Trey McBride, Tucker Kraft, Mark Andrews, Pat Freiermuth. Those guys are real nice players.
But typically, it takes some time for even the good ones to get going. Of those 26 players, only three finished with top-20 numbers as rookies. Harold Fannin (who’s an unconventional tight end) did it last year. Freiermuth was the 13th-best tight end as a rookie, while Andrews finished 17th.
In the chart below, you’re seeing rookie numbers, and final column shows stats from most productive season so far. Guys tagged with black dots have had a top-10 season.
| TIGHT ENDS IN THE SECOND 50 PICKS | |||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Year | Player | No | Yds | TD | PPR | Rk | Best Yr |
| 2016 | • Austin Hooper, Atl. | 19 | 271 | 3 | 64.1 | 38 | 71-660-4 |
| 2016 | Nick Vannett, Sea. | 3 | 32 | 0 | 6.2 | 94 | 29-269-3 |
| 2017 | • Jonnu Smith, Ten. | 18 | 157 | 2 | 45.7 | 47 | 88-884-8 |
| 2018 | Jordan Akins, Hou. | 17 | 225 | 0 | 39.5 | 53 | 37-495-5 |
| 2018 | • Mark Andrews, Balt. | 34 | 552 | 3 | 107.2 | 17 | 107-1361-9 |
| 2019 | Dawson Knox, Buff. | 28 | 388 | 2 | 79.7 | 32 | 49-587-9 |
| 2019 | Drew Sample, Cin. | 5 | 30 | 0 | 8.0 | 92 | 40-349-1 |
| 2019 | Jace Sternberger, G.B. | 0 | 0 | 0 | .0 | -- | 12-114-1 |
| 2019 | Josh Oliver, Jac. | 3 | 15 | 0 | 4.5 | 99 | 22-258-3 |
| 2019 | Kahale Warring, Hou. | 0 | 0 | 0 | .0 | -- | 3-35-0 |
| 2020 | Devin Asiasi, N.E. | 2 | 39 | 1 | 11.9 | 81 | 2-39-1 |
| 2020 | Josiah Deguara, G.B. | 1 | 12 | 0 | 2.2 | 107 | 25-245-2 |
| 2021 | Hunter Long, Mia. | 1 | 8 | 0 | 1.8 | 113 | 12-85-2 |
| 2021 | • Pat Freiermuth, Pitt. | 60 | 497 | 7 | 153.7 | 13 | 63-732-2 |
| 2021 | Tommy Tremble, Car. | 20 | 180 | 1 | 53.1 | 45 | 23-194-3 |
| 2021 | Tre McKitty, LAC | 6 | 45 | 0 | 10.5 | 87 | 10-72-0 |
| 2022 | Greg Dulcich, Den. | 33 | 411 | 2 | 86.1 | 30 | 33-411-2 |
| 2022 | Jelani Woods, Ind. | 25 | 312 | 3 | 74.2 | 35 | 25-312-3 |
| 2022 | • Trey McBride, Ari. | 29 | 265 | 1 | 61.5 | 40 | 126-1239-11 |
| 2023 | Brenton Strange, Jac. | 5 | 35 | 1 | 14.5 | 79 | 46-540-3 |
| 2023 | Darnell Washington, Pitt. | 7 | 61 | 0 | 13.1 | 83 | 31-364-1 |
| 2023 | Luke Schoonmaker, Dall. | 8 | 65 | 2 | 26.5 | 67 | 27-241-1 |
| 2023 | • Tucker Kraft, G.B. | 31 | 355 | 2 | 78.5 | 29 | 50-707-7 |
| 2024 | Ben Sinnott, Was. | 5 | 28 | 1 | 13.8 | 82 | 11-114-1 |
| 2024 | Tip Reiman, Ari. | 6 | 37 | 0 | 9.7 | 91 | 6-37-0 |
| 2025 | • Harold Fannin, Cle. | 72 | 731 | 6 | 188.4 | 6 | 72-731-6 |
| 2026 | Eli Raridon, N.E. | ? | ? | ? | ? | ? | ? |
| 2026 | Eli Stowers, Phi. | ? | ? | ? | ? | ? | ? |
| 2026 | Nate Boerkircher, Jac. | ? | ? | ? | ? | ? | ? |
| 2026 | Marlin Klein, Hou. | ? | ? | ? | ? | ? | ? |
| 2026 | Max Klare, Rams | ? | ? | ? | ? | ? | ? |
| 2026 | Sam Roush, Chi. | ? | ? | ? | ? | ? | ? |
| 2026 | Oscar Delp, N.O. | ? | ? | ? | ? | ? | ? |
| 2026 | Will Kacmarek, Mia. | ? | ? | ? | ? | ? | ? |
—Ian Allan
