Last week was part three of my 'Build A Prospect' series for the 2026 NFL Draft, which centered on wide receivers. This week, we’re sticking with the pass catchers, discussing tight ends.
Some ground rules: there are seven tight end attributes I’ve selected (speed, hands, route running, run blocking, run after catch, catch radius, contested catch). The goal is to build the best possible running back using one prospect for each of these attributes.
Once we use a prospect, he cannot be used again throughout the rest of the attributes, so I must choose wisely. Let’s get started!
Speed
Kenyon Sadiq - Oregon
Speed isn’t the most important attribute for a tight end, but with linebackers and safeties only becoming more athletic over time, it can certainly help to have electric athleticism to create separation. I haven’t seen any tight end in this class with the speed or athleticism overall that Oregon Ducks tight end Kenyon Sadiq possesses.
Sadiq is a built, compact player, listed at an undersized 6’3” and 245 pounds. His vertical speed is legitimately lethal and puts immense stress on the second level of any defense facing him.
Even beyond just his raw speed, his overall athleticism is just ridiculous. This was evident in last season’s Big Ten Championship game between Oregon and Penn State. Sadiq caught two touchdowns, one of which included him hurdling a defender on his way to the end zone in just about the most jaw-dropping display of athleticism you’ll see from any 2026 prospect.
Hands
Eli Stowers - Vanderbilt
Like my evaluations for wide receivers, I value the ability to catch the football greatly for tight ends. It makes it really hard for me to care what other aspects you provide if I can’t trust you to catch the football. Someone who doesn’t have any issue catching the football in Vanderbilt Commodores tight end Eli Stowers.
Stowers is an interesting player, a former quarterback who was rated as a four-star prospect coming out of high school per 247 Sports. He began his career at Texas A&M, then transferred to New Mexico State, where he transitioned to the tight end position. And of course, he's now at Vanderbilt.
So far in his three seasons at the position, Stowers has been targeted 146 times. In those targets, he has only dropped the football three times, good for a measly 2.7% drop rate, a rather elite mark for someone who is thrown the football as often as he is.
From a tape perspective, it really is pretty to see him pluck the football out of the air. Many pass catchers, especially larger pass catchers, seem to fight the football in the air, like they’re uncomfortable or not confident in their hands.
This does not apply to Stowers. Stowers has the hand confidence of a great wide receiver, attacking the football in the air with precision.
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Route Running
John Michael Gyllenborg - Wyoming
Route running, outside of hands, is what I value most in a tight end. While a tight end’s route tree may not be as diverse as a wide receiver’s, a tight end still must possess nuance in and out of their breaks. A prospect who is efficient in this category is Wyoming Cowboys tight end John Michael Gyllenborg.
Gyllenborg is a part of this new wave of tight end archetype, where there is much more of a focus on the pass-catching aspects of the game than being well-rounded. Most categorize this archetype as the FLEX of F tight end.
Because of this new wave, we’ve seen tight ends become better route runners over time, and Gyllenborg is no different. He’s a twitchy, fluid athlete who moves well in space and gets in and out of his breaks well. At all three levels of the field, he is a true weapon that creates space regardless of who is guarding him.
Run Blocking
Miles Kitselman - Tennessee
I enjoy seeing good run blockers at the tight end position. Tight ends who can block while also contributing in the pass game are a cheat code for an offense because you’re providing value and balance to your offense. This class is pretty void of those who do block effectively, but there are a few who excel in this area, and Tennessee Volunteers tight end Miles Kitselman is the best I’ve seen in this class.
Tennessee head coach Josh Heupel has emphasized the importance of the tight ends in his run game since he landed in Knoxville. His previous tight ends, Jacob Warren, McCallan Castles, and Princeton Fant, all provided solid work in the run game. Kitselman is a step above all three, and was a "my guy" during summer scouting.
Whether it’s basically acting as a puller on split zone, digging out a defensive end on a down block, or working up to the second level, Kitselman excels at it all. A large part of blocking is just sheer effort, and he doesn’t lack that at all. There’s a time or two throughout a game where his hand placement may get wide, but for the most part, he’s a technically refined blocker.
Run After Catch
Dae’Quan Wright - Ole Miss
The ability to create yards after the catch can provide explosive sparks for offenses. So far this season, nobody is providing the after-catch production that Ole Miss Rebels tight end Dae’Quan Wright is.
Wright has been one of the most productive tight ends in America in 2025, already with 279 yards on just 12 receptions, good for over 23 yards per catch. This is helped by Wright’s monstrous 13.8 yards after the catch per reception. Of tight ends with 15 or more targets, Wright is one of two averaging 10 or more yards after the catch per reception, and he’s 3.6 ahead of second place.
It’s not just the statistic he’s producing; it’s how he gets those yards. He’s athletic at 6’4” and 255 pounds and has no problem running through somebody’s face.
Catch Radius
Tanner Koziol - Houston
Catch radius, like last week, is pretty self-explanatory. The bigger radius you give your quarterback to hit, the larger the room for error the quarterback has. Houston Cougars tight end Tanner Koziol seems to be the favorite in this category.
Koziol comes in at a listed 6’7” and 250 pounds. While we don’t have official measurements on his arm length or wingspan, based on his tape, I wouldn’t be surprised to see his arm length come in at 34 inches or longer.
Contested Catch
Justin Joly - NC State
The ability to fight through contact and still make the catch is pretty important for tight ends, given how much they work over the middle of the field. The tight end in contested catch situations that I was most impressed with was NC State Wolfpack tight end Justin Joly.
Joly, like Sadiq, is built and compact, not as tall as some of the other tight ends in this class. But, that physical, compact build really helps him in contested catch situations.
He has a knack for levitating above defenders, all starting with his ability to get position on defenders before the jump. It’s like watching a basketball player box out for a rebound.
The numbers back this up. In his career, he is 28/45 in contested catch situations, good for 62.2%. While he’s only 2/7 so far this season, his career body of work suggests he’ll get back closer to that 60% range by the end of the season.
Final Thoughts
This Build A Prospect series continues to be really fun to pore through, and I’m stoked to keep it rolling through the college football season as we lead up to the 2026 NFL Draft, hitting on every single position group.
I hope you enjoyed the tight end iteration of this article series, and make sure to tune back in for both the offensive tackle and interior offensive line iterations next week.