Top 10 Tight End Prospects in the 2026 NFL Draft
Last Updated: August 31, 2026 | Source: Consensus rankings from 9 outletsThe 2026 tight end class is led by Jamari Johnson, Trey'Dez Green, Terrance Carter Jr. Here's a breakdown of the top 10 prospects at the position, with scouting reports, measurables, and projected draft range.
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1. Jamari Johnson — Oregon
Consensus Rank: #16 overall | Projection: First round | Measurables: 6'5", 257 lbsA converted high school quarterback turned modern Y tight end, Jamari Johnson has quickly become one of the more intriguing names in the 2027 class after transferring from Louisville to Oregon for the 2025 season. Some evaluators tab him as the top tight end in the class, noting that Johnson often overshadows likely top-50 teammate Kenyon Sadiq despite working as the Ducks' nominal TE2, and praising his all-around size and strength at 6-foot-5 and 257 pounds, his sure hands and his rare burst for a big frame. Summer scouting reports echoed that, calling him perhaps the best of Oregon's recent run of athletic tight ends and pointing to a quicker, more polished blocking profile than Sadiq.
Strengths: Prototypical NFL Y frame at 6-foot-5, 257 pounds, capable of handling inline duties while staying a threat in space ... regarded by some evaluators as the top-ranked TE in the 2027 class ... rare burst and acceleration for a big body, explosive turning upfield after the catch Concerns: Still raw as a route runner and blocker, admitting he needs to refine footwork, hand placement and route depth after converting from quarterback ... modest career production (45 catches, 668 yards, 4 TD across 27 games) thanks in part to splitting targets behind Sadiq NFL Comparison: Colston Loveland (modern movement Y with size and ball skills) Full scouting report for Jamari Johnson →---
2. Trey'Dez Green — LSU
Consensus Rank: #27 overall | Projection: First round | Measurables: 6'7", 240 lbs, 4.55s 40Trey'Dez Green is the consensus top tight end in the 2027 class and one of the rarest athletic profiles at the position this decade. He is a 6-foot-7, 240-pound two-sport athlete from Jackson, Louisiana who arrived as the No. 2 tight end recruit in the 2024 class and logged real minutes for LSU's basketball team before football won out.
Strengths: Rare 6-foot-7, 240-pound frame with projected 4.55 speed that runs away from SEC safeties ... Basketball-bred body control and jump-ball skill, a true post-up weapon in the end zone ... Enormous catch radius that erases quarterback error and owns the middle of the field Concerns: Five drops on 51 targets, the hands lag well behind the athleticism ... Liability as a blocker with fewer than 200 career blocking snaps of proof NFL Comparison: Greg Dulcich (big-frame flex receiving TE with a similar ranking arc) Full scouting report for Trey'Dez Green →---
3. Terrance Carter Jr — Texas Tech
Consensus Rank: #74 overall | Projection: Day 2 | Measurables: 6'2", 245 lbs, 4.75s 40Terrance Carter Jr is a flex tight end who wins as a receiver first, last, and always. The Killeen, Texas native arrived at Harker Heights High School as a quarterback before coaches moved him to tight end, and the position change unlocked one of college football's most productive pass-catchers at the spot. A modest three-star recruit, he broke out at Louisiana with 28 catches as a redshirt freshman in 2023, then dominated the Sun Belt in 2024 with 48 receptions for 689 yards while catching 77.
Strengths: Natural hands-catcher who plucks the ball cleanly away from his frame and finishes contested catches in traffic ... Elite yards-after-catch creator whose 404 YAC in 2024 ranked fourth among all FBS tight ends ... Route precision rare for the position, creating consistent separation against linebackers and safeties Concerns: Below-average blocking strength that fails to anchor against power rushers ... Frame lacks the bulk and mass to handle NFL edge rushers in-line or in pass protection NFL Comparison: Harold Fannin Jr (comparable athletic tools and slot-flex production profile) Full scouting report for Terrance Carter Jr →---
4. Peter Clarke —
Temple
Consensus Rank: #102 overall | Projection: Day 3 | Measurables: 6'6", 265 lbsPeter Clarke is the most unusual profile in the tight end class. Born in London and developed through the NFL Academy, he caught 14 passes for 371 yards and five touchdowns as his academy side went undefeated in his final season, then arrived at Temple still learning the sport. He spent two years as a depth piece, totaling five catches across 20 games in 2023 and 2024, before the junior year changed everything.
Strengths: Seam-stretching speed at 265 pounds, a vertical threat in a true inline body ... won six of nine contested chances, comfortable catching through hands and hits ... one drop on 42 targets in 2025, elite reliability Concerns: American Athletic competition leaves the dominant reps lightly stress-tested ... route menu stays simple, seams, flats and play-action shots rather than full-tree work NFL Comparison: Brenton Strange two-way Y with seam speed Full scouting report for Peter Clarke →---
5. DJ Vonnahme — NA
Consensus Rank: #111 overall | Projection: Day 2-3 Full scouting report for DJ Vonnahme →---
6. Benjamin Brahmer — Penn State
Consensus Rank: #122 overall | Projection: Day 3 | Measurables: 6'7", 255 lbs Full scouting report for Benjamin Brahmer →---
7. Lawson Luckie —
Georgia
Consensus Rank: #126 overall | Projection: Day 3 | Measurables: 6'4", 240 lbsOne Saturday carries Lawson Luckie's file. Against Ole Miss he caught five balls and three of them were touchdowns, a red-zone exhibition that doubled as proof the athletic tools work when an offense points them at the end zone. The bloodlines run deep in Athens: his father Mike played linebacker for the Bulldogs from 1996 to 1998, and his triplet uncles Dustin and Miles also played there.
Strengths: Three touchdowns against Ole Miss in a single afternoon, the loudest red-zone tape of his season ... moves like the flex tight end he plays, with top-shelf timed speed at 240 pounds ... did not allow a pressure across his pass-protection work all season Concerns: Receiving production stayed marginal on full-time snaps, and the Ole Miss game was most of it ... after-catch numbers are nearly absent, with catches dying where they are made NFL Comparison: Brenton Strange flex tight end with a red-zone knack Full scouting report for Lawson Luckie →---
8. Brett Norfleet —
Missouri
Consensus Rank: #143 overall | Projection: Day 3 | Measurables: 6'6", 263 lbsThe outline is a pro tight end and the season kept smudging it. Brett Norfleet is 6-6 and 263 pounds with near-elite timed speed, the frame-and-wheels combination scouting departments flag automatically. A consensus four-star out of St.
Strengths: Career-best season as Missouri's red-zone outlet with five touchdowns on 31 catches, a team high ... seven catches, 76 yards and two touchdowns against Kansas in the rivalry renewal ... 6-6 with near-elite timed speed at 263 pounds, the frame-and-wheels combination scouts chase Concerns: Four drops and a two-of-seven contested line undercut the catch-radius promise ... soft blocking tape for 263 pounds, with a sack among the pressures allowed NFL Comparison: Brenton Strange size-speed tight end still rounding out Full scouting report for Brett Norfleet →---
9. Andrew Rappleyea —
Penn State
Consensus Rank: #145 overall | Projection: Day 3 | Measurables: 6'4", 251 lbsReliability is Andrew Rappleyea's entire resume, and it is a real one. A New York native who prepped at Milton Academy in Massachusetts, he was a four-star and one of the top tight ends in the 2023 class, originally committing to Michigan before flipping to Penn State. He developed behind a deep tight end room and worked into the rotation as a two-way option.
Strengths: Caught 20 of 22 targets without a drop, the cleanest hands in the tight end class ... hands tape leads the group by a comfortable margin ... best game came late, four catches for 75 yards and a score at Rutgers Concerns: Volume never arrived, with 180 receiving yards across 13 games in a starting role ... after-catch work is functional rather than dangerous NFL Comparison: Cade Otton reliable two-way Y without explosion Full scouting report for Andrew Rappleyea →---
10. Theo Melin Ohrstrom —
SMU
Consensus Rank: #165 overall | Projection: Day 3 | Measurables: 6'6", 257 lbs Full scouting report for Theo Melin Ohrstrom →---