Top 10 Tight End Prospects in the 2026 NFL Draft
Last Updated: October 05, 2026 | Source: Consensus rankings from 9 outletsThe 2026 tight end class is led by Jamari Johnson, Trey'Dez Green, Luke Reynolds. 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: #20 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: #33 overall | Projection: Second 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. Luke Reynolds — Virginia Tech
Consensus Rank: #77 overall | Projection: Day 2 | Measurables: 6'4", 250 lbs Full scouting report for Luke Reynolds →---
4. Terrance Carter Jr — Texas Tech
Consensus Rank: #82 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 →---
5. DJ Vonnahme — Iowa
Consensus Rank: #112 overall | Projection: Day 3 | Measurables: 6-4, 240 lbsDJ Vonnahme is the kind of Iowa tight end the position has been typecast on for a decade, a technically sound blocker with more movement juice than the label suggests, and he enters 2026 as one of the more talked about names in a thin 2027 tight end class. Listed at 6-4 and 240 pounds, he arrived in Iowa City as a preferred walk-on and a two-star recruit per 247 Sports after playing quarterback in high school, which helps explain the feel and body control that shows up once the ball is in his hands. Vikings Wire's summer scouting report on his Vanderbilt, USC and Nebraska tape frames him as a big projection at this stage, a player whose pieces are visible but whose production has not caught up yet.
Strengths: Sound run blocker who uses his 6-4, 240 frame and leverage to win at the point of attack ... True dual-alignment tight end, in-line on 58.4 percent of his snaps but comfortable detached in the slot ... 3.1 yards per route run is strong efficiency for a blocking-first role Concerns: Still a projection more than a finished product, the evaluation leans on flashes rather than volume ... Career production is thin at 29 catches and 434 yards, has never carried a receiving room NFL Comparison: Iowa-lineage blocking tight end with more after-catch pop than the archetype Full scouting report for DJ Vonnahme →---
6. Peter Clarke — Temple
Consensus Rank: #114 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 →---
7. Benjamin Brahmer — Penn State
Consensus Rank: #130 overall | Projection: Day 3 | Measurables: 6-7, 252 lbsBenjamin Brahmer is a towering fourth-year tight end who followed head coach Matt Campbell from Iowa State to Penn State for 2026, arriving as one of the more complete players at the position in the 2027 class. At 6'7" and 252 pounds out of Pierce, Nebraska, he gives a quarterback a target no defensive back can realistically contest, and Draft Countdown frames that frame as a natural advantage on contested throws and a high-upside weapon once the field shortens inside the red zone. The production started early: as a true freshman in 2023 he caught 28 passes for 352 yards, finishing second on the Iowa State roster in receptions and third in receiving yards, which is rare trust for a first-year tight end.
Strengths: Elite size at 6'7" and 252 pounds gives him a frame no defensive back can play over on contested throws ... Natural red zone weapon, six touchdowns in 2025 after three combined in his first two years ... Reliable hands shown as a true freshman, second on Iowa State in receptions and third in receiving yards in 2023 Concerns: Functional strength is the named development area and has to improve before the blocking projection holds ... Inline blocking consistency against bigger, more physical Big Ten defensive ends is unproven NFL Comparison: Mike Gesicki-style matchup size with a more willing blocking base Full scouting report for Benjamin Brahmer →---
8. Andrew Rappleyea — Penn State
Consensus Rank: #134 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 →---
9. Lawson Luckie — Georgia
Consensus Rank: #135 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 →---
10. Theo Melin Ohrstrom — SMU
Consensus Rank: #184 overall | Projection: Day 3 | Measurables: 6'6", 257 lbs Full scouting report for Theo Melin Ohrstrom →---