2026 NFL Draft Tight End Rankings: StickToTheModel Top 10
TE — Top 10
One tier at the top. A wide middle. A small-school sleeper the board isn't ranking.
Consensus has Sadiq as TE1 on traits. Our analytics have Stowers as TE1 on production. That's the whole fight. After the top three, the class is a receiver-TE vs. Y-TE split, and our model leans to the route-runners.
Every rank below is the StickToTheModel rank — our blend of the consensus big board and our career analytics (composite, peak-season score, breakout age, size).
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1. Eli Stowers — Vanderbilt — 6'4", 235StickToTheModel TE1 at #32 overall.
Consensus TE2 at #57. Range: ESPN 36, PFN 134 — a 98-spot spread. Scouts are split between "receiving TE who produces" and "tweener frame that doesn't block."
Our analytics are not split. TE2 in the pool by composite. 98th percentile career composite. Peak-season score 0.91 — highest in the TE class. 140 career receptions for 1,670 yards. 81.6 PFF grade.
6'4", 235. Size score 0.22 — the smallest frame in our top-10. That's the Y-TE question.
StickToTheModel TE1.
Receiving TE role in a modern offense. Not the guy you draft to block down on 3rd-and-1. Is the guy you draft to flex out in 12 personnel and run option routes at the hashes. Round-2 value.
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2. Max Klare — Ohio State — 6'5", 243Route tree translates.
Consensus TE3 at #68. Range: PFN 34, CBS 88 — 54-spot spread. The board likes the pedigree and the frame.
Our analytics are middle. 83rd percentile career composite. Peak score 0.81. 106 career receptions for 1,157 yards across 3 seasons. Progression score 0.90.
6'5", 243. Size score 0.50 — middle of the pack.
StickToTheModel TE2 at #58.
Round-3 pick. The frame and the route runner profile fit a move TE role. The peak production is fine, not elite. Floor is a TE2 who can play both sides of 11-personnel. Ceiling is a starting move TE with 50 catches by year three.
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3. Justin Joly — NC State — 6'3", 251Broke out young. Production stacked.
Consensus TE7 at #123. Range: ESPN 92, CBS 175 — 83-spot spread. The board has him day-3.
Our analytics push up. 92nd percentile career composite. Peak score 0.84. Broke out at 20.7 with a 0.95 breakout-age score — the youngest clean breakout in our TE top 10. 159 career catches, 1,904 yards, 10 TDs over 4 seasons. Progression score 0.96.
6'3", 251. Size score 0.35.
StickToTheModel TE3 at #90.
The age-adjusted production is the best in the class outside Stowers. Round-2 pick in an offense that runs through 12 personnel. Round-3 pick as a pass-catching TE2 with upside.
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4. Kenyon Sadiq — Oregon — 6'3", 245Consensus TE1. Analytics question mark.
Consensus TE1 at #13 overall. Range: TDN 6, CBS 24 — 18-spot spread. The tape is first-round. The production isn't there yet.
Our analytics have him TE20. 60th percentile career composite — our lowest in the top 10. Peak score 0.74. 77 career receptions for 854 yards, 8 TDs over 3 seasons at Oregon. 29.4 career yards per game.
6'3", 245. Size score 0.22.
StickToTheModel TE4 at #53.
The gap is the biggest at the position. Consensus is drafting traits and projection. Our model is asking where the production is. Round-1 pick with round-3 career output so far. If he hits, he's a Brock Bowers career. If he doesn't, he's a specialty TE with a first-round salary.
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5. Sam Roush — Stanford — 6'5", 260Blocking frame. Limited receiving upside.
Consensus TE6 at #114. Range: ESPN 83, CBS 187 — 104-spot spread.
Our analytics hold. 75th percentile career composite. Peak score 0.76. 117 career receptions for 1,167 yards, 4 TDs — production is volume, not explosion. Progression score 0.94.
6'5", 260. Size score 0.70 — one of the only true Y-TE frames in our top 10.
StickToTheModel TE5 at #108.
True Y-TE role. Wins with size, not separation. Round-5 pick for a team that runs 12-personnel and needs an inline option. Floor is a TE3. Ceiling is a blocking TE2 with 20 catches a year.
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6. Michael Trigg — Baylor — 6'4", 240Targeted often. Highly effective when targeted.
Consensus TE5 at #112. Range: CBS 67, ESPN 148 — 81-spot spread.
Our analytics cool. 69th percentile career composite. Peak score 0.84 is good. 100 career receptions, 1,341 yards, 6 TDs over 4 seasons. 44.7 career yards per game.
6'4", 240. Size score 0.26.
StickToTheModel TE6 at #109.
Route-first TE. Good hands, tracks the ball. Broke out late (21.7). Round-4 pick in a pass-heavy offense. Production comp is in the Pat Freiermuth / Harold Fannin tier — receiving TE2 who grows into a TE1 role.
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7. Jack Endries — Texas — 6'4", 240Peak season was real.
Consensus TE10 at #143. Range: CBS 107, PFN 184 — 77-spot spread.
Our analytics lift. 85th percentile career composite. Peak-season score 0.88 — second-highest at the position behind Stowers. 119 career catches, 1,324 yards over 3 seasons. Progression score 0.13 — the arc flattened after the peak.
6'4", 240. Size score 0.26.
StickToTheModel TE7 at #132.
One-season wonder risk. The peak year is the draft selling point. Round-4 pick. Upside bet on the peak, discount for the flat progression.
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8. John Michael Gyllenborg — WyomingSmall-school sleeper.
Consensus TE14 at #176. Range: TDN 61, CBS 231 — a 170-spot spread. Industry can't agree whether he's a day-3 prospect or priority free agent.
Our analytics flag him. TE3 at the position analytically. 96th percentile career composite.
StickToTheModel TE8 at #150.
Round-5 pick on production and the analytics edge. Small-school discount is real. Worth the swing — the archetype (productive G5 TE with athletic traits) hits more often than the board gives credit for.
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9. Joe Royer — Cincinnati — 6'5", 250Board and model agree.
Consensus TE11 at #156. Range: PFN 124, Tek 184 — the board has settled on a mid-day-3 grade.
Our analytics match. 79th percentile career composite. Peak score 0.82. 77 receptions, 907 yards, 5 TDs over 2 seasons. Progression score 0.83.
6'5", 250. Size score 0.58.
StickToTheModel TE9 at #146.
TE2 role. Nothing flashy. Nothing broken. Round-5 pick that plays year-one and doesn't move your roster in either direction.
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10. Eli Raridon — Notre Dame — 6'7", 251Frame you draft on.
Consensus TE8 at #124. Range: Tice 47, Tek 175 — 128-spot spread. Scouts see the 6'7" and fill in the upside.
Our analytics pump the brakes. 56th percentile career composite — the lowest in our TE top 10. Peak score 0.68. Only 17 career games, 43 receptions, 2 TDs. Production sample is tiny.
6'7", 251. Size score 0.85.
StickToTheModel TE10 at #133.
Tools-over-tape pick. Round-4 bet on traits. The frame is real, the production is not. Round-3 grade on the board. Round-5 grade in our analytics. Splitting the difference.
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Ranks 11–20
11. Tanner Koziol — Houston — 6'7", 240StickToTheModel #189 overall
12. Oscar Delp — Georgia — 6'5", 245StickToTheModel #129 overall
13. Dae'Quan Wright — Ole Miss — 6'4", 255StickToTheModel #194 overall
14. Josh Cuevas — Alabama — 6'3", 256StickToTheModel #181 overall
15. Dallen Bentley — Utah — 6'4", 264StickToTheModel #176 overall
16. Miles Kitselman — Tennessee — 6'5", 255StickToTheModel #232 overall
17. Nate Boerkircher — Texas A&M — 6'4", 250StickToTheModel #168 overall
18. RJ Maryland — SMU — 6'4", 240StickToTheModel #269 overall
19. Matthew Hibner — SMU — 6'5", 252StickToTheModel #275 overall
20. Lance Mason — WisconsinStickToTheModel #224 overall