Andrew Rappleyea
Penn State#179 overallDraft Movement
Up 11 spots since Jul 6
Scouting Report
Reliability 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. In 2025 he caught 20 passes for 180 yards and three touchdowns across 13 games while handling an inline blocking role on more than 230 run-blocking snaps and allowing just one pressure. The headline number is that he caught 20 of his 22 targets without a single drop, the best hands tape of any tight end in the class by a comfortable margin. His late-season Rutgers game, four catches for 75 yards and a score, hinted at a receiving dimension the offense never consistently asked for. He held the starting job through a season in which Penn State fired its head coach and shuffled quarterbacks, and his own film stayed orderly while everything around it came apart. The argument against is volume and force. A starting tight end finishing with 180 receiving yards is hard to project upward, his after-catch work gains what is blocked and no more, and the run blocking sits mid-tier when the role asks for better. He returned for a rebuilt 2026 staff, and a season of real target volume would move him from trustworthy to draftable.
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
- good timed speed with the build to handle both wings of the position
- allowed just one pressure across more than 230 run-blocking snaps
- three touchdowns on only 20 receptions, a real red-zone rate
- held the starting job through a coaching change and a quarterback carousel without his film slipping
- four-star recruit and one of the top tight ends in the 2023 class
Weaknesses
- Volume never arrived, with 180 receiving yards across 13 games in a starting role
- after-catch work is functional rather than dangerous
- run blocking tape sits mid-tier, below what the frame and role demand
- the 2025 staff collapse makes his usage hard to read as evidence either way
- nine yards per catch is low for a tight end with his speed
- the receiving projection is inference rather than production
- needs a season of real targets to move from specialist to prospect
NFL Comparison
Cade Otton reliable two-way Y without explosion; Jake Ferguson hands-first developmental arc; Luke Schoonmaker inline blocker with untapped receiving
College Stats
2023-2024 (Penn State): rotational two-way role in a deep tight end room; 2025 (Jr): 13 G, 20 rec on 22 targets, 180 yds, 3 TD, 0 drops, 230-plus run-blocking snaps with 1 pressure allowed; 4 rec, 75 yds and a TD at Rutgers
Measurables
Awards & Honors
Four-star recruit and a top tight end in the 2023 class; zero drops on 22 targets in 2025; returning to Penn State for 2026