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At the very top, the 2026 NFL Draft class is shaped by defensive talent, particularly a good group of edge defenders and a nice crop of wide receivers and cornerbacks that occupy a significant share of the top 50.
Overall, this class blends blue-chip defensive playmakers, a deep perimeter talent pool and a more meaningful cluster of quarterbacks worthy of early consideration than last cycle.
For the full ranking of draft prospects — including three-year player grades and position rankings — click here. And if you want to go hands-on with the class, check out the PFF Big Board Builder to create your own rankings or fire up the PFF Mock Draft Simulator to run full mock drafts in seconds.
Editor’s note: The analysis included here comes from Trevor Sikkema’s preseason scouting series, while the rankings themselves have been fully updated. This analysis is provided to give readers context on how these players were viewed entering the season.
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1. Kenyon Sadiq, Oregon Ducks
Big board rank: 13
Sadiq is an alluring combination of size and athleticism, even at a position with many of those types of prospects. He played both sides of the ball effectively — receiver and a defensive back — in high school, and was also a multi-sport athlete. He plays and is deployed like a big receiver, and one whom you won't want to be attached to the line of scrimmage. His movement skills give him a lot of alignment versatility. We just need to see Sadiq as a focal point TE1 in 2025.
2. Max Klare, Ohio State Buckeyes
Big board rank: 48
Klare brings the movement skills and route-running savviness that every NFL team will covet. His PFF receiving grades and high target total in 2024 showed he is ready to be a major piece of a passing attack. Klare wins with great overall athleticism and nuance as a route runner to create separation windows. As a blocker, he has been unreliable throughout his career, especially when blocking from the slot or in-line. Better production there could be the key to his achieving TE1 status for 2026.
3. Jack Endries, Texas Longhorns
Big board rank: 68
Endries presents a long, athletic build that comes with long strides for get-away or vertical speed and a big catch radius. His bread and butter in the league will be as a receiver. As a blocker, he is feisty and competitive in nature but seems to lack the strength (weight and mass) to be consistently effective, especially in-line. Endries will have to find the right balance in weight for blocking and speed and fluidity as a route runner.
4. Eli Stowers, Vanderbilt Commodores
Big board rank: 73
Saying that Stowers has been on a college football journey entering his final eligible season would be an understatement. He was a four-star, dual-threat quarterback coming out of high school and committed to Texas A&M. After two years as the backup, he transferred to New Mexico State, where he lost the quarterback battle to Diego Pavia and switched positions to tight end. There was clearly no love lost between the two, though, as Stowers then followed Pavia to Vanderbilt to be his No. 1 target in the SEC. Stowers is small for the position by NFL standards, but he is a top-tier athlete. If you think of him as more of a big receiver, he brings a ton of value to the passing game.
5. Josh Cuevas, Alabama Crimson Tide
Big board rank: 95
Analysis Coming soon!
6. Justin Joly, North Carolina State Wolfpack
Big board rank: 97
Joly was just a two-star receiver coming out of high school, but he has since proven that he more than belongs. He has developed into one of the best receiving tight ends in college football, earning PFF receiving grades above 72.0 in each season he's played. Joly recorded an incredibly impressive contested catch rate above 70% from 2023 to 2024. He isn't the strongest blocker, but he's competitive, with good grip strength to maintain blocks. His long arms and all-around athleticism give him a good ceiling as a receiving tight end in the NFL.
7. Michael Trigg, Baylor Bears
Big board rank: 132
Trigg, now at his third Division I program, is an athletic receiving tight end with long arms and a large catch radius. He plays competitively at the catch point and looks eager to add yards after the catch. However, his 2024 tape revealed inconsistent effort and excessive variance in his blocking, often focusing on highlight-reel knockdowns rather than executing reliable, assignment-sound blocks. To thrive at the next level, Trigg must embrace the finer details and dirty work of the position with the same intensity he brings to the passing game.
8. Joe Royer, Cincinnati Bearcats
Big board rank: 136
Royer will be one of the older prospects in the 2026 NFL Draft class as a sixth-year senior. Last season was his first with a full-time workload, and 2025 should be more of the same as one of the Bearcats' top receiving options. He has a good frame with long arms and solid hand-eye coordination to be a reliable receiving tight end, including through contact. While his shorter strides limit his after-the-catch potential, he does have some decent wiggle for separation with and without the ball. To raise his draft stock, Royer must improve his tenacity and consistency as a run blocker, as his tape contains too many negative blocking reps in which his assignment was the reason a play was stopped.
9. Lawson Luckie, Georgia Bulldogs
Big board rank: 164
Luckie is the next Georgia tight end to pay attention to, following in the footsteps of the notable prospects the Bulldogs have collected at that position recently. He's on the smaller size for NFL standards, but not as much when you consider him more as a slot or a wingback option. Pound for pound, he is a disciplined blocker but can get overmatched versus box defenders. While Luckie is a decent overall athlete, he appears to be more effective in short areas rather than with vertical explosiveness and yards after the catch.
10. Miles Kitselman, Tennessee Volunteers
Big board rank: 170
Kitselman looks the part of an NFL tight end. He brings an all-around skill set and has experience aligning in-line, in the slot, and as a wingback. His PFF run-blocking grades have been consistently reliable and impactful over three seasons in the SEC. In 2024, he also demonstrated encouraging growth in the passing game, recording a career-high in receiving volume. While he may not become a top-tier separator or YAC threat, Kitselman projects as a scheme-versatile tight end who fits what every NFL team needs; it's just a matter of how highly he's valued on draft day.
11. Tanner Koziol, Houston Cougars
Big board rank: 173
Koziol has the frame and the game to be a contested-catch monster; he already showed that at Ball State. He has a long, slender build with a massive catch radius, which he consistently maximizes as someone who wins above the rim. He shows decent nuance in his routes with tempo and cuts, but his separation rates were still low in 2024. He is a willing blocker, but his thinner frame at Ball State limited his effectiveness in that area. Gaining some good weight and becoming a bit more consistent with separation could push Koziol into the top-100-pick range.
12. Oscar Delp, Georgia Bulldogs
Big board rank: 188
Delp has strong movement skills and doesn't shy away from contact as a blocker, showing a willingness to take on a variety of assignments. However, he has yet to establish a consistent role as a receiving threat, despite his athletic profile. Entering the 2025 season, Delp projects as a Day 3 tight end worth taking a chance on thanks to his adequate size, athleticism and positional versatility.
13. Marlin Klein, Michigan Wolverines
Big board rank: 225
Klein's journey from Cologne, Germany, to the States, where he picked up football as a high school sophomore, has been a slow and steady developmental arc. He now shows NFL potential as a high-effort tight end with strong technical skills in pass protection and experience playing in-line. His high PFF pass-blocking grades contrast with lower run-blocking marks, reflecting good technique but limited power due to his leaner frame. As a receiver, Klein hasn't produced much, but his long strides make him a sneaky vertical threat. He projects as a low-volume, in-line blocking tight end who could surprise defenses if left unchecked in the passing game.
14. John Michael Gyllenborg, Wyoming Cowboys
Big board rank: 246
Gyllenborg has a long, tall frame that is well above average for the NFL, at over 6-foot-5. If his listed weight of 250 pounds is legitimate, that is also right around average for the league. His strengths are evident in the passing game: good movement skills and a playmaker's mentality. His hands are decently reliable, but he struggles catching through contact. Gyllenborg's height makes it tough for him to win the leverage battle as a blocker, although blocking won't be where he makes his mark in the league. He simply needs not to be a liability in that facet to get the most out of his receiving ability.
15. Dae'Quan Wright, Mississippi Rebels
Big board rank: 270
Analysis Coming soon!
16. Jaren Kanak, Oklahoma Sooners
Big board rank: 278
Analysis Coming soon!
17. RJ Maryland, SMU Mustangs
Big board rank: 295
Maryland is a size outlier for the tight end position at the NFL level. As a result, his PFF blocking grades have been a liability at times, particularly when aligned in line and tasked with key blocking responsibilities. However, as a receiver, he plays with confidence, displays solid athleticism, and shows the body control to attack the ball in the air. He also runs clean vertical routes with sharp cuts, giving him potential as a flex or move tight end at the next level.
18. Jack Velling, Michigan State Spartans
Big board rank: 310
Velling brings valuable versatility, having lined up in nearly every tight end role in-line, slot, X receiver and fullback. However, his athleticism grades out as average at best, and his frame needs more bulk to hold up as an NFL-level blocker. To stick on a roster, he'll likely need to lean into a physical, blocking-first profile while continuing to capitalize on his sure hands.
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