Whew! What a start to NFL playoff football. Beyond birthing one of the most entertaining weekends the NFL playoffs have seen in recent memory, we now have the first 24 picks of the 2026 NFL Draft officially settled. How the remaining quarter of selections find their home will serve as a noteworthy subplot within the postseason.
The expert NFL Draft trio of Ian Cummings, Jacob Infante, and Alec Elijah at PFSN has merged their big boards to bring you the list of consensus top-10 tight end prospects in the 2026 class.
A year removed from a handful of exciting NFL rookie performances at the position, let’s take a look at the next crop of promising players.
1) Kenyon Sadiq, Oregon
We’re going to save a ton of suspense with the top spot here in Kenyon Sadiq. It’s easy to see why the true junior was the consensus selection at number one after snagging 51 receptions for 560 yards and 8 touchdowns, all top-10 marks amongst FBS tight ends last season, with the eight scores pacing the entire group.
In addition to the general counting stats, Sadiq’s PFSN College TE Impact Score of 82.2 was the 11th-best mark amongst FBS tight ends. He’s dense, he’s fast, he’s athletic, he owns baseline strength and want-to in the box.
While his 1.53 yards per route run raises some concerns regarding his projected positional success, Sadiq is viewed as a prospect who bucks historical trends at the position.
2) Michael Trigg, Baylor
A second-place ranking for Michael Trigg may surprise readers, but NFL teams will be enamored by his contributions as a passing-game weapon.
He turned one fewer reception than Sadiq into 694 yards (good for nearly 14 yards a catch) with 6 touchdowns, one of the highest receiving score totals for FBS tight ends. When the dust settled, his 84.0 TE Impact Score ranked fourth amongst FBS tight ends.
Trigg is one of those prospects who makes you pause and think: this guy could be special if everything clicks, because the traits that scream “NFL weapon” are abundantly clear, while the rest of the profile is still in something of a holding pattern.
What jumps off the tape with Trigg is the premium athletic profile that yielded three separate Power 4 opportunities and a 4th-round BLESTO grade entering the season.
His doubling up on slot and perimeter alignments versus his positioning in-line and in the backfield highlights who he is as a seam-stretcher capable of winning before, during, and after the catch. I anticipate Trigg being one of the best tight end testers among the group at the NFL Combine, with impressive limb measurements to boot.
3) Max Klare, Ohio State
Following a 2024 campaign in which Max Klare snagged 51 receptions for 685 yards and 4 touchdowns at Purdue, Klare was one of the most expensive tight ends on the transfer market.
Such a stat line took something of a step back this past season, through no fault of his own, really, considering the jostling for targets with two first-round-caliber receivers he had to undergo.
Make no mistake: Klare was still productive, posting a 43-448-2 showing with noteworthy contributions in the run game, given his 6-foot-5, 243-pound dimensions.
His capabilities in the ground game are built on a firm foundation, with evidence of contributions to both programs. I fully anticipate a top-100 selection for Klare as a player with shades of Jake Ferguson to his game.
4) Justin Joly, NC State
I’ll start by noting that I have long been a fan of Justin Joly and was genuinely disappointed in our pursuit (or lack thereof) of him at Houston. Joly went on a three-year run of reduced drop rates and increased receiving yards, which ultimately culminated in a career just shy of 2,000 yards. He was 13th in PFSN’s College TE Impact Score this past season.
Tracking Joly’s development has been an exciting journey: aside from the stable levels of quality production across both levels of FBS football, the physical enhancements are visible. Hence, he went from a listed 232 pounds in his second/last year at UConn (2023) to a listed 263 pounds this past season (2025). If you want something of a throwback comparison, think Randy McMichael.
5) Eli Raridon, Notre Dame
Standing a shade under 6-foot-6 and weighing in the neighborhood of 250 pounds (NFS measured him at 6’5 3/4″, 250 pounds in the summer), Eli Raridon stands apart from many of his highly-ranked peers. Perhaps no other player on this list did more to bolster their draft stock than the senior from Iowa.
Raridon had 16 receptions for 141 yards and 3 touchdowns to his name across 672 career offensive snaps. In 2025, he caught 32 passes for 482 yards. It’s a balancing act trying to navigate the singular year of standout production against the time spent in a crowded room.
Nevertheless, Raridon rose from undrafted grade via NFS and BLESTO to a sure-fire draft pick. A bigger-framed tight end with secure hands who forced a missed tackle on roughly 20 percent of his receptions in his final collegiate season feels Gunnar Helm-coded. He should be a quality pro.
6) Jack Endries, Texas
Speaking of Texas tight ends! Endries was another hot commodity in the transfer portal last offseason when he opted to join the Longhorns after three years at Cal.
Jack Endries is an interesting case study as a player who started his career as a walk-on, didn’t log a single snap as a true freshman, and then became a full-time starter as a redshirt freshman. And not just a starter, but a quality one at that. His 56 receptions for 623 yards and 2 touchdowns in 2024 stamped him as a desired transfer target.
After a healthy split between slot and in-line snaps at Cal, Endries spent roughly a quarter of his offensive snaps beyond the tackles. That, in part, explains the reduction in production; he wasn’t dissimilar from Klare as someone sharing targets with a talented receiver room. Expect Endries to hear his name called on Day 3.
7) Oscar Delp, Georgia
When we wade into the player evaluation waters, it’s important to prioritize the range of outcomes. Comparisons can be fun, despite often lacking context due to the narrow nature of a singular, one-to-one comparison. And Oscar Delp is a terrific example of projecting a range of outcomes.
For starters, he was ranked as high as two and as low as nine on PFSN boards. He’s credited with 70 receptions for 854 yards and 9 touchdowns across nearly 2,000 offensive snaps, pedestrian totals relative to those above him. His rates of yards per route run are scary. But he is good.
We shouldn’t conflate the lack of production with the lack of ability. You will see that if you watch the film, there’s a reason BLESTO graded him higher than the likes of Trigg, Sadiq, and Raridon entering the season. I’ve been high on Delp since 2024 (see below) and wouldn’t be surprised if he outperforms most of the names above him in the NFL.
8) Joe Royer, Cincinnati
After three largely uneventful seasons at Ohio State, Joe Royer elected to play for the hometown Bearcats in a move that paid dividends. He was a favorite of quarterback Brendan Sorsby during their two seasons together, connecting on 79 passes for 937 yards and 7 touchdowns.
The disassociation between who he is as a pass catcher and a contributor in the run game rivals that of Trigg’s, despite Royer’s physical dimensions and structure surpassing his own. That’s the glaring issue in his evaluation. Nevertheless, the athletic contributions hailing from that body type could very well be worthy of a top-100 selection (he forced 11 missed tackles on 50 receptions in 2024).
9) Eli Stowers, Vanderbilt
The once-ballyhooed quarterback recruit transformed an unsuccessful stint as a passer at Texas A&M. Eli Stowers would blossom by changing schools and positions as a tight end at New Mexico State in 2023 and wouldn’t look back.
He caught passes for more yards in each of his three seasons, the last two with fellow NMSU head coach Jerry Kill at Vanderbilt, capping his career with the Mackey Award as FBS’ top tight end.
Of note: Stowers missed one board but was top-five in the other two. Just three seasons in to a full-time role as a tight end, and Stowers is the quintessential pass-catching archetype for next-level duties.
He was number 15 on the 2025 version of Bruce Feldman’s Freaks List. His efforts in the box are spirited but inspire limited NFL-contextualized confidence. With 62 receptions for 769 yards and 4 touchdowns in 2025, his TE Impact Score was second only to….
10) Tanner Koziol, Houston
With 237 receptions for 2,234 yards and 24 touchdowns under his belt, Tanner Koziol is not only the draft’s most productive FBS tight end but one of the tallest at 6-foot-6, verified by NFS. He also weighed in at 251 pounds, but an estimation of his density on film will be worth confirming at the Senior Bowl.
Koziol began his career at Ball State, where he quickly became a renowned tight end in the Group of 5. After a spring at Wisconsin in 2025, he hopped back into the transfer portal during the spring window to move to Houston, where his 74-727-6 line proved quarterback-friendly.
As we mentioned, that was good for an FBS-best 86.5 TE Impact Score. Pending a more thorough examination of him physically, I expect several dissenting opinions.
Honorable Mentions:
John Michael Gyllenborg (Wyoming)
Jack Velling (Michigan State)
Josh Cuevas (Alabama)
