2026 NFL Draft - Tight End Preview!!!

What is up Green Bay Packers fans welcome back to the daily draft we've got another prospect position primer taken on tight ends today with Jacob Morley Jacob how are you I'm good man I'm just grinding through these days getting closer and closer to the Packers picking on day two which will be odd it ran about is this the first time since the Jory draft the Packers haven't had a first round pick or was Kevin King technically a second round pick first now you're either yeah why did they not have a first with Jordy they just trade back right I think so I think it was the same Kevin wasn't it yeah because they're not a Ted Ted Ted would cut off his finger before he trade you a first round pick I think now he'd trade out of the first round happily but like having it already gone for a for a player that's not Ted well that's not really anyone ones on yeah is Brett the last guy that they did this for I think it is I mean Parsons Brett Farr who else have they traded a first round draft there for sure yeah yeah it's good point so whatever we're good point are you we're already off the rails we are tight ends not Brett Farr not you know Ted Thompson today I would be a really good tight end if you wanted to play tight end though let me tell you what anyway sure let's talk about yeah class it's a really good class and into the depth I guess more than a bunch of really exciting like multiple first round options I don't know that those exist there's a dude Kenyon Sadiq Oregon is at the top first round great for me you know again like not a position of value as far as your right like corner tackle quarterback your your traditional first round positions tight ends not one of them Kenyon Sadiq gets me a first round grade for sure then the class is extremely deep after that and it's deep in a ways to where you can get specific things done they set a record this tight end class this set a record for in the number of tight ends invited to the NFL combine more tight ends invited to the combine this year than ever and you know whether you listen to Nate Tice or Robert Mays or Dane Brutler just talking about teams know they can get tight end twos that they can use in 12 personnel in like round six and seven this year that they know there's real NFL tight ends that'll help them on special teams and can be their number two at that end of the draft so very very exciting class and you know we'll talk about it but Green Bay maybe in a position to look at one of these guys types receiving types if your Packers fan you're looking maybe as a must-grade replacement Eli Stowers Vanderbilt is like that Michael Trigg Baylor is like that Max Carl is like that Texas's Jack Endres is like that they talk about the Hauses that could give him that blocking tight end talking about Eli Rariden one of my guys I like him out of Notre Dame Justin Jolly or Jolie I think you think he's a Houston kid Miles Kitzelman another big big man and then you got your freak shows in Wyoming's John Michael Gillenborg and Houston's Tanner Cozy all I think he was a badger at some point but just like super alien athletes that maybe aren't very good yet and you know those are always fun to draft a tight end because sometimes they work out really really well too my favorite guys I like cozy all I like Rariden I like Trigg and then I really like Siddiq and that's that I know that that's like a low hanging fruit but I think he's gonna be a dude like a legitimate you know one of these guys depending on the situation of course but you know one of the guys that you draft in fantasy football I think he's going to be one of those tight ends that's not that's not just another tight end I think someone will and should make him the focal point of their offense or maybe not the focal point but but maybe a 1b I mean somebody that you actually run offense for and who is not an outlet I think Siddiq is that good who are some of your favorite guys yeah I mean like you said this is a really really deep year for for the tight end class and tight the tight end position is I think the hardest to scout because the like the hash marks are different in from college to football and like you think like why is that important for these guys it is and it's tough like today I threw out a name and people are like well he didn't produce in college I don't care really like I really don't like I want to watch a guy on film that just moves different because I think a lot of that stuff you can teach right I think personally I think the Packers need and are looking for kind of that tight end to in a in a sense that when he's on the field it is not a tell what they're doing and I love Luke Musgrave I think I think Luke Musgrave can still be a really good football player in this week I I think with the emergence of Tucker Crafts those it's probably not going to be in Green Bay and so I think they're going to look more for a guy that fits into like that tight end to type role with a clear cut guy at one and so two guys that I really like you mentioned one of them already but I'll talk about a couple more so Sam Rausch um big kid like almost 270 pounds um nine plus RAS type athlete and and he's a guy that people looked at will look at and say well he you know he wasn't a super productive uh receiving tight end at at Stanford well Stanford runs like that slow mesh offense where it's really stuff stuff to watch these pass catchers generally and I just think he is a guy I mean you're looking at so 267994 RAS like he is a guy you turn the film on you're saying that guy moves different um you're not athletic guys from Stanford for tight end is like yeah they they usually don't suck you know yeah and so and the thing is like you're probably not looking for a guy that's going to come in and be like Tucker Craft you are looking for that guy that can come in and do a little bit of everything I think he's a really good football player I think his blocking is really good already I think he has the size and athleticism to do a lot of things for this team and then a guy that you talked about already is John Michael Gilenburg for out of Wyoming fun story about him he did not play football until his senior year of high school RAS he had a scholarship offer from Wyoming after his third game three games D1 program D1 program it might it might have been Tim it might have been that would be actually really interesting thing to ask him but three games in they just say hey let's get on this guy before someone else does we've seen enough um and you look at him he's the same you know same thing like bigger guys like he's in that 250 plus range which mind you there's not a lot of guys in this here's draft class that are in that 250 plus range there's a lot of guys in the low 240s smaller type guys that are more of your like hey move side and or guys that just you know they shed 1015 pounds so they could test really well like that's yeah that and which just adds to another reason why this position is is tough to scout some of these guys are coming out there and running and doing their drills not at a weight they play at so I appreciate the guys that do this at 250 plus and if you purchase the Green Bay draft guide powered by Packer Report you can see who all those guys are that fit all the Packers standards and you know weight all that stuff so and I just listed two of them two guys that are going to be very high on Korean based lists in terms of like thresholds and things that they typically like two other guys that I think are really interesting in this year's draft class that maybe aren't necessarily like Packers types but they are just like just interesting players I talked about this guy on the running back episode but he is also listed at tight end and that is Max Braydison plays full back tight end H back type I think that could be an interesting guy I won't go in and get into that too much for the for the everyday errors we already talked about him quite a bit but just the guy that I think Matt LaFleur would appreciate and has rostered in the past I think he's someone to keep an eye on and then another guy his name is Seyduk Trey Oree and he is a Frenchman and played basketball at Utah and then transferred to Mississippi State where he is learning how to play the tight end position he is a smaller I mean he's only like 235 right now I think he's basketball listed way it was like 215 220 so he's already packed on some pounds how much more can he do I don't know but obviously there are guys in the NFL that have a basketball background if he does make it in the NFL and become a good player they will say that every single time he catches a pass that he played basketball in college but those guys tend to do well in the NFL so he's an interesting name you know probably a UDFA the late day three type guy but someone that I think is an interesting name but those are some of my guys that I think I either I well not that I think that I know I either really like or I think are really interesting for the Packers yeah and and I'll get into the Packers part of it right um number one what is their need at the position I think it exists right Musgrave might not be back and then I think every other I think it's a very similar situation to the tail end of the running backroom the guys that aren't craft and Musgrave are fine they're useful enough but they're all guys that can be interchanged practice what call up call down like you know Josh Wiley is kind of interesting right but you can find another guy kind of like Josh Wiley that's kind of interesting and they're nothing to him the tight end 3 4 5 on the roster Messiah Swinson you go up like it's just it is what it is the the exciting stuff is craft and Musgrave and and that's it and some people aren't excited about Musgrave anymore um you know so what what do you as opposed to because because tight end is really from my perspective you know and this is terrible scouting but it's it's similar to Edge rusher in that if you just took the highest relative athletic scores against the highest consensus rank and you just drafted those guys like filtered the consensus ranks by athleticism you would have a nice hit rate on tight ends and ed rushers you just would like it's a freaks position past rushes and tight ended Tucker craft freak absolute stone cold freak every guy look I mean you talk about okay name name a hall of fame yeah yeah freak yeah you freak Gonzalez yeah bronc freak like there's not really a guy that you look at and you're like oh well he was just and not just like oh he's a good athlete as a human being no he's a 90th plus percentile athlete for the tight end position and so it's it's a freaks position and and not to give away too much in the guy like there's a lot of positions that we have several things that they need to hit the tight end position is not really one of them we kind of lean into that where it's like hey you need to be a really really good athlete the Packers have 10 to like guys that are a little bit more like with the higher density and then like age be a younger prospect because yeah I think they want to teach you and I think tight end is a position that it takes a while to figure out how to do this thing and then a person and by the time you learn how to do it they'd prefer you be 2526 then 2930 and so especially if they want to give you a second contract yeah absolutely and so I think those really are the two things to keep an eye on and like as much as I hate to say it because I I am very much a watch the film guy first tight end is not really one of those spots it's a spreadsheet position I'm with you I'm with you yeah and so I think some of the guys that we just listed you might go watch the film and be like why is he in your top 100 well yeah because he's big and athletic and I know that's it makes me sound like nerds but like you said it spreadsheet position absolutely all right last thing do they take one before the sixth round I think the case for this is you're taking the 2027 tight end to this year that like that's that's that's the case for it now we've mentioned you know the holy positions offensive line defensive line corner nose tackle you know or or or you could throw receiver in there if you're looking to trade wicks because of how many guys are on expiring contracts tight end you know again falls maybe not in that that that big deal but gun to your head do they take one before the sixth round I think they do just because you look at the way Goody has drafted in the past and he tends to attack the strength of drafts and the tight end is one of probably the top three or four positions in this year's draft class I think you know another another fold of that too is you look at last year with the interior defensive line group who you know that was a really really deep group as well and ran away from him and it did and also in your round six and you're looking around saying you know doing the John Travolta gift like yeah what's here and obviously they draft Brinson in round six probably would go higher in most years draft classes but they probably would have like to take one sooner and even so like maybe maybe doesn't fall that way that's the other thing you know it's it's a crapshoot and you don't really know who's going to be on the board when you're picking you have an idea but sometimes things get away from you but I do think they take one before round six especially because I'm praying and hoping they actually value the special teams unit this year and and tight ends are typically guys that you know can really strengthen a special teams unit so I do think they take one before round six yeah I'm interested I mean if it's me and I'm hearing hey you can get a real tight end in round six or seven then I'm taking a real tight end in round six or seven and I'm I'm doubling it but cornerback or I'm I'm I'm taking you know one nose tackle and then one disruptive tackle or you know I'm I'm taking a wide receiver right I'm using that luxury pick something like that so I'll say no you said yes that's all right for myself Ross Uglum and for Jacob Morley please buy the draft guide please subscribe to this your youtube channel and or podcast if you are just listening have a wonderful rest of your week and go pack go oh