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10 tight ends to know ahead of the 2025 NFL Draft

2T41BPB Michigan tight end Colston Loveland reacts after scoring during an NCAA college football game against Michigan State, Saturday, Oct. 21, 2023, in East Lansing, Mich. (AP Photo/Al Goldis)

By Max Chadwick

• Colston Loveland is the early TE1: The Michigan tight end is currently a projected first-rounder in 2025. 

• Many tight ends looking to bounce back from injury: Four tight ends on this list suffered season-ending injuries in 2023. 

• The 2025 NFL Draft starts now: Try PFF's Mock Draft Simulator — trade picks and players and mock for your favorite NFL team.

Estimated reading time: 6 minutes

The greatest tight end in college football history, Brock Bowers, was selected by the Las Vegas Raiders with the No. 13 pick in the 2024 NFL Draft. 

While there aren’t any tight ends in 2025 who’ll achieve GOAT status, it’s still a very strong position in the class. Here are the 10 tight ends to know as we head into summer scouting for the 2025 NFL Draft.

(Please note: This isn’t necessarily a ranking of the top-10 prospects, rather a watch list.)

Check out our other 2025 NFL Draft summer watch list positional lists

QB | RB | WR

Colston Loveland, Michigan

Loveland became one of the best tight ends college football had to offer as a sophomore this past season. He was the fourth-most valuable FBS tight end according to our wins above average metric and was fifth in receiving yards (649). 

Loveland is an elite athlete at 6-foot-5, 245 pounds, performing well in PFF’s Game Athleticism Score. That absurd movement ability makes him nearly unguardable. His 88.7% open-target rate in 2023 placed him in the 95th percentile for FBS tight ends. He’s a below-average run-blocker, but his receiving ability and athleticism could have him selected in the first round next April. 

Mitchell Evans, Notre Dame

Evans was playing like one of the best tight ends in the country before a torn ACL ended his season after just eight games. Before going down though, his 422 receiving yards stood fourth among all tight ends in the nation. Evans’ 10 forced missed tackles in that span trailed only Brock Bowers among FBS tight ends as well. 

He particularly excelled at finding the soft spots in zone coverage. The junior’s 97.3 receiving grade against zone/underneath/top coverage was in the 96th percentile for all tight ends in the country. He’s an above-average athlete at 6-foot-5, 251 pounds who’s capable of making some absurd concentration grabs.

Luke Lachey, Iowa

Lachey is the next-in-line to the Iowa tight end dynasty, following past greats like George Kittle, T.J. Hockenson, Noah Fant and Sam LaPorta. Despite sitting behind LaPorta on the depth chart in 2022, Lachey was still 12th among Power Five tight ends with a 77.7 receiving grade while placing 14th with 22 receptions that went for a first down or touchdown. The then-redshirt sophomore finished the season as one of the 20 most valuable tight ends in the nation according to PFF’s wins above average metric.

His 2023 campaign ended after just three games due to an ankle injury. He’ll try to bounce back in his fifth season and has elite athleticism. In 2022, he posted an impressive PFF GAS score for tight ends.

Brant Kuithe, Utah

Kuithe missed the entire 2023 season and all but four games in 2022 after tearing his right ACL and meniscus against Arizona. While he’s been mostly absent for the last two years, Kuithe still deserves a high ranking on this list for what he did in the three seasons prior. 

He was named to PFF’s All-Pac 12 team every year from 2019-2021 and was a third-team All-American as a sophomore in 2019. He led all FBS tight ends in those three years with 31 forced missed tackles while having the fifth-most receiving yards (1,449). While not the biggest (6-foot-2, 229 pounds), he makes up for it with his elite movement ability.

Caden Prieskorn, Ole Miss

Prieskorn missed the first three games of the 2023 season with a knee injury. Once he returned, the Memphis transfer showed why he was so highly coveted in the portal. From Week 4 on, Prieskorn’s 449 receiving yards were the ninth-most among all tight ends in the country. Since 2022, his 1,051 receiving yards and 527 yards after the catch are each fourth among FBS tight ends.

Prieskorn is capable of making some outstanding catches, hauling in 70% of his contested targets over the last two years. 

Benjamin Yurosek, Georgia

Yurosek had a disappointing last couple of seasons at Stanford. In 2022, his receiving grade dropped by nearly 15 points compared to what it was the year prior (65.5 compared to 79.9). In 2023, he missed the final six games of the season with a shoulder injury. 

He deserves a high placement on this list for what he accomplished as a sophomore. In 2021, he was named first-team All-Pac-12 by PFF and was fourth among Power Five tight ends that year with 335 yards after the catch. Despite a lackluster last couple of seasons, Yurosek’s 1,338 receiving yards since 2021 still lead all returning tight ends in college football. The only three who had more in that stretch were Brock Bowers, Michael Mayer and Dalton Kincaid. Expect a bounce-back campaign this year, especially considering he goes from one of the worst quarterback situations in the Power Five to the best quarterback in the nation (Carson Beck).

Oscar Delp, Georgia

Even after losing Brock Bowers, the greatest tight end in college football history, Georgia has a couple of very intriguing tight end prospects for the 2025 draft. Delp is an elite athlete at 6-foot-5, 245 pounds. He was one of 12 FBS tight ends to hit 20 miles per hour multiple times last year despite serving as Georgia’s backup tight end. 

That athletic ability allowed him to get open on 96.6% of his targets which was in the 99th percentile for FBS tight ends. He and Yurosek should form the most formidable tight end duo in the nation.

Jack Velling, Michigan State

Velling is following head coach Jonathan Smith from Oregon State to Michigan State. No tight end in college football found paydirt more than he did this past season, tying for the national lead with eight receiving touchdowns. Velling was also eighth among Power Five tight ends with 13 catches that went for 15-plus yards in 2023.

He’s a great athlete but needs to get stronger at the catch point, catching only 33% of his contested targets this past season.

Bryson Nesbit, North Carolina

Nesbit blurs the line between wide receiver and tight end, spending the vast majority of his snaps in the slot for North Carolina. Regardless of what he’s listed as, he’s still one of the top returning pass-catchers in the nation. 

The junior’s 1,092 receiving yards over the last two years lead all returning tight ends in college football. His 32 catches of 15-plus yards in that span trail only Brock Bowers and Ja’Tavion Sanders among Power Five tight ends. While he’s more of a slot receiver than an in-line tight end, Nesbit is still a matchup nightmare in the ACC. 

Amari Niblack, Texas

Niblack’s athleticism jumps off the tape. While at Alabama this past season, he scored an outstanding PFF’s Game Athleticism Score. That speed is evidenced by the fact that 11 of his 20 catches went for 15-plus yards this past season. 

Niblack needs to get bigger (231 pounds), but he’s only beginning to unlock his potential. Expect a jump as a junior as he replaces Ja’Tavion Sanders at Texas.

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