Football With Chaw

Taylor Czajkowski (Chaw)

The NFL is having a crisis at the tight end position, and we should be talking about it more. Despite five tight ends drafted in the first two rounds of the 2025 NFL Draft, there is a severe lack of blocking ability among draft eligible tight ends. On top of that, guys aren’t getting enough playing time early in college leading to one-year breakout candidates that still need NFL development. Guys like Brock Bowers, Colston Loveland and Tyler Warren aren’t coming around every year and even the established elite-level tight ends like Travis Kelce, Trey McBride and George Kittle weren’t first round picks. I would say, as of now, the top tight ends in the 2026 NFL Draft class aren’t on the same level as any of the aforementioned players and will not help solve the league-wide crisis. I only have one first round grade, and you can see from the thumbnail it’s Jack Endries. The crazy eyes just match so perfectly.

note: these are the only 10 TEs I’ve summer scouted, I’ll drop some names I’ll be watching next down below. You can also watch our review of these TEs on the Draft Professors Podcast!

This might be the best pure athlete in the entire tight end class. Sadiq’s movement skills immediately jump off the screen. Did you see him hurdle that guy in the Penn State?? For all his explosiveness, I actually like his blocking ability when he’s locked in, but there’s still work to be done in the run game to clean up his technique and consistency. The biggest question mark is the production, which is on the smaller side, making him more of a traits-based projection at this point. With his athletic ceiling and flashes as a blocker, he’s the type of tight end NFL teams will be eager to develop.

PROJECTION: ROUND 2 PICK

Velling is a tight end who, at times, can create lanes in the run game and move the chains as a reliable underneath option. He’s got a nice tempo to his routes, keeping defenders off balance, but he’s not overly athletic and doesn’t profile as a red zone threat. The lack of lower-body mass shows up on tape, both in his play strength and in how he holds up against physical defenders. His hands are serviceable but not a real strength, and his run blocking could definitely improve with better technique and added strength. Overall, he’s a steady role player who can help keep drives alive but may be limited in how much he impacts an NFL passing attack.

PROJECTION: ROUND 4-5 PICK