2018 NFL Draft – Tight End

Complete NFL Draft Rankings – TE:

You are currently viewing the 103 best tight ends in the 2018 NFL Draft. Our top tight end prospects are selected after thousands of hours carefully scouting the best blockers and receivers in college football. Even though only about a dozen will get selected in the draft, about 20 more are signed as free agents, and many more receive a training camp invite. Find who is a first round talent, and who is likely nothing more than a training camp body. Find draft sleepers, draft stars, who will be a bust, and who is being undervalued.

BNB Football is the best place for in-depth analysis of 2018 tight end prospects at all levels of college football. To view other positions, follow the links below.

(Last Updated: April 26, 2018)

2018:  | QB | WR | RB | FB | TE | OT | G | C | DT | DE | OLB | ILB | S | CB | K | P | LS | OVERALL |

Dallas Goedert has prototypical size for an NFL tight end at 6’5" 256 pounds. He eclipsed 1,000 receiving yards each of the past two seasons which is incredibly rare for a tight end, and has made some astounding catches throughout his career. Goedert has a huge catch radius thanks to his height, arm length, vertical, and ability to make one handed catches. He was also a very solid blocker when asked to block at SDSU, but hasn’t needed to block many high caliber players. He has good technique as a blocker, and if he can translate that to the NFL, he’ll be a great two-way threat at tight end.

2017 Stats

14 games played, 1111 receiving yards, 7 receiving touchdowns, accounted for 30.3% of team’s receiving yardage.

Mike Gesicki is a freak athlete who started to translate that to production over the last two years. Of the 14 TE/FB at the combine, Gesicki had the fastest 40 time (4.54), the highest vertical (41.5"), the biggest broad jump (129"), the fastest cone drill (6.76), and the fastest 20 and 60 yard shuttles. The only measurable that he didn’t lead was bench reps, where he was 2nd among tight ends (22; behind only Goedert with 23). All this at 6’5" 247 pounds. He also has great hands and a wide route tree. These are all-pro traits, but there’s one glaring problem: He can’t block. If he gets tougher, he has a very high ceiling.

2017 Stats

13 games played, 563 receiving yards, 9 receiving touchdowns, accounted for 14.9% of team’s receiving yardage.

Mark Andrews burst on to the scene as a redshirt freshman at OU, and continued to get more involved each year. He averaged 15.8 yards per catch in his career which is very high for a tight end, especially considering he doesn’t have top end speed necessary for deep routes. He has great body control and positioning as a receiver, and is a natural red zone threat. He’s got enough size to be a reliable blocker (6’5" 256 pounds) but hasn’t shown much blocking ability, as he’s more of a wide receiver out of the slot. His high football IQ will help him as a receiving tight end, and might learn to block with good coaching.

2017 Stats

14 games played, 958 receiving yards, 8 receiving touchdowns, accounted for 18.9% of team’s receiving yardage.

Hayden Hurst has the toughness that many coaches love out of the tight end position. Although he was mostly a receiving tight end at South Carolina, he invites contact and is a willing blocker. His route running isn’t very well defined, but he has good hands and is able to make highly contested catches. Hurst’s athleticism help him run deeper routes than most tight ends. The biggest worry for Hurst is that he will be 25 in August. He’s much more physically mature than these other tight ends, which means they could develop into just as tough of blockers by the time they’re his age. He’s the most NFL ready, but doesn’t have nearly as high of a ceiling.

2017 Stats

13 games played, 559 receiving yards, 2 receiving touchdowns, accounted for 20.0% of team’s receiving yardage.

Ian Thomas looks the part of an NFL tight end, measuring 6’4" and 259 pounds. He has the strongest lower body of all the top tight end prospects this year, which helps him as a blocker. His technique as a blocker is pretty poor, but he is a very hard worker and should be able to improve in this regard with willing coaches. Thomas is improving as a pass catcher as well, and has enough athleticism to be dangerous. In both the blocking and receiving game, Thomas has a lot of potential but needs some coaching. Where he ends up is critical to his career development.

2017 Stats

10 games played, 376 receiving yards, 5 receiving touchdowns, accounted for 11.8% of team’s receiving yardage.

Complete draft rankings for 2018 – TE

WordPress Tables

2018:  | QB | WR | RB | FB | TE | OT | G | C | DT | DE | OLB | ILB | S | CB | K | P | LS | OVERALL |