2024 NFL Draft TE rankings: Historic prospect Brock Bowers leads top 10

A perfect storm of talent and need led to an unprecedented six tight ends being selected over the first two rounds of last year’s NFL draft.

As crazy as it sounds, this year’s class may prove even better.

It certainly boasts a more special prospect at the top of the draft in Georgia’s Brock Bowers — a rare three-time All-American widely projected to be a Top 10 selection. And this year’s class is much more than just Bowers, with a handful of ascending matchup nightmares well-suited to modern NFL offenses likely to be available throughout Day 2.

Clubs looking for full-service tight ends capable of holding point at the line of scrimmage, however, might be best served waiting until the later rounds.

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1. Brock Bowers, Georgia: 6-4, 240, Junior

Overview: It isn’t often that a tight end ranks as one of the elite prospects in a given draft, but Bowers is an exceptional case. The Napa, CA native traveled across the country to sign with Georgia and has dominated the SEC ever since, becoming a three-time All-American and the first back-to-back winner in the history of the John Mackey Award as the nation’s top tight end. Bowers’ three seasons in Athens read like something out of Greek mythology, with a nearly Herculean 175 receptions for 2,538 yards and 26 touchdowns in just 35 games — alongside another 193 yards and five scores as a runner.

Strengths

• Rare agility for the tight end position, side-stepping and outrunning would-be tacklers like a receiver 30 to 40 pounds lighter.
• Excellent balance through contact and instant acceleration to turn short catches into long gains.
• Corrals and controls the football easily, including through contact.
• Savvy and reliable route-runner who beats opponents with his athleticism, as well as attention to detail, using shoulder-fakes and altered gaits to easily gain separation at the stem.
• Proven red-zone star with a nose for the end zone and a ballerina’s balance to tightrope the sideline.
• Bowers showed toughness, resiliency and a team-first mentality with a quick return from “TightRope” surgery to repair a high ankle sprain in 2023, returning in 26 days from an injury once thought likely to knock him out for the remainder of the 2023 season.

Concerns

• Lacks ideal bulk for the position, raising concerns for some about his long-term durability.
• NFL doctors will closely inspect Bowers’ ankle during medical evaluations at the combine.
• Reliant on his quickness and technique on inline blocking duties.

Summary: It is easy to venture into hyperbole with a pro-ready prospect like Bowers, but he is one of the very few players I’ve ever evaluated who I believe could have been productive in the NFL right out of high school. Simply put, Bowers is the best tight end I’ve ever seen at the college level. If he makes it out of the top 10 it will be because NFL teams worry that the punishment he’s already absorbed at Georgia could cap his pro future. Otherwise, a very real argument can be made that Bowers is the best pound-for-pound player in this class.

Grade: Top five

2. Ja’Tavion Sanders, Texas: 6-4, 243, Junior

Overview: Few teams pull in nationally celebrated recruits like the Longhorns but Texas didn’t have to look far for this high school All-American, luring the Denton, Tex. native a few hours south to Austin. Sanders spent most of his true freshman season on special teams but has certainly lived up to the hype since, earning First Team All-Big 12 accolades from both league coaches and the media each of the past two seasons and leaves Texas as the program’s all-time leading receiver among tight ends with 99 grabs, generating 1,295 yards and seven scores over the past 27 games.

Strengths

• Possesses an athletic, well-built frame, including long arms and soft hands.
• Explodes off the line of scrimmage when not checked and shows rare breakaway speed for the position.
• Tracks the ball over either shoulder nicely, showing concentration and toughness to hang on even with defenders bearing down on him.
• Can big-boy defensive backs with his height and leaping ability, showing impressive body control to make twirling grabs.
• A legitimate threat after the catch, showing elusiveness, speed and even an occasional stiff-arm to maximize his playmaking opportunities.
• Among the youngest players in this draft class, Sanders won’t turn 21 until March 27.

Concerns

• Lacks the bulk to help much as an in-line blocker and shows just average technique and power in this role.
• Too often is late off the snap as a run blocker and comes off the ball with high pad level, negating his own strength.
• Has room to add more mass to his frame but it may cause him to lose some of his trademark suddenness.

Summary: In the long and storied history of Texas football, only once has a tight end earned a top-50 selection in the NFL draft and that came back in 1982 when the Philadelphia Eagles selected Lawrence Sampleton 47th overall. Sanders lacks the aforementioned Bowers’ buzz but he’s a legitimate mismatch monster in his own right who appears to be just scratching the surface of his ability.

Grade: First-to-second round

3. Cade Stover, Ohio State: 6-4, 251, Redshirt Senior

Overview: Stover signed with the Buckeyes amid great fanfare after being voted Ohio’s 2018-19 Gatorade Player of the Year while starring at both safety (163 tackles and four interceptions) and running back (1,477 rushing yards and 17 touchdowns). He played in four games (mostly special teams) as a true freshman defensive end before redshirting and started at linebacker against Utah in the Rose Bowl to cap the 2020 season. He moonlighted at tight end in 2020 and 2021 before switching to the position permanently in 2022, hauling in 36 passes for 406 yards and five touchdowns – the most from a Buckeyes tight end in 11 years. Stover duplicated his scoring total in 2023, while hauling in 41 passes for 576 yards, getting recognized as the Big Ten’s Kwalick-Clark Tight End of the Year after the season.

Strengths

• Look the part of an NFL athlete with broad shoulders and defined musculature.
• Coordinated athlete with above-average quickness, balance and acceleration for the position.
• Catches the ball cleanly, showing strong, natural hands and impressive concentration to make tough grabs in traffic.
• Quality all-around player who played in 46 games at Ohio State (40 at TE, four at DE and two at LB).
• Battle-tested three-year starter on special teams, including on the punt return and field-goal units in 2023.
• Athletic bloodlines with father (Trevor) and mother (Chelsi) playing tight end and running track, respectively, at Bowling Green.

Concerns

• Feasted on single coverage while surrounded by a loaded group of fellow pass-catchers.
• Just an average blocker at this time, lacking the anticipation to hit moving targets and needing improved hand placement and leg drive to sustain

Summary: Stover didn’t put up eye-popping statistics at Ohio State but given all the talent there, that should surprise no one. His tape, however, is full of impressive plays, suggesting that Stover, a two-time team captain, would have been much more productive had the Buckeyes featured him. I see an ascending player who may enjoy more statistical success in the NFL than he ever did in college. 

Grade: Second round

4. Ben Sinnott, Kansas State: 6-4, 245, Junior

Overview: With all due respect to Bowers, the unquestioned lead “Dawg” at tight end this year, no one in college football played the position any better in 2023 than the Wildcats’ Sinnott, an All-American who caught more passes (49) for more yards (676) and touchdowns (six) than any tight end in KSU history. The Iowa native capped his college career in fine fashion, putting on a spectacular performance against Iowa State in the snow (10 catches for 136 yards and a touchdown), albeit in a losing effort. Sinnott was dominant at times in 2023 and nearly as good a year earlier, earning the first of consecutive First Team All-Big 12 honors with 31 grabs for 447 yards and four scores in 2022. 

Strengths

• Quality athlete, showing quickness, smooth acceleration and balance while changing direction.
• Strong, secure hands with impressive flexibility and concentration to secure difficult grabs.
• Bowling ball after the catch, bouncing through and off would-be tacklers with good balance, power and pure desire.

Concerns

• Lacks the ideal bulk and strength to compete as an in-line blocker in the NFL.
• While Sinnott’s competitiveness is admirable, frankly, he has to learn when to get down, exposing his body and the ball to unnecessary risk by fighting through the echo of the whistle.
• Minimal special-teams experience.

Summary: More of an H-back than a full-service tight end, Sinnott will earn vastly different grades from teams across the league. His inability to hold up at the line of scrimmage limits his fit in some offenses but he’s an Energizer Bunny as a pass-catcher, inspiring teammates with difficult grabs and rumbles after the catch. 

Grade: Second-to-third round

5. Jaheim Bell, Florida State: 6-3, 239, Redshirt Junior

Overview: A celebrated prep whose ability as a receiver, runner and returner earned him scholarship offers from programs throughout the SEC and ACC, Bell signed with South Carolina in 2020, hauling in 56 passes for 757 yards and seven touchdowns in three seasons, with another 301 yards and three scores on the ground. Citing South Carolina’s revolving door at offensive coordinator and quarterback, Bell entered the transfer portal and was wooed by programs all over the country before 2023, turning down the USC Trojans and several others to be closer to family in his native state, setting career-highs with receptions (39) and receiving yards (503) with three scores, including one as a rusher. 

Strengths

• Compact frame with good weight distribution.
• Accelerates smoothly and possesses good lateral agility and balance to bounce off contact with short, choppy steps that defenders have a hard time gauging.
• Good vision and creativity in the open field, following blocks and cutting against the grain.
• Flashes the ability to make difficult, twirling grabs.
• Willing to block for teammates, showing the ability to adjust to moving targets and good physicality, overall.

Concerns: 

• Highly inconsistent, including as a receiver, with too many drops of catchable balls.
• Accelerates smoothly but is too often late off the snap and lacks the extra gear to pull away.
• Below-average size for the position, projecting more as an H-back than a traditional TE.

Summary: A more gifted than polished prospect whose perceived upside is likely to intrigue scouts while his mistakes frustrate coaches, Bell is a lottery ticket. His versatility translates nicely into today’s modern NFL offenses, warranting middle-round consideration if he can convince teams during interviews that he’s committed to improving. 

Grade: Third-to-fourth round

6. Jared Wiley, TCU: 6-6, 253, Redshirt Senior

Overview: Wiley began his college career three hours south of Fort Worth in Austin, where he signed as a three-star recruit despite playing his senior season of high-school football at quarterback. While his size and athletic ability drew raves from the Longhorns’ coaching staff, Wiley struggled to turn that potential into production at UT, recording 19 catches for 248 yards and three touchdowns in as many seasons before transferring to TCU, where he enjoyed immediate success, matching his previous career numbers in 2022 (24 catches for 245 yards and four touchdowns) and helping the Horned Frogs jump to the national championship game. Expectations were high for Wiley in 2023 and he exceeded all of them, leading his team in receptions (47) and tying for the national lead in scores by a tight end (eight). 

Strengths

• Offers perhaps this class’s most unique size/speed combination.
• More flexible than many pass-catchers of his height, showing the ability to snag low and high throws without losing his momentum.
• Good initial quickness off the line of scrimmage and is a smooth accelerator with enough top-end speed to attack down the seam.
• Flashes physicality and has plenty of experience blocking at the point of attack.

Concerns

• Isn’t the bulldozer after the catch that his size suggests, struggling to break tackles and showing only average grit and leg drive.
• Similarly, while an experienced inline blocker, Wiley needs plenty of work to handle these duties in the NFL, too often coming off the snap with a high pad level, soft hands and just average strength to sustain blocks.

Summary: The NFL is all about mismatches and Wiley’s blend of size, speed and soft hands could make him quite a weapon — something that TCU head coach Sonny Dykes took full advantage of in the past two seasons in Fort Worth (12 touchdowns in 27 games). In part because he is more finesse than physical, Wiley isn’t currently the sum of all his parts. Further, his stats were bloated at the end of the year with four of his career-high eight TDs coming in the final two games. As such, some have concerns that Wiley may lack the fire to ever take full advantage of his admittedly intriguing skill set. 

Grade: Fourth round 

7. Jack Westover, Washington: 6-3, 248, Redshirt Senior

Overview: Westover took a long road to becoming an NFL prospect, focusing on basketball while playing for three different high schools in the greater Seattle area and breaking his collarbone in the second game of his senior season. He turned down scholarships to lower-level schools to walk on under then-head-coach Chris Petersen’s program, slowly worked his way into the lineup through special teams and developing a reputation as one of the Huskies’ most physical players. Westover emerged as a versatile and dependable weapon the past two years in Kalen DeBoer’s offense, hauling in 77 passes for 775 yards and five touchdowns during that time, earning Honorable Mention All-PAC-12 honors to cap his career. 

Strengths

• Soft hands to pluck passes outside of his frame with excellent body control and concentration to make late adjustments in traffic.
• Quicker than he looks, consistently gaining separation at the stem and showing the ability to make defenders miss.
• Compact athlete who doesn’t lack physicality, lowering his shoulder into contact and showing impressive balance and desire after the catch.
• Still an ascending player after focusing more on basketball as a prep

Concerns

• Lacks ideal bulk and strength to hold up as a traditional in-line blocker.
• Similarly, Westover will need work in clearing traffic at the line of scrimmage to get into his route, as much of his production at UW came from the wing or in motion.
• Can be too aggressive after the catch for his own good, putting himself and the ball in precarious positions (including a fumble vs. Arizona, 2023).

Summary: Overshadowed amidst all the flashy skill-position talent that powered the Huskies’ ride to the national championship game, Westover, a former walk-on, emerged as a human Swiss Army Knife, finishing third on the team in receptions while doubling his previous career totals with four touchdown grabs. Teams that miss out on one of the premier tight end prospects early in the draft would be wise to target Westover, a potential steal, on Day Three.  

Grade: Fourth-to-fifth round

8. Erick All, Iowa: 6-5, 250, Redshirt Senior

Overview: All’s NFL future looked certain in 2021 when he earned Honorable Mention All-Big Ten honors as a sophomore with 437 receiving yards and two touchdowns as a key member of Michigan’s pro-style offense. The past two seasons, however, were derailed by serious injuries, the first of which prompted the 2022 team captain to transfer to Iowa in 2023 for a fresh start. Before sustaining a season-ending knee injury in October, All led a Hawkeyes program well-known for producing NFL tight ends in receptions (21), receiving yards (299) and touchdown grabs (three). 

Strengths: 

• Prototypically built tight end with broad shoulders and a thick, well-muscled build.
• Legitimate NFL-caliber athlete with a good initial burst off the line and out of his breaks.
• Cagey and dependable route-runner experienced running the full route tree.
• Soft hands as well as above-average focus and toughness to haul in contested passes.
• More slippery than he looks after the catch, dipping and fighting through would-be tackles to create after the catch.

Concerns: 

• Has struggled with significant injuries over his college career, undergoing “life-changing” spinal surgery in October of 2022 and another procedure a year later to repair a torn ACL.
• More quick and composed than truly explosive.
• While a solid blocker, he isn’t the dominator at the point of attack that his size suggests.

Summary: All’s durability issues could remove him from some NFL teams’ boards entirely but he possesses undeniable talent. He might require a “redshirt” year in 2024 due to his recovery from a torn ACL but an investment made in him could pay off with All developing into a legitimate starter in the future.  

Grade: Fifth round

9. AJ Barner, Michigan: 6-2, 252, Senior

Overview: A three-year contributor voted a team captain at Indiana as a junior, Barner nevertheless opted to put his name in the transfer portal at the end of the 2022 season and moved on to Michigan, where he played in all 15 games and was named a semifinalist for the John Mackey Award for the eventual national champions. Barner caught 42 passes for 361 yards and four touchdowns in two starting seasons for the Hoosiers with another 22 grabs for a career-high 249 yards and a score for Michigan to cap his college career. 

Strengths

• A rare full-service tight end with the bulk, strength and tenacity to serve as a sixth offensive lineman.
• Crafty route-runner who slips by defenders at the line of scrimmage with varied releases and good core flexibility.
• Provides a big, broad target for his QB, shielding defenders from the ball and efficiently securing receptions.
• Wastes no time moving upfield after the catch and consistently falls forward through contact.

Concerns

• Has about as much wiggle as a semi-trailer truck, lacking agility or creativity after the catch.
• Traditional body catcher who lets too many balls into his frame with two drops charged in 2023.
• May time faster in the 40-yard dash than he plays.

Summary: Teams looking for an “old school” tight end will like Barner, as he is a jack of all trades, including on special teams. He isn’t a dynamic weapon in the passing game, however, projecting as more of a reliable backup at the next level. 

Grade: Fifth round

10. Theo Johnson, Penn State: 6-6, 260, Redshirt Junior

Overview: Few teams feature their tight ends more than Penn State, which is perhaps how James Franklin and the Nittany Lions were able to lure Johnson, a native of Windsor, Ontario (Canada) to Happy Valley. Penn State threw 16 touchdowns to their tight ends in 2023 with Johnson, a team captain, hauling in seven of them and earning Honorable Mention All-Big Ten honors. He started in all four years of his time at Penn State, leaving with 77 grabs for 938 yards and 12 scores over his college career. 

Strengths: 

• Tall, thickly built tight end with good muscle mass, including in his lower half.
• Natural pass-catcher who collects and controls the ball fluidly.
• Experienced playing in multiple alignments, including the wing, split out wide and from the traditional in-line position.
• Durable and dependable with extensive special-teams experience.

Concerns: 

• A one-speed athlete whose average initial burst won’t strike fear into NFL defenders.
• Similarly, Johnson lacks the elusiveness and physicality to consistently create after the catch.
• Given his red-zone production, Johnson shows just average spatial awareness and improvisation when the play breaks down.

Summary: Johnson’s size and soft mitts are NFL-caliber, but he isn’t a particularly flashy or physical athlete, suggesting that he may struggle to duplicate his admittedly impressive college statistics at the next level.  

Grade: Fifth-to-sixth round

Rob Rang is an NFL Draft analyst for FOX Sports. He has been covering the NFL Draft for more than 20 years, with work at FOX, Sports Illustrated, CBSSports.com, USA Today, Yahoo, NFL.com and NFLDraftScout.com, among others. He also works as a scout with the BC Lions of the Canadian Football League. Follow him on Twitter @RobRang.

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