It's been a glorious five weeks of prospect-by-position overviews. From the iffy quarterback group, to the potentially magnificent running backs, to the deep but potentially studless wide receivers, we've covered player summaries, class comparisons, and rookie draft projections. Now we reach the end, and what could be the most intriguing position in the 2025 class.
At tight end, it's rare to get more than one dynasty stud in any single year, and usually the majority of a class falls into the tier of average placeholders worth starting until another elite option arrives. This year may be a bit different, and if you're one TE away from championship contention and haven't been able to snag a veteran star, you may want to consider positioning yourself for one of these rookies. But let's not spoil the ending.
Previous Class Grades
Before we dive into the names on 2025 draft boards, let's set the scene with a quick look at recent classes.
| Class |
Notable Players |
Grade |
| 2024 |
Brock Bowers, Ben Sinnott, Ja'Tavion Sanders, Theo Johnson, |
B |
| 2023 |
Sam LaPorta, Tucker Kraft, Michael Mayer, Luke Musgrave, Brenton Strange |
B+ |
| 2022 |
Trey McBride, Cade Otton, Jake Ferguson, Isaiah Likely, Chig Okonkwo, Greg Dulcich |
A |
| 2021 |
Kyle Pitts, Pat Freiermuth, Noah Gray |
C+ |
| 2020 |
Cole Kmet, Adam Trautman, Harrison Bryant, Albert Okwuegbunam |
D |
As you can see from a pretty quick, cursory glance, it's extremely rare to find multiple top-tier tight ends in a single rookie class... heck, it's rare to find multiple, consistent TE1s in a single rookie class. There's the 2010 duo (Rob Gronkowski and Jimmy Graham), the 2013 duo (Travis Kelce and Zach Ertz), and (kind of) the 2017 class that gave us George Kittle, Evan Engram, David Njoku, and Jonnu Smith. Other than that, it's usually a game of "Find the One Stud." Also, it can be a bit difficult to grade more recent classes with finality, since tight ends are historically slower to develop than other positions (recent rookie phenoms notwithstanding).
