• Brock Bowers remains at the top: As one of the greatest tight end prospects ever, the Georgia superstar would still be the nation's top tight end prospect even if everyone in college football was eligible.
• Colston Loveland is second: The rising junior is right behind Bowers and could be a first-round pick in the 2025 NFL Draft.
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The NFL is unique to other sports leagues in that players cannot enter it until they are three years removed from high school.
What if that rule changed and players could enter the draft after playing just one year of college football? Here’s how the top 10 tight end prospects would shake out for the 2024 NFL Draft if everybody in college football was eligible to be selected.
Editor's note: Only players eligible for the 2024, 2025 and 2026 NFL Drafts were considered. Incoming true freshmen were not eligible.
Click below to view other positions:
1. Brock Bowers, Georgia, 2024
As the greatest tight end in college football history, Bowers is the clear choice to top this list. He may even be the greatest tight end prospect in NFL draft history.
The three-time All-American and two-time John Mackey Award winner has no glaring weaknesses in his game, outside of his below-average size for the position. He’s a versatile chess piece with elite after-the-catch ability and strong hands, bringing reliable blocking to boot.
Brock Bowers Auburn Highlights pic.twitter.com/tyTMmv7SFo
— Colton Denning (@Dubsco) September 30, 2023
2. Colston Loveland, Michigan, 2025
Loveland went from a promising freshman to one of the nation’s best tight ends as a sophomore. He finished as the fourth-most valuable FBS tight end this past season, according to PFF’s wins above average metric, and ranked fifth in receiving yards (649).
Loveland’s elite athleticism at 6-foot-5 and 245 pounds makes him nearly unguardable. His 88.7% open-target rate in 2023 placed him in the 97th percentile among all tight ends in college football. Expect him to be a projected first-round pick in the 2025 NFL Draft.
Throwback to Colston Loveland’s crazy catch against Purdue in the Big Ten Championship last year ????
— JD 〽️ (@MGoJDBlue) November 2, 2023
3. Ja’Tavion Sanders, Texas, 2024
Sanders is a jumbo receiver at 6-foot-4 and 245 pounds. His explosive movement ability at that size makes him a mismatch for linebackers. His 78% separation rate since 2022 places him in the 86th percentile among tight ends.
Ja'Tavion Sanders is a fun H-back/big slot who brings speed and a solid frame to the middle of the field, where he does a nice job making himself friendly vs zone
Best traits are his ball skills and tougness to make catches in traffic, and he shows good effort as a blocker https://t.co/0DbDOA8KhM pic.twitter.com/r0cqH36Pfn
— Taylor Kyles (@tkyles39) March 22, 2024
4. Mitchell Evans, Notre Dame, 2025
Evans was playing like one of the best tight ends in the country before a torn ACL ended his 2023 season after just eight games. Before he went down, his 422 receiving yards ranked fourth among all tight ends in college football. The only ones with more were Dallin Holker, Brock Bowers and Cade Stover — all among the top seven tight end prospects on PFF’s 2024 NFL Draft big board. Evans’ 10 forced missed tackles in that span trailed only Bowers among FBS tight ends.
The junior finished 2023 with an 83.7 receiving grade, which placed him seventh at the position. He excelled at finding the soft spots against zone coverage, earning a 97.3 receiving grade against zone/underneath/top coverage to rank in the 96th percentile. As long as he can find his pre-injury form, Evans should be the ultimate security blanket for new Notre Dame quarterback Riley Leonard next year.
Mitchell Evans you dirty dawg. pic.twitter.com/UHMiqfXrI5
— Bennett Wise WSBT (@BennettWiseWSBT) September 23, 2023
5. Cade Stover, Ohio State, 2024
Stover is an athletic, fundamentally sound tight end. He blocks well, ranking in the 80th percentile at the position in positively graded run-blocking rate since 2022. He dropped only two of his 100 targets over the past two seasons, too, bringing a high floor as a top 2024 NFL Draft tight end prospect.
Posting one Ohio State highlight every day until Ohio State football is back: On the road in 2022, Ohio State storms back in the 4th quarter and begins to pull away with a Cade Stover 24-yard touchdown catch where he bullied his way for 6. pic.twitter.com/jbANAcWFBM
— JR’s Rankings 🌰🅾️⭕️ (@jrs_rankings) April 27, 2023
6. Ben Sinnott, Kansas State, 2024
Sinnott is an elite athlete, testing in the 97th percentile of tight ends, according to Kent Lee Platte’s Relative Athletic Score. The former walk-on was a PFF second-team All-American this past season, and his 167 receiving yards after contact trailed only Brock Bowers among Power Five tight ends. Like Bowers, Sinnott can line up anywhere on the field and succeed.
Ben Sinnott (@ben_sinnott) is both a productive TE and impactful lead blocker for @KStateFB using play strength, toughness, and leg drive to create plays through the air and clear paths on the ground
Unique athlete (🏒🎾⛳️) w/ unique alignments and versatility #ShrineBowl1000 https://t.co/tcZlyruErV pic.twitter.com/cg6IO9dlfb
— Shane Coughlin (@Shane__Coughlin) July 19, 2023
7. Jack Velling, Michigan State, 2025
Velling is following head coach Jonathan Smith from Oregon State to Michigan State. No tight end in college football found paydirt more often than Veiling in 2023, tying for the national lead with eight receiving touchdowns. His 13 catches of 15-plus yards last season ranked eighth among Power Five tight ends.
The record-breaker for Jack Velling pic.twitter.com/F4TBHcJMf9
— T.J. Mathewson (@tjmathewson) October 29, 2023
8. Benjamin Yurosek, Georgia, 2025
Yurosek's 2022 receiving grade at Stanford dropped by nearly 15 points from the year prior (79.9 to 65.5), and he missed the final six games of the 2023 season with a shoulder injury.
However, he deserves a spot on this list for what he accomplished as a sophomore. In 2021, he was named a PFF first-team All-Pac-12 honoree and ranked fourth among Power Five tight ends with 335 yards after the catch. Despite a lackluster past couple of seasons, Yurosek has racked up 1,338 receiving yards since 2021 to lead all returning tight ends in college football. The only three with more in that stretch are Brock Bowers, Michael Mayer and Dalton Kincaid. After dealing with one of the worst quarterback situations at Stanford, Yurosek will be catching passes from the top returning signal-caller in the nation next year, Carson Beck.
#Stanford TE Benjamin Yurosek showing off his field stretching ability tonight against Hawai’i, something that’s flashed over the last two years.
pic.twitter.com/uVHKV2Vtxt https://t.co/74CHOUbPIO
— Devin Jackson (@RealD_Jackson) September 2, 2023
9. Caden Prieskorn, Ole Miss, 2025
Prieskorn missed the first three games of the 2023 season with a knee injury, but the Memphis transfer eventually 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 college football. His 1,051 receiving yards and 527 yards after the catch since 2022 both rank fourth among FBS tight ends.
He saved his best play for the Peach Bowl against No. 10 Penn State, catching 10 of his 11 targets for 136 yards and two touchdowns in the Rebels’ victory.
Incredible snag by Ole Miss’ Caden Prieskorn in the Peach Bowl.
The Memphis transfer is returning to school and a TE to watch for the 2025 NFL Draft. pic.twitter.com/1H8OfurfpP
— Seven Rounds in Heaven (@7RoundsInHeaven) December 30, 2023
10. Theo Johnson, Penn State, 2024
Johnson is a rare athlete, testing above the 99th percentile in Kent Lee Platte’s Relative Athletic Score. Those freakish tools make him a dangerous vertical threat. His seven receiving touchdowns in 2023 tied for third among all tight ends in college football. He is also a very capable blocker at that size. Johnson is still a developmental player but has a high ceiling.
In a class without a lot of tight end talent, Penn State's Theo Johnson could be a steal. Such a fluid athlete pic.twitter.com/F29pYI1uSX
— Joe DeLeone (@joedeleone) March 21, 2024
2026 Prospect to Know: Benjamin Brahmer, Iowa State
Brahmer displayed a very well-rounded game in his first college season. The former three-star recruit led all true freshman tight ends in receiving yards (352) this past season. His 68.4 run-blocking grade placed 11th among Power Five tight ends. Brahmer presents a massive target to throw to at 6-foot-7 and is an intriguing prospect to follow for the next couple of seasons.
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