Dae'Quan Wright TE Ole Miss |
NFL Draft Profile & Scouting Report
| Jersey: #8 ROLE: Inline Multi-Role TE | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Last Updated: 03/23/2026 | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Draft Year: 2026 | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| FORTY time: 4.55 seconds (93%*) | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||
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| Jersey: #8 | |
| ROLE: Inline Multi-Role TE | |
| Last Updated: 03/23/2026 | |
| Draft Year: 2026 | |
| Forty time: 4.55 seconds (93%*) | |
| Overall Rating: | 81.3 / 100 | |
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| Average rating of opposition Defense player has faced | ||
| Defense Rating: |
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79% |
| Click the links below to view how player ranks vs other prospects. | ||
| QB Rating When targeted: | 128.6 | |
| Hands: |
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75% |
| Short Receiving: |
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80% |
| Intermediate Routes: |
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83% |
| Deep Threat: |
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84% |
| Blocking: |
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53% |
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DRAFT PROJECTION:
6th
Overall Rank:
#181
Position rank:
#14 (TE)
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| College Games: 47 College Snaps: 1924 | ||
ESPN RATING: 79/100
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247 RATING: 90/100
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RIVALS RATING: 5.5 (90%)
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| Player Comparison* (Similarity level) | ||
|---|---|---|
| Will Mallory - Miami |
|
83% |
| Luke Schoonmaker - Michigan |
|
81% |
| Brevin Jordan - Miami |
|
80% |
Draft Profile: Bio
Sixty catches for 1,205 yards and 14 touchdowns as a senior only told half the story for Dae'Quan Wright at Perry High School in Georgia, where he also carried the ball 32 times for 103 yards and 10 scores under head coach Kevin Smith. That dual-threat production followed a strong junior campaign of 52 receptions for 524 yards and six touchdowns, plus another 26 carries for 197 yards and three scores on the ground. He drew a mix of three- and four-star recruiting attention, with 247Sports grading him as a four-star prospect, and he ultimately signed with Virginia Tech.Wright contributed immediately in Blacksburg, catching 19 passes for 208 yards as a true freshman in 2022 before sliding into the starting lineup as a sophomore and posting 28 receptions for 366 yards across 12 games in 2023. After two productive seasons with the Hokies, he entered the transfer portal and landed at Ole Miss in January 2024, participating in spring drills before working his way into the rotation. His first year in Oxford saw him play all 13 games with six starts split between tight end and wide receiver, hauling in 27 catches for 394 yards and four touchdowns. The breakout performance came against Arkansas, where he set career highs with nine receptions for 99 yards and two touchdowns, earning a spot on PFF's SEC Team of the Week. He capped that 2024 season with a three-catch, 73-yard, one-touchdown effort in the Gator Bowl victory over Duke.
The 2025 campaign brought the full arrival. Wright was named to the Mackey Award preseason watch list and earned preseason All-SEC recognition from multiple outlets. Through a full senior season in Lane Kiffin's spread offense, he finished with 39 catches for 635 yards and five touchdowns, leading all FBS tight ends in yards per reception for a stretch of the year. He played through a significant injury during the Oklahoma game, refusing to sit out, and his production climbed in spite of an offense that by design doesn't funnel a ton of targets to the tight end position. Across four college seasons and two programs, Wright totaled 113 receptions for 1,603 yards and nine touchdowns on 169 career targets.
Scouting Report: Strengths
- Carries legit speed for a 255-pound tight end; his long speed creates vertical problems that most players at the position simply cannot replicate.
- Smooth, fluid mover who eats up ground with deceptive acceleration and transitions between gears without losing balance through his route stems.
- Catches the ball well away from his body and adjusts naturally to off-target throws, plucking passes with soft hands rather than body-catching.
- Showed real growth as a route runner at Ole Miss, sinking his hips into breaks with enough snap to create separation on curls, hitches, and crossing patterns underneath.
- Dangerous after the catch with a no-nonsense running style; attacks upfield quickly and picks up chunk yards before defenders can rally to the football.
- Versatile alignment profile, lining up inline, in the slot, and occasionally split wide, giving offensive coordinators multiple ways to deploy him on game day.
- Run blocking technique shows promising flashes when he is locked in, particularly on reach blocks and down blocks where he can use his lower-body power to seal the edge.
- Tough kid who played through a serious undisclosed injury in 2025 and never asked out of the lineup; that mentality translates to the pro level.
Scouting Report: Weaknesses
- Blocking effort and intensity are wildly inconsistent; too many snaps where he lunges with a shoulder instead of engaging with his hands and driving his feet.
- Contested-catch production is genuinely concerning for a tight end with his frame; he has won very few reps when a defender is draped on him at the catch point.
- Twelve career drops on 169 targets is a number that will give evaluators pause, even though his drop rate improved significantly during his final college season.
- Route tree was limited at Ole Miss due to scheme; he ran a steady diet of flats, hitches, and crossers, leaving questions about his ability to consistently threaten the seam at the next level.
- Gets knocked off his route stem by physical defenders at the second level, with balance issues popping up when linebackers or safeties get hands on him early in his release.
Scouting Report: Summary
Wright covers ground like a big receiver, not a traditional Y. That kind of athleticism paired with his catch radius and ball skills makes him a real weapon in the passing game, particularly on play-action shots and crossers where he can use his build-up speed to blow past linebackers. His receiving grades across all three levels of the field are solid, and the year-over-year jump in production tells you he was getting better, not just getting more opportunities.The problem is what happens between the whistles when they don't throw him the ball. His blocking tape is hard to watch at times. The effort fluctuates too much, and his technique reverts to lazy shoulder blocks and half-hearted engagements far too often for a guy who wants to play Y tight end in the NFL. The raw tools are there in the run game when he decides to bring it, and some of his pass protection reps show surprisingly good mirroring and anchor. But an NFL coaching staff is going to need to light a fire under him in that area, because right now, he is a liability on early downs if he is asked to sustain blocks against NFL-caliber defensive ends.
The ceiling here is a legitimate starting tight end who gives you matchup advantages as a receiver while holding his own enough in the run game to stay on the field for three downs. The floor is a move tight end or big slot who only sees the field on obvious passing situations because he never develops as a blocker. Wright fits best in a scheme that wants to spread you out and throw to the tight end in space rather than asking him to be a phone booth brawler on the line of scrimmage. His receiving ability, toughness, and athletic traits make him worth the investment, but whoever takes him needs to understand they are drafting upside and potential in the blocking department, not a finished product. He is a good prospect with real juice, and if the right position coach gets his hands on him, the payoff could be significant.
Dae'Quan Wright percentiles vs other Tight Ends (NFL Combine historically - higher value represents better perfomance)
How other scouting services rate Dae'Quan Wright (Overall Rank)
All Scouts AverageOverall Rank
204.2
All Scouts AveragePosition Rank
19.0
*Percentile Ranking in Player's Position Group (NFL Combine Historical Data): This percentile reflects how a player's specific statistics rank
in comparison to historical performances at the NFL Combine, specifically within their position group. A higher percentile indicates a better performance.
For instance, being in the 90th percentile for a particular stat means the player outperformed 90% of their peers in that category.
*Similarity Percentage: This percentage is calculated based on a comprehensive analysis of various factors, including height, weight, 40-yard dash times, on-field performance statistics, and overall player rating. The analysis is conducted against our database of draft prospects from 2021 to 2023. This similarity score helps in evaluating how closely a current prospect aligns with past prospects. It is important to note, however, that this score reflects similarities based on college production and attributes, and does not account for eventual success or performance in the NFL.
*Similarity Percentage: This percentage is calculated based on a comprehensive analysis of various factors, including height, weight, 40-yard dash times, on-field performance statistics, and overall player rating. The analysis is conducted against our database of draft prospects from 2021 to 2023. This similarity score helps in evaluating how closely a current prospect aligns with past prospects. It is important to note, however, that this score reflects similarities based on college production and attributes, and does not account for eventual success or performance in the NFL.