Miles Kitselman TE Tennessee |
NFL Draft Profile & Scouting Report
| Jersey: #87 ROLE: Inline Blocking TE | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Last Updated: 01/19/2026 | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Draft Year: 2026 | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| FORTY time: 4.90 seconds (21%*) | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
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| Jersey: #87 | |
| ROLE: Inline Blocking TE | |
| Last Updated: 01/19/2026 | |
| Draft Year: 2026 | |
| Forty time: 4.90 seconds (21%*) | |
| Overall Rating: | 80.0 / 100 | |
|---|---|---|
| Average rating of opposition Defense player has faced | ||
| Defense Rating: |
|
76% |
| Click the links below to view how player ranks vs other prospects. | ||
| QB Rating When targeted: | 81.1 | |
| Hands: |
|
57% |
| Short Receiving: |
|
72% |
| Intermediate Routes: |
|
78% |
| Deep Threat: |
|
62% |
| Blocking: |
|
61% |
|
DRAFT PROJECTION:
7th
Overall Rank:
#232
Position rank:
#17 (TE)
|
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| College Games: 27 College Snaps: 1189 | ||
| Player Comparison* (Similarity level) | ||
|---|---|---|
| Derrick Deese Jr. - San Jose State |
|
82% |
| Cade Otton - Washington |
|
75% |
| Cameron Latu - Alabama |
|
74% |
Draft Profile: Bio
Miles Kitselman, the 6-foot-5, 255-pound pass catcher spent his high school days playing offensive tackle and defensive end at Lyndon High School before his father and uncle convinced him to try his hand at tight end. That position change happened at Hutchinson Community College, where he played just three games during the 2021 season before Alabama came calling with a late scholarship offer for the 2022 recruiting class.Kitselman's time in Tuscaloosa was defined by patience rather than production. He caught two passes for 18 yards in his debut against Utah State and then essentially vanished from the offensive game plan, appearing in six games as a sophomore and all 13 as a junior without recording a single statistic during that 2023 campaign. When the opportunity came to transfer to Tennessee for the 2024 season, Kitselman seized it with both hands. Despite being ranked just the 50th-best tight end in the transfer portal by 247Sports, he outperformed four-star addition Holden Staes and locked down the starting job immediately.
The 2024 campaign validated every bit of that decision. Kitselman started all 13 games for Tennessee's College Football Playoff squad, catching 22 passes for 301 yards and four touchdowns while adding a rushing score against Georgia from a fullback alignment. He was named to the 2025 Senior Bowl Top 300 List and earned a spot on the 2023 Fall SEC Academic Honor Roll. An NCAA waiver granted him a fifth year of eligibility, allowing him to return to Knoxville for 2025, where he added 26 receptions for 253 yards and two more scores before a lower-body injury ended his regular season against New Mexico State in November.
Scouting Report: Strengths
- Brings prototypical NFL size at 6-foot-5 and 255 pounds with a frame that can hold additional weight at the next level without sacrificing mobility.
- Releases off the line of scrimmage with urgency and builds to a legitimate top-end speed that challenges second-level defenders down the seam.
- Decelerates exceptionally well for a player his size, allowing him to sit down in zones and convert on intermediate comebacks and stop routes.
- Converts at an absurd rate on possession downs, with 17 of 22 catches going for first downs in 2024 and 15 of 26 moving the chains in 2025.
- Functions as a sledgehammer in the run game when asked to get downhill and seal linebackers or defensive backs on perimeter blocks.
- Shows the competitive fire and willingness to do the dirty work that offensive line coaches will fall in love with during the interview process.
- Demonstrates a sturdy anchor in pass protection that prevents rushers from collapsing the pocket even when he gets beat initially off the snap.
- Proved he could be a leader when Tennessee's roster churned following Nico Iamaleava's departure, stepping up as a team captain and mouthpiece for the locker room.
Scouting Report: Weaknesses
- Lacks the loose hips and lateral agility to generate consistent separation at the top of his routes, limiting his ceiling as a receiving threat.
- Ball security took a concerning dip in 2025, with five drops on 42 targets after recording zero drops on 27 targets the previous season.
- Had three Joey Aguilar interceptions bounce off his hands during the 2025 campaign, and while not all were easy catches, the frequency was alarming.
- Plays with pad level that runs high in the run game, which limits his ability to generate push against physical SEC linebackers like Georgia's CJ Allen.
- Contact balance after the catch is below average, and he rarely makes defenders miss in the open field to generate chunk plays on his own.
Scouting Report: Summary
Kitselman profiles as a TE2 in the NFL who can develop into a legitimate starter for organizations that prioritize the run game and value reliability over explosiveness. His willingness to get his nose dirty in the blocking game separates him from the pass-catching specialists who dominate modern tight end conversations, and his leadership qualities will resonate with coaching staffs looking to establish culture.Here's the deal with Kitselman: he's not going to win your fantasy league or show up on highlight reels, but he's going to show up every single Sunday and do exactly what's asked of him. His receiving limitations are real, and the ball security concerns from 2025 need to be monitored, but one rough patch after years of clean hands doesn't define a player. The physical tools are there for a productive NFL career if he lands in a system that utilizes multiple tight end sets and values in-line blocking.
The ideal landing spot pairs him with a dominant receiving tight end where Kitselman can operate as the complement rather than the featured weapon. He has experience lining up in-line, from the slot, and as an H-back, which gives coordinators flexibility in how they deploy him. His game translates best to gap-scheme offenses that want to run the ball downhill and use play-action to create easy completions over the middle. He's a Day 3 tight end who could outperform his draft slot with the right opportunity.
Miles Kitselman percentiles vs other Tight Ends (NFL Combine historically - higher value represents better perfomance)
How other scouting services rate Miles Kitselman (Overall Rank)
All Scouts AverageOverall Rank
256.5
All Scouts AveragePosition Rank
23.0
*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.