TIGHT ENDS WITH THE BEST HANDS 2027 NFL Draft

2027 TIGHT ENDS WITH THE BEST HANDS

For a tight end the hands grade is the difference between a safety valve and a liability. It scores catch rate, drops and contested catches across every target, most of which come in traffic between the numbers. Travis Kelce (Cincinnati) and George Kittle (Iowa) were never the most targeted players on their college offenses, but they caught what came their way.

Below, this year’s draft-eligible tight ends are ranked by hands grade, with their route grades by depth, blocking grade and overall rating alongside. Click a column header to re-sort.

RANK Player Pos Team HANDS SHORT MEDIUM DEEP BLOCKING Rating
1

Willie
Rodriguez

TE
Kentucky   Mascot
Kentucky Mascot
85 78 83 62 72
80.7
2

Luke
Reynolds

TE
Virginia Tech   Mascot
Virginia Tech Mascot
84 88 88 83 71
84.7
3

Jamari
Johnson

TE
Oregon   Mascot
Oregon Mascot
84 80 88 88 65
85.9
4

Rocky
Beers

TE
Oklahoma   Mascot
Oklahoma Mascot
83 76 82 81 58
76.0
5

Eli
Finley

TE
Louisiana Tech   Mascot
Louisiana Tech Mascot
82 83 87 83 60
82.8
6

Lawson
Luckie

TE
Georgia   Mascot
Georgia Mascot
79 68 81 71 62
82.1
7

Jamari
Johnson

TE
Oregon   Mascot
Oregon Mascot
76 90 91 91 62
85.9
8

Benjamin
Brahmer

TE
Penn State   Mascot
Penn State Mascot
75 71 70 72 57
79.9
9

Dorian
Thomas

TE
California   Mascot
California Mascot
75 65 73 73 46
70.7
10

Trey
Leckner

TE
Washington State   Mascot
Washington State Mascot
75 71 75 58 50
69.9
11

Hogan
Hansen

TE
Michigan   Mascot
Michigan Mascot
75 72 59 70 46
64.6
12

DJ
Vonnahme

TE
Iowa   Mascot
Iowa Mascot
74 82 77 85 47
81.3
13

Jake
Johnson

TE
Auburn   Mascot
Auburn Mascot
74 62 68 55 54
61.9
14

Elija
Lofton

TE
Miami   Mascot
Miami Mascot
73 70 72 69 54
62.8
15

Andrew
Rappleyea

TE
Penn State   Mascot
Penn State Mascot
72 75 71 64 57
81.3
16

Gabe
Burkle

TE
Penn State   Mascot
Penn State Mascot
71 64 73 56 48
69.2
17

Peter
Clarke

TE
Temple   Mascot
Temple Mascot
71 73 78 79 58
83.7
18

Luke
Hasz

TE
Ole Miss   Mascot
Ole Miss Mascot
71 59 57 50 60
60.5
19

Caleb
Odom

TE
Ole Miss   Mascot
Ole Miss Mascot
69 72 77 73 61
79.0
20

Jaden
Platt

TE
Arkansas   Mascot
Arkansas Mascot
69 73 75 76 61
73.0