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

Luke
Reynolds

TE
Virginia Tech   Mascot
Virginia Tech Mascot
89 89 91 89 67
84.7
2

Willie
Rodriguez

TE
Kentucky   Mascot
Kentucky Mascot
87 82 85 76 72
80.7
3

Rocky
Beers

TE
Oklahoma   Mascot
Oklahoma Mascot
84 78 83 84 62
76.0
4

Eli
Finley

TE
Louisiana Tech   Mascot
Louisiana Tech Mascot
83 81 87 84 61
82.8
5

Lawson
Luckie

TE
Georgia   Mascot
Georgia Mascot
82 69 82 73 61
82.1
6

Jamari
Johnson

TE
Oregon   Mascot
Oregon Mascot
79 78 86 86 65
85.9
7

Benjamin
Brahmer

TE
Penn State   Mascot
Penn State Mascot
78 72 73 75 56
79.9
8

Elija
Lofton

TE
Miami   Mascot
Miami Mascot
77 69 73 66 54
62.8
9

DJ
Vonnahme

TE
Iowa   Mascot
Iowa Mascot
76 83 76 85 49
81.3
10

Jamari
Johnson

TE
Oregon   Mascot
Oregon Mascot
76 90 91 91 62
85.9
11

Hogan
Hansen

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

Dorian
Thomas

TE
California   Mascot
California Mascot
75 65 73 73 46
70.7
13

Trey
Leckner

TE
Washington State   Mascot
Washington State Mascot
75 72 75 58 50
69.9
14

Jelani
Thurman

TE
North Carolina   Mascot
North Carolina Mascot
74 83 87 85 58
74.4
15

Jake
Johnson

TE
Auburn   Mascot
Auburn Mascot
74 63 67 54 55
61.9
16

Patrick
Overmyer

TE
Houston   Mascot
Houston Mascot
74 77 81 80 52
77.0
17

Jaden
Platt

TE
Arkansas   Mascot
Arkansas Mascot
72 73 76 76 60
73.0
18

Gabe
Burkle

TE
Penn State   Mascot
Penn State Mascot
72 63 72 55 49
69.2
19

Michael
Masunas

TE
Texas   Mascot
Texas Mascot
72 68 71 73 64
74.0
20

Luke
Hasz

TE
Ole Miss   Mascot
Ole Miss Mascot
72 58 56 49 61
60.5