Consensus board vs. draft day: the full TE class, charted.
The Steal
Bucky Hodges was ranked TE4 on the consensus board (#78 overall) but lasted until pick 201, where the Minnesota Vikings took him in Round 6. A 123-spot fall, the largest gap between consensus and draft day of any TE in the class. Behind him, Jake Butt (+63) and Jordan Leggett (+48) also outlasted their rankings.
The Conviction Pick
The Tennessee Titans took Jonnu Smith at pick 100, 53 spots ahead of his #153 consensus rank. That's the league's strongest disagreement with the public board at the position. Teams showed similar conviction on Adam Shaheen (42 spots) and Gerald Everett (37 spots).
The Cliff
After Adam Shaheen went at pick 45, the next TE didn't come off the board for 55 picks. That's the sharpest drop in the class.
The Spend
Teams spent 14 picks on TE, 5 of them in the first two rounds. That's right at the position's average of 14.3 since 2018.
The Bet
The Tampa Bay Buccaneers spent more draft capital on TE than any other club: pick 19, 34% of their total draft investment.
The One Who Slipped
Cole Hikutini, ranked #179 on the consensus board, went undrafted through all 253 picks.
| Pick | Player | Pos Rank | Consensus | Δ | School | Team |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 19 | O.J. Howard | TE1 | #8 | +11 | Alabama | Tampa Bay |
| 23 | Evan Engram | TE3 | #34 | −11 | Mississippi | NY Giants |
| 29 | David Njoku | TE2 | #19 | +10 | Miami | Cleveland |
| 44 | Gerald Everett | TE5 | #81 | −37 | South Alabama | LA Rams |
| 45 | Adam Shaheen | TE7 | #87 | −42 | Ashland | Chicago |
| 100 | Jonnu Smith | TE11 | #153 | −53 | Florida International | Tennessee |
| 127 | Michael Roberts | TE12 | #154 | −27 | Toledo | Detroit |
| 145 | Jake Butt | TE6 | #82 | +63 | Michigan | Denver |
| 146 | George Kittle | TE10 | #135 | +11 | Iowa | San Francisco |
| 150 | Jordan Leggett | TE8 | #102 | +48 | Clemson | NY Jets |
| 154 | Jeremy Sprinkle | TE9 | #132 | +22 | Arkansas | Washington |
| 174 | Eric Saubert | TE14 | #201 | −27 | Drake | Atlanta |
| 201 | Bucky Hodges | TE4 | #78 | +123 | Virginia Tech | Minnesota |
| 251 | Mason Schreck | TE | — | — | Buffalo | Cincinnati |
| Undrafted (UDFA) | ||||||
| — | Cole Hikutini | TE13 | #179 | — | Louisville | — |
| — | Blake Jarwin | TE15 | #255 | — | — | — |
| — | Billy Brown | TE16 | #256 | — | Shepherd | — |
| — | Darrell Daniels | TE17 | #272 | — | Washington | — |
| — | Scott Orndoff | TE18 | #294 | — | Pittsburgh | — |
| — | Antony Auclair | TE | — | — | — | — |
| — | Brandon Barnes | TE | — | — | — | — |
| — | Cethan Carter | TE | — | — | Nebraska | — |
| — | Evan Baylis | TE | — | — | — | — |
| — | Hayden Plinke | TE | — | — | Texas-El Paso | — |
| — | Jacob Hollister | TE | — | — | — | — |
| — | Jason Croom | TE | — | — | — | — |
| — | Johnny Mundt | TE | — | — | — | — |
| — | Jonathan Dorsey | TE | — | — | — | — |
| — | Pharaoh Brown | TE | — | — | Oregon | — |
| — | Phazahn Odom | TE | — | — | — | — |
| — | Taylor McNamara | TE | — | — | — | — |
| — | Tyron Swoopes | TE | — | — | — | — |
Pre-draft projections are from the Wide Left Consensus Big Board compiled by Arif Hasan, an aggregation of published analyst boards.