Consensus board vs. draft day: the full TE class, charted.
The Steal
Caleb Wilson was ranked TE12 on the consensus board (#191 overall) but lasted until pick 254, where the Arizona Cardinals took him in Round 7. A 63-spot fall, the largest gap between consensus and draft day of any TE in the class. Behind him, Alize Mack (+36) and Kaden Smith (+27) also outlasted their rankings.
The Conviction Pick
The New York Jets took Trevon Wesco at pick 121, 107 spots ahead of his #228 consensus rank. That's the league's strongest disagreement with the public board at the position. Teams showed similar conviction on Drew Sample (80 spots) and Josh Oliver (42 spots).
The Cliff
After Kaden Smith went at pick 176, the next TE didn't come off the board for 48 picks. That's the sharpest drop in the class.
The Spend
Teams spent 16 picks on TE, 4 of them in the first two rounds. That's above the position's average of 14.3 since 2018.
The Bet
The Detroit Lions spent more draft capital on TE than any other club: picks 8 and 224, 37% of their total draft investment.
The One Who Slipped
Tyre McCants, ranked #148 on the consensus board, went undrafted through all 254 picks.
| Pick | Player | Pos Rank | Consensus | Δ | School | Team |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 8 | T.J. Hockenson | TE1 | #7 | +1 | Iowa | Detroit |
| 20 | Noah Fant | TE2 | #23 | −3 | Iowa | Denver |
| 50 | Irv Smith Jr. | TE3 | #53 | −3 | Alabama | Minnesota |
| 52 | Drew Sample | TE9 | #132 | −80 | Washington | Cincinnati |
| 69 | Josh Oliver | TE7 | #111 | −42 | San Jose State | Jacksonville |
| 75 | Jace Sternberger | TE4 | #73 | +2 | Texas A&M | Green Bay |
| 86 | Kahale Warring | TE5 | #87 | −1 | San Diego State | Houston |
| 96 | Dawson Knox | TE6 | #88 | +8 | Mississippi | Buffalo |
| 121 | Trevon Wesco | TE16 | #228 | −107 | West Virginia | NY Jets |
| 137 | Foster Moreau | TE8 | #127 | +10 | LSU | Las Vegas |
| 141 | Zach Gentry | TE19 | #341 | −200 | Michigan | Pittsburgh |
| 176 | Kaden Smith | TE11 | #149 | +27 | Stanford | San Francisco |
| 224 | Isaac Nauta | TE14 | #210 | +14 | Georgia | Detroit |
| 228 | Tommy Sweeney | TE17 | #230 | −2 | Boston College | Buffalo |
| 231 | Alize Mack | TE13 | #195 | +36 | Notre Dame | New Orleans |
| 254 | Caleb Wilson | TE12 | #191 | +63 | UCLA | Arizona |
| Undrafted (UDFA) | ||||||
| — | Tyre McCants | TE10 | #148 | — | — | — |
| — | Dax Raymond | TE15 | #214 | — | Utah State | — |
| — | Donald Parham | TE18 | #333 | — | — | — |
| — | Keenen Brown | TE20 | #343 | — | Texas State | — |
| — | C.J. Conrad | TE21 | #377 | — | Kentucky | — |
| — | Andrew Beck | TE22 | #430 | — | — | — |