Shocking shifts in Tight End Rankings at the 2025 Reese's Senior Bowl emphasize extreme depth in this NFL Draft
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NFL Draft
The Senior Bowl is one of the most exciting weeks of the entire NFL Draft process every single year. Players who many thought would stand head and shoulders above the rest somehow unfortunately disappoint. Others shock the world with stellar performances, rising quickly up NFL Draft boards.
While it's important not to overreact to one week of Senior Bowl practices, seeing some of the top tight ends in the nation face off against some of the best competition in the 2025 NFL Draft can help answer some major questions. Through the first two practices (the ones that mean the most), there have been some shocking shifts in tight end rankings thanks to some surprising performances. Let's dive in to see how all these tight ends stack up.
Senior Bowl Tight End Rankings
- Mason Taylor, LSU
- Elijah Arroyo, Miami
- Terrance Ferguson, Oregon
- Jake Briningstool, Clemson
- Harold Fannin Jr., Bowling Green
- Gavin Bartholomew, Pittsburgh
- Thomas Fidone II, Nebraska
- CJ Dippre, Alabama
- Moliki Matavao, UCLA
- Jackson Hawes, Georgia Tech
Mason Taylor, TE LSU
Mason Taylor has been one of the most consistent players at the Senior Bowl this week. He's caught just about everything thrown his direction. He's shown he can line up and win from everywhere. Taylor's made several impressive plays, but he also definitely made one of the best catches of the week overall on a throw from
Jalen Milroe (as you can see in post below).
Taylor was already rising up boards as people realized he put together one of the best seasons of anyone at the tight end position in 2024. Now that more eyes are on him, the secret is out. Mason Taylor is worth a solid day two draft pick and may be the best tight end at the Senior Bowl.
Elijah Arroyo, TE Miami
Once Elijah Arroyo finally stayed healthy for a a full season last fall it was clear how special he might be. Then he showed up to the Senior Bowl and destroyed the competition even more than expected. He was an adequate blocker in practices this week, but where he really made his money was the receiving game.
He may be 6'4" or more and 250 pounds, but Arroyo moves a lot smoother than one might expect, possessing catching ability that most draft analysts didn't properly appreciate prior to this week. He unfortunately struggled with injury most every year prior to this past season, but once Arroyo got healthy he was one of the most explosive receiving weapons at the position last year with almost 600 yards and seven touchdowns. He wasn't expected to go inside day two of the 2025 NFL Draft before this week, but that might have changed after the Senior Bowl.
Terrance Ferguson, TE Oregon
There might not be a faster rising prospect at the Senior Bowl than Terrance Ferguson. Yes, he put on a show his final season at Oregon, averaging nearly 14 yards per reception on his way to almost 600 receiving yards, but he has dominated this week in a way that has surprised many. When it comes to blocking and team sessions he looks comfortable as ever (no surprise there), but his one-on-one wins have been wildly impressive.
The first day he was looking smooth, getting open with ease, finishing off plays with strong hands and easy receptions. But then on Wednesday he took his play to another level. His spotlight rep in my post above (beating Rayjuan Lane) was perhaps the best play of the day. Despite being interfered with, his jersey pulled, his right arm yanked away from the ball, Ferguson still managed to pull in the catch with one hand as he rolled to the ground. Ferguson has to be rising into mid-round discussions, if not round three consideration of the 2025 NFL Draft.
Jake Briningstool, TE Clemson
Coming into the Senior Bowl week Jake Briningstool of Clemson was not considered one of the top tight ends in this stacked 2025 NFL Draft class. That's certainly changed now. I caught up with him after the first day's practice because he was already beginning to impress. Briningstool talked with me about how Clemson's strength and conditioning really helped him take his game to another level in his final season as he added weight while maintaining the speed made evident at Senior Bowl practices.
Then the second day he shined as perhaps the best tight end of the day, dominating the 11-on-11 sessions. He wrapped things up with three catches in the final team sessions, then destroyed Billy Bowman Jr. of Oklahoma on a spotlight one-on-one in front of the whole stadium.
Briningstool was largely considered a round five prospect (or later) coming into the week, but that will most definitely change now. At 6'6", with range, length, speed, and surprising do-it-all ability Briningstool is a name that has been generating a ton of buzz as a real riser this week at the Senior Bowl.
Harold Fannin Jr., TE Bowling Green
Many scouts and analysts that A to Z Sports spoke to coming into the week saw Harold Fannin Jr. as one of the best (if not
the best) tight ends at the Senior Bowl. That still might be the case for some, but consensus seems to be that he's dropping a bit.
Fannin measured in at 6'3", 238 pounds, which is a tad undersized for the tight end position, but certainly isn't a major negative. However, he hasn't shown the expected explosion or dominance at the Senior Bowl practices we were excited to see. Fannin is still a strong prospect, but might not be a round two tight end prospect like many thought.
Best of the Rest at Tight End
The rest of the tight ends here at the Senior Bowl are almost definitely going to be day three (rounds four through seven) prospects, but a few of them have really impressed too.
Gavin Bartholomew is the closest tight end to the top five this week as he's shown he's much more than a receiving tight end. His final season blocking was not great at Pitt, but he's looked good so far with some extra juice and explosion in the receiving game too.
Thomas Fidone of Nebraska made one impressive diving, sliding grab on the second day of practice, adding a couple other impressive plays. He struggled staying healthy throughout his career, but Fidone's raw athleticism is clearly still there.
Moliki Matavao (UCLA), CJ Dippre (Alabama), and Jackson Hawes (Georgia Tech) all have very different skill sets. Matavao was a versatile tight end in his final season at UCLA who could line up out wide and the slot despite being over 260 pounds and he showed strong movement skills. Dippre and Hawes will likely be mostly blocking tight ends. Hawes especially isn't known for his hands but did bring in a one-handed catch from Ole Miss QB
Jaxson Dart on Wednesday.
This tight end 2025 NFL Draft class is getting more difficult to rank every day as the entire group here at the Senior Bowl looks strong enough to start or at least feature heavily in 12 and 13 personnel for the right team in the NFL.
