Here are the top 10 tight end prospects (with projected round) for the NFL draft, which is set for April 23-25:
1. Cole Kmet, Notre Dame, 6-foot-6, 262 pounds (second round): He was the primary target for Notre Dame quarterback Ian Brook last season. He caught 43 passes for 515 yards and six touchdowns, including nine catches for 109 yards and a touchdown in a 23-17 loss to Georgia on Sept. 21. He missed two games with a broken collarbone.
2. Brycen Hopkins, Purdue, 6-4, 245 (third round): He's a flex tight end and was named a first-team All-American by the Associated Press. He was the Big Ten tight end of the year. He caught 61 passes for 830 yards and seven touchdowns over 12 games for the Boilermakers.
3. Hunter Bryant, Washington, 6-2, 248 (third round): A flex tight end with a history of knee problems. He had a strong 2019 season as he caught 52 passes for 825 yards and three touchdowns.
4. Adam Trautman, Dayton, 6-5, 255 (third round): He caught 11 passes for 132 yards and made a key block in Dayton's big upset of Indiana State last season. He was a high school quarterback, "He's a really intriguing guy," Senior Bowl executive director Jim Nagy said. "Really a crisp route runner. He's going to test well. He's really good with the ball."
5. Harrison Bryant, Florida Atlantic, 6-5, 243 (fourth round): He won the John Mackey award as the top tight end in the nation in 2019. He became just the third Owl to surpass the single-season 1,000-yard mark in a 49-6 win over UAB in the Conference USA Championship game, when he caught four passes for 39 yards, and he added a score. From John Milledge Academy, Bryant also earned unanimous All-American status, as he was voted to the first team by AFCA, Associated Press, FWAA, Sporting News and Walter Camp. He has a 6.44 grade (boom or bust) by NFL.com draft analyst Lance Zierlein.
» MORE: Harrison Bryant went from defensive end to tight end
6. Albert Okwuegbunam, Missouri, 6-6, 258 (fourth round): (Pronounced O-coo-WAY-boo-nam). He ran the 40-yard dash in 4.49 seconds at the scouting combine. He missed some time last season with a shoulder injury, but managed 28 catches for 306 yards and six touchdowns.
7. Cheyenne O'Grady, Arkansas, 6-4, 253 (fifth round): He is the son of the late Larry Marks, who played basketball for the Razorbacks (1988-90) under Nolan Richardson. He finished his career with 47 catches for 486 yards and seven touchdowns.
8. Thaddeus Moss, LSU, 6-2, 250 (fifth round): Son of Pro Football Hall of Fame wide receiver Randy Moss. He started his career at N.C. State before transferring to LSU. He sat out 2017 as a transfer and had two foot surgeries in 2018. Last season, he caught 47 passes for 570 yards and four touchdowns, including two in the national title game win over Clemson.
9. Jared Pinkney, Vanderbilt, 6-4, 257 (fifth round): He needed to have a good showing at the scouting combine after his production dipped last season. Pinkney, who played at Norcross High, had a porous workout and would have needed to redeem himself at Vandy's Pro Day. He ran the slowest 40-yard dash time (4.96) of the tight end group. He looked stiff and struggled to catch passes.
10. Devin Asiasi, UCLA, 6-3, 257 (fifth round): The California native started his career at Michigan before he transferred back home. He caught 44 passes for 641 yards and four touchdowns last season.
Best of the rest: Oregon's Jacob Breeland, Stanford's Colby Parkinson, Georgia's Charlie Woerner, LSU's Stephen Sullivan, Kentucky's Ahmad Wagner, South Florida's Mitchell Wilcox, Cincinnati's Josiah Deguara, Michigan's Sean McKeon, Virginia Tech's Dalton Keene and Portland State's Charlie Taumoepeau.
» Here's a look back at the top 5 tight ends in the 2015 draft class.
Teams in need. Washington, Dallas, Seattle, Cincinnati and Green Bay.
Need area for Falcons. No. The Falcons traded for Hayden Hurst to replace Austin Hooper. They also signed Khari Lee to replace Luke Stocker. Jaeden Graham showed promise as the third tight end last season.
Top 5 seniors for 2021 draft. Miami's Brevin Jordan, Penn State's Pat Freiermuth, Florida's Kyle Pitts, Alabama's Major Tennison and BYU's Matt Bushman.
AJC’s 2020 POSITION BY POSITION DRAFT SERIES
Quarterbacks: Joe Burrow leads class | Top 10 QBs
Running backs: Cam Akers' life lesson | Top 10 RBs
Tight ends: A surprise prospect from Georgia | Top 10 TEs
Part 4: Offensive line (guards/center)
Part 5: Offensive line (tackles)
Part 6: Wide receivers
Part 7: Defensive tackle
Part 8: Defensive end
Part 9: Linebackers
Part 10: Safeties
Part 11: Special Teams
Part 12: Cornerbacks
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