2025 NFL Combine Stock Watch: Tight Ends

The 2025 TE class as a whole had a disappointing showing at the Combine, with the consensus top two at the position (Tyler Warren and Colston Loveland) as well as Fantasy Points/Brett Whitefield favorite Elijah Arroyo opting not to participate in on-field workouts.^[1]

That said, we learned a lot from the weigh-ins and a selection of players who did test. With most results now official, I’ve run the class through our SPORQ athleticism model. All scores can be viewed here.

As I explained in last week’s article, athleticism is massively important for TEs. Unique among the skill positions, hyper-athletic TEs drafted on Day 2 are nearly as productive as those selected in Round 1.

Spoiler: Unfortunately, no TEs tested above the 90th SPORQ percentile at the 2025 Combine, and I’ve correspondingly become much less excited about this class outside of Warren and Loveland. But we can still dive into the Combine’s biggest winners and losers below.

Winners

Terrance Ferguson, TE, Oregon

SPORQ Percentile: 80.5

The Athletic’s Dane Brugler had a Round 3 grade on Ferguson before the Combine. He was ultimately the only TE whose workout likely solidified his Day 2 status, landing above the 80th percentile by SPORQ rating.

None of Ferguson’s results were anywhere near earth-shattering — including a 79th-percentile speed score, a 46th-percentile weight-adjusted 3-cone, and an 81st-percentile broad jump. But he ran the fastest among his position in the 40-yard dash and largely looked great by comparison against several other prospects who didn’t test or fell short of expectation.

Ferguson’s production profile isn’t special — as a senior, he finished 3rd on his team in receiving YPG, though behind projected Round 3 WR Tez Johnson and projected UDFA Traeshon Holden — but he stands out as one of the only TEs who helped himself this weekend. He could be considered in Round 3 of TE-premium dynasty rookie drafts.

Jalin Conyers, TE, Texas Tech

SPORQ Percentile: 87.2

Conyers ended the day with the top SPORQ score in the class. A projected Day 3 pick who transferred to Texas Tech for his senior season after ranking 2nd among Arizona State players in receiving YPG as a junior (32.9), his position-best 6.94-second 3-cone time drew eyes his way. Once adjusted to reflect his 260-pound weight, Conyers’ 3-cone ranks in the 91st percentile among TEs in my database since 2000.

The weight-adjusted 3-cone is prominently featured in our athleticism model and has identified several later-round hits over the years — Dennis Pitta, Mike Gesicki, Jordan Cameron, and Jimmy Graham are examples who ranked above the 95th percentile — but it may not help Conyers’ draft stock as much. The 3-cone is one of the only events that NFL teams tend to underrate when making draft day decisions.

Still, Conyers also performed well enough in other key events (including a 64th-percentile speed score and a 76th-percentile broad jump) that I wouldn’t be surprised if he now hears his name called earlier on Day 3. He’d remain an ultra-longshot bet for fantasy football, but some solid hits ran similarly at his weight.

Losers

Gunnar Helm, TE, Texas

SPORQ Percentile: 13.7

Analytically, Helm appeared as a slightly poorer man’s version of former college teammate Ja’Tavion Sanders entering the weekend. But after a disastrous Combine performance, he looks like an incredibly impoverished man’s Sanders.

It’s now quite possible (or even probable) that Helm slips to Day 3. Remember, that’s exactly what happened to Sanders last year after his own disappointing Combine performance, and Sanders’ 68th-percentile SPORQ score was nowhere near as disappointing as Helm’s, who disappointed in the 40-yard dash, the 3-cone, and the shuttle alike. He’s shaping up as an avoid for me in fantasy football, especially if the industry’s pre-Combine priors land Helm’s cost within the first 4 rounds of dynasty rookie drafts.

Harold Fannin Jr., TE, Bowling Green

SPORQ Percentile: 67.0

At first, analytical darling Harold Fannin Jr. quieted concerns about his size by weighing in at a surprising 241 pounds — well above where the SPORQ model begins heavily penalizing lighter TEs. Physically, Fannin isn’t too far off from how Sam LaPorta measured two years ago.

This wouldn’t have automatically erased concerns about Fannin’s viability as a blocker and every-down player (on which industry opinion is mixed at best), but after weigh-ins, Fannin seemed on his way to a successful showing. We’d seen plenty of productive NFL TEs weigh in similarly; aside from LaPorta, all of Evan Engram, Jordan Reed, Darren Waller, Delanie Walker, and Kyle Pitts weighed between 234 and 245 pounds.

But my optimism came crashing down the moment Fannin tested with just a 4.71-second 40-yard dash time, resulting in just a 47th-percentile speed score. His 3-cone drill (70th percentile after weight adjustment) helped his case slightly, but it was only enough to lift his overall SPORQ rating to the 67th percentile. Notably, every successful name above aside from Reed ranked as at least a 70th-percentile athlete.

There’s a chance Fannin improves on these times at his Pro Day. But I’d take those with a grain of salt unless accompanied by another weigh-in; there’s a chance he bulked up specifically for the Combine, and I wouldn’t give him credit for improved testing after he hypothetically sheds back down.

For now, Fannin’s risk-reward profile now appears massively tilted toward the “risk” end of things. Notwithstanding a massive draft capital surprise (I’d need to see him go ~top-50 to truly be back in), I’m unlikely to have much interest in him at his current Round 3 price tag in dynasty rookie drafts.

Oronde Gadsden II, TE, Syracuse

SPORQ Percentile: DNQ

Much like Fannin, Gadsden weighed in heavier than expected, helping his case to be taken seriously (at least as a move TE) at the next level. Fantasy Points CEO Scott Barrett recently mused for several paragraphs on the declining state of the “WR masquerading as a TE” archetype in today’s NFL.

However, unlike Fannin, Gadsden tellingly opted not to run the 40-yard dash at this weight. That meant he didn’t qualify for the SPORQ model, and also signaled he wasn’t confident in the time he’d likely post — either suggesting he’s not hyper-athletic, or that his true playing weight is significantly lighter.

And it’s not as if Gadsden showed any other glimmers of hope. His 114-inch broad jump would have ranked at just the 35th percentile within the SPORQ database. As with Fannin, I’ll monitor his Pro Day and draft capital, but for now, I expect I won’t have as much interest in Gadsden as I previously would have.

Brant Kuithe, TE, Utah

SPORQ Percentile: DNQ

Kuithe was something of an analytical sleeper heading into Combine weekend; though he remained in school for an unheard of seven seasons, he outproduced teammate and Round 1 NFL Draft pick Dalton Kincaid the last time they played together at Utah.

However, as expected, Kuithe measured just 6 feet and 2 inches tall. TEs measuring this height or below display significantly lower hit rates, with only ~13% ever putting together a season of at least 500 receiving yards (compared to ~21% of TEs overall). Of the successful examples below, all except Delanie Walker were drafted within the first four rounds, which looks unlikely for Kuithe.

Outside of Kuithe, only Alabama TE Robbie Ouzts (projected Day 3/UDFA) received a size-related penalty in the SPORQ model after weighing in at 274 pounds, resulting in a sub-36th percentile SPORQ rating. No qualifying TE in my database weighing above 270 pounds at the Combine has ever reached 500 receiving yards in a season, as they’re most often deployed as blockers at the next level.