TE REVOLUTION: Teams RACE to Secure Tight Ends in Record-Breaking 2026 NFL Draft

Locked On NFL Scouting with the Draft Dudes - Daily podcast covering NFL and College Football scouting

Locked On Podcast Network

Nfl Football, Football, Free Agency, Daily Podcast, Nfl Draft, Nfl, Sports, Salary Cap, Football Podcast, Podcast, Pro Football

4.6 • 966 Ratings

🗓️ 13 May 2026

⏱️ 30 minutes

🔗️ Recording | iTunes | RSS

🧾️ Download transcript

Summary

2026 NFL Draft tight end class shakes up league strategy as a record number of tight ends, including freak athletes Kenyon Sadiq (New York Jets) and Eli Stowers, go off the board early. Is the NFL entering a new era of offensive football? Joe Marino and Kyle Krabs break down why so many teams are prioritizing the tight end position, debate which rookie stands out as the most complete package—spotlighting Oscar Delp—and explore how teams are leveraging these picks to counter modern defensive schemes built around split safeties. Key topics include the best and toughest rookie landing spots (from Eli Raridon joining the New England Patriots to Max Klare's crowded situation with the Los Angeles Rams), the evolution of personnel groupings like 13 personnel, and late-round steals such as Justin Joly (Denver Broncos). Who will emerge as the top rookie contributor, and how will these draft trends reshape NFL offenses in 2026?

Transcript

Click on a timestamp to play from that location

0:00.0	The 2026 NFL draft produced the most tight end selected since 1994 when the NFL moved to a seven-round format.
0:10.1	We're going to break that down right now.
0:17.1	You are locked on NFL scouting with the draft dudes, your daily podcast for NFL and college football scouting.
0:26.0	Part of the Locked on podcast network, your team every day.
0:32.0	What's better than this?
0:33.8	It's guys being dudes.
0:36.2	I'm Joe Marino.
0:37.4	That's Kyle Craves.
0:39.2	On today's episode, we're talking tight ends, all the tight ends that got drafted.
0:45.0	So many of them, the league is obviously telling us something with how they want to start playing offensive football.
0:51.3	Some teams, you know, or early to the party.
0:53.8	Now everyone's catching up. Kyle, welcome in. Happy Wednesday, you know, or early to the party. Now everyone's catching up.
0:55.6	Kyle, welcome in.
0:56.4	Happy Wednesday to you.
0:57.7	Happy Wednesday to you as well, Joe.
0:59.4	Not only were a whole bunch of tight ends drafted,
1:02.3	more than we've ever seen in a seven-round format.
1:05.9	Yeah, drafted early, too.
1:08.8	That's the other thing that stands out is we got Kenyon, Sadiq in the first round that we had four go between 54 and 61.
1:18.8	And then we had another four go between 69 and 95.
1:22.2	And then the fifth round, everybody was like, oh, let's double dip in draft two.
1:28.3	Right. Right.
	...

Transcript will be available on the free plan in 3 days. Upgrade to see the full transcript now.

Previous episode | Next episode

Disclaimer: The podcast and artwork embedded on this page are from Locked On Podcast Network, and are the property of its owner and not affiliated with or endorsed by Tapesearch.

Generated transcripts are the property of Locked On Podcast Network and are distributed freely under the Fair Use doctrine. Transcripts generated by Tapesearch are not guaranteed to be accurate.