NFL Player News

The Rams selected Klare in the second round of the 2026 NFL Draft, 61st overall.

Klare (6-foot-4, 246 pounds) is a natural fit for head coach Sean McVay's offense, having showcased natural acumen as a route runner during college along with solid speed and athleticism, though he didn't take part in drills at the combine and has room for improvement as a blocker. As a redshirt junior at Ohio State in 2025, Klare totaled 43 receptions for 448 yards and two touchdowns on 56 targets across 14 games. As a rookie, however, Klare's opportunities project to be significantly limited as he works to establish himself in one of the NFL's most crowded TE rooms. All of Colby Parkinson, Tyler Higbee, Terrance Ferguson and Davis Allen had roles on offense in 2025.

The Texans selected Klein in the second round of the 2026 NFL Draft, 59th overall.

Klein spent his entire three-year college career with Michigan, and in 2025 he was named as an All-Big Ten Honorable Mention after posting 24 catches for 248 yards and a touchdown. He has an athletic, 6-foot-6 frame that should help him develop as a capable blocker at the NFL level, but he'll need to work on his route running and pass-catching ability to earn the trust of QB C.J. Stroud in the passing game. Dalton Schultz (calf) will be the Texans' starting tight end next season, so Klein will compete with Cade Stover (knee) and Brevin Jordan (knee) for the backup job.

The Jaguars selected Boerkircher in the second round of the 2026 NFL Draft, 56th overall.

One of the older players in the draft class, the 24-year-old Boerkircher spent five of the first six years of his college career with Nebraska before finishing up at Texas A&M in 2025. During his lone season with the Aggies, Boerkircher started in eight of 13 appearances while logging 19 catches for 198 yards and three touchdowns. He wasn't involved much in the passing game during his time with the Cornhuskers, but Boerkircher established himself as a reliable target who could fight through coverage to complete catches this past season. Brenton Strange is slated as the Jaguars' top tight end following a career year in 2025, so Boerkircher will likely vie with Quintin Morris and Hunter Long for the No. 2 spot on the depth chart.

The Eagles selected Stowers in the second round of the 2026 NFL Draft, 54th overall.

Stowers (6-foot-4, 239 pounds) began his college career as a distinguished quarterback recruit for Texas A&M but couldn't catch on at the position, leading to him converting to tight end. He would play tight end for New Mexico State (2023) and Vanderbilt (2024-2025), and he proved a quick study. By the time he transferred to the Commodores, it was clear that Stowers had standout natural pass-catching ability, both in the sense of ball skills and yardage after the catch. Though Stowers might not be a good blocker by tight end standards, his 4.51-second 40 at the combine is actually faster than fellow rookie and 20th overall Eagles draft pick Makai Lemon's 4.53-second pro day 40. With a 45.5-inch vertical jump and 135-inch broad jump to go with that speed, Stowers is highly athletic even by wide receiver standards. Although he can't play the same type of tight end as starter Dallas Goedert, it might be difficult for Philadelphia to keep Stowers off the field as time passes.

Taylor will face increased competition for targets and playing time at tight end, as Rich Cimini of ESPN.com reports that the Jets drafted Kenyon Sadiq 16th overall Thursday.

Sadiq has more upside as a pass catcher than Taylor, as the rookie first-round pick had 51 catches for 560 yards and eight touchdowns at Oregon in 2025 and set a position record with a 4.39-second 40-yard dash at the NFL Scouting Combine. That being said, Cimini believes Taylor will still get plenty of playing time, with the Jets likely to use a lot of formations featuring multiple tight ends. Taylor caught 44 of 65 targets for 369 yards and one touchdown as a rookie after being selected in the second round of the 2025 NFL Draft.

The Jets selected Sadiq in the first round of the 2026 NFL Draft, 16th overall.

No one doubts that Sadiq (6-foot-3, 241 pounds) is a good player, and the former Oregon star clearly has compelling long-term upside due to his rare athleticism (4.39-second 40, 43.5-inch vertical jump). This pick is still somewhat puzzling, if only because the Jets just spent a second-round pick on Mason Taylor in the 2025 NFL Draft, and Taylor will be only 22 years old in May. As much as there have been NFL offenses with two tight ends providing standout fantasy utility, there haven't been very many of those and the Jets are maybe the last offense you'd accuse of such competence. With all that said, Sadiq's talent might be so loud that this is more of a problem for Taylor than Sadiq.

Loveland (concussion) said he "feel(s) very good" and is embracing a larger role heading into his second NFL season, Grant Gordon of NFL.com reports.

Loveland's role expanded significantly down the stretch in his rookie season, as the 2025 first-round pick caught 28 of 48 targets for 378 yards and two touchdowns over Chicago's last four games, two of which came in the playoffs. He suffered a concussion late in the Bears' NFC divisional-round loss to the Rams, but Loveland's comments indicate he has recovered from that injury and is ready to build on his momentum from last season in a Bears offense that traded away wide receiver DJ Moore earlier this offseason. Moore finished second on the team in receiving yards behind Loveland during the 2025 regular season.

Westover signed his exclusive-rights free-agent tender with the Patriots on Tuesday.

It was merely a formality for the 26-year-old fullback. Westover has touched the ball just one time in 20 career regular-season games while logging 246 offensive snaps in that span.

Fannin (groin) participated in Tuesday's voluntary veteran minicamp practice, Kelsey Russo of the Browns' official site reports.

Fannin sat out the Browns' 2025 season finale against the Bengals due to a groin injury, but he's moved past the issue. The second-year tight end sits firmly atop a depth chart which no longer includes David Njoku, who remains a free agent, and as a rookie last year Fannin recorded a team-high 72 catches on 107 targets for 731 yards and six TDs in 16 regular-season contests. With Njoku no longer in the mix, Fannin should have an opportunity to improve on those numbers given the unproven options behind him at the position for Cleveland.

Panthers GM Dan Morgan said Tuesday that Sanders (fibula) has resumed running and making cuts in his rehab and could be ready for the start of OTAs, Joe Person of The Athletic reports.

Sanders is recovering from surgery to address a broken right fibula suffered in late December. Across 13 regular-season appearances last year, the 2024 fourth-round pick secured 29 of 34 targets for 190 yards and one touchdown. Unless Carolina makes significant additions to the tight end position in the 2026 NFL Draft, Sanders and Tommy Tremble will again operate as the team's top options at the position.