A look at a couple of mid-to-late-round NFL Draft tight ends and what they had to say at the NFL Combine.
The Detroit Lions love their tight ends. And while both Sam LaPorta and Brock Wright are both signed through the 2026 season, tight end always seems like a possibility for the Lions’ drafts. This year, it probably won’t be until later in the draft, so during Thursday’s NFL Combine press conferences, I tried to focus on players a little further down the big boards.
Here’s what I learned about certain tight ends from the 2025 NFL Draft class.
Previous NFL Combine media recaps:
Tight ends
Iowa TE Luke Lachey
It’s impossible not to pay attention any time there’s an Iowa tight end at the NFL Combine. Although, Lachey’s production (28 catches 231 yards in 2024) doesn’t come close to matching the final college seasons of his predecessor like Sam LaPorta (58 for 657) or T.J. Hockenson (49 for 760). Lachey said his modest production was a product of learning a new offense, and he’s not that concerned about receiving yards as long as he’s helping the team.
“We were learning. I’m not the kind of guy that’s going to go up and tell someone, ‘Get me the ball more,’” Lachey said. “I was buying into the team. I was super glad to help out the team any way I could. Certainly you’d love to get the ball more, but I can’t control that.
Obviously, there are a few Lions ties to Lachey. He noted how LaPorta had recently texted him to help him navigate through this week, but most interestingly, Lachey—a two-time Iowa captain himself—brought up both LaPorta and Lions linebacker Jack Campbell when talking about his inspiration for leadership.
“You see the guys that really do things right and are playing at a high level—to me that was Jack Campbell, Sam LaPorta, Tyler Linderbaum. They all had a great career at Iowa and obviously are all very successful in the NFL, and guys that were great leaders at their time at Iowa. So you just kinda look and watch those guys”
Lachey takes even more inspiration from his dad, Jim Lachey, who was an 11-year NFL vet and five-time All-Pro offensive tackle. He also said he had an informal meeting with the Lions.
Georgia Tech TE Jackson Hawes
Hawes is an intriguing Day 3 prospect. In 2023, after his senior season at Yale—in which he graduated with a degree in economics—he could’ve entered the draft and almost certainly gone late on Day 3, or even more likely, undrafted. Instead, he decided he wasn’t done with college football, and wanted to show up on a bigger stage with a different role. So he transferred to Georgia Tech and had his best season to date.
“I looked at the transfer portal as a great opportunity to find myself flourishing in an offense that really caters to my abilities,” Hawes said. “And I felt like Tech would do a really good job of that. A lot of 12 personnel, tons of NFL shifts and motions, long play calls to kinda get me right there.”
Hawes has mostly been a physically-imposing blocker, with 67 percent of his snaps coming as an in-line tight end last year at Georgia Tech. He insists his hands are better than most give him credit for after catching just 16 passes for 195 yards, pointing to his performance in the Senior Bowl .
But Hawes’ biggest strength is his blocking. He claims to have had eight or nine knockdowns against Florida State last year. You can watch for yourself here (he’s #85):
(There’s a nice series of blocks starting at 2:03)
What I found most interesting about Hawes’ presser is that he was bummed he couldn’t be with Georgia Tech and their NFL-like system for longer, but he does not regret waiting on the transfer portal until 2024 because getting his degree at Yale was the priority.
Michigan TE Colston Loveland
Okay, Loveland isn’t a middle-of-the-pack tight end prospect. He’ll likely cost a team a first or second-round pick to acquire, but I visited his press conference anyway.
Loveland provided an injury recovery timeline after having surgery on his shoulder at the end of January. He said three months out of surgery (late April), he should be able to run around and catch the football, and after six months (late July), he’ll be cleared for contact. Essentially, that means he could theoretically be ready and given full clearance by training camp.
It’s worth noting Loveland played through this injury for most of the season. It’s believed he suffered the labrum injury in Week 3, and while he missed Week 4, he played the rest of the season, and finished as PFF’s No. 5 tight end of the season (85.9 grade).
Because of the injury, his role focused more on receiving in the second half of the season, finishing with 56 catches for 582 yards and five touchdowns. However, he believes his blocking skills are underrated.
“I’ve been doing it since freshman year and obviously going to Michigan they ask you to block and you got to be able to block,” Loveland said. “I think I just don’t do it—the past couple years I just haven’t done it as much. So sometimes I think that can kind of shy people’s vision away from actually what I do in the run game.”