As the 2025 NFL Draft nears, 3rd time could be the charm to Rams landing a TE

8. Oronde Gadsden II, Syracuse

If it comes down to risk and reward, Syracuse tight end Oronde Gadsden has a lot of reward to offer for what could be a low risk investment of a Round 4 pick. Standing 6-foot-5 and weighing 243 pounds, Gadsden is a huge tight end in position name only. One NFL draft profile describes him as more of a slot receiver than a receiving tight end. In the wake of the team parting ways with veteran WR Cooper Kupp, who excelled as a slot receiver, that is worth noting.

Gadsden is very intriguing because he combines the physicality of a tight end with the route running and receiving prowess of a wide receiver. Perhaps it is his transition from wide receiver to tight end that helped him to engineer himself into a hybrid of both types of positions.

But his projection as an NFL tight end will mean that he will need to muscle up, as his style of play simply doesn't harbor the type of physicality that NFL teams expect.

Still, NFL teams have little experience at exploiting mismatches with a player like Gadsden. But it only takes one NFL offense to showcase how his unique skills and measurables can befuddle defenses for other teams to quickly get onboard. He can line up anywhere in an offense and be productive.

Projected: Round 4

9. Jake Briningstool, Clemson

As we descend the tight end rankings, the rookie prospects surprisingly retain some critical attributes that project very well into the NFL. And for Clemson tight end Jake Briningstool, that holds true. Standing 6-foot-6 and weighing 241 pounds, Briningstool is a huge offensive target who showed steady development and improvement throughout his college career.

Briningstool is a safeties worst nightmare, casually running both seam and vertical routes that push the back end of defenses to their limits. He has a supercomputer processor adept at seeing and understanding defenses, has a panache for scoring in the red zone, and is explosive in his first steps after the snap, guaranteeing separation.

Despite his size, Briningstool does not exude physicality or ferocity at his position. He is more finesse than physical, which could be an impediment to overcome at the next level.

Projection: Round 7