Ahead of the 2025 NFL Draft (April 24-26 in Green Bay), we’ll be taking a position-by-position look at the Detroit Lions‘ roster and how the team’s needs can be met on draft weekend. Today: Tight end.

Current roster outlook

There isn’t any concern about the top of Detroit’s tight end group, which is led by Sam LaPorta. Expectations were high for LaPorta heading into Year 2 after he broke records as a rookie, and while he didn’t quite meet the lofty numbers some hoped for, he still turned in 726 yards and seven touchdowns on 60 receptions. The former second-round pick did it while battling injuries, too, and he got better as the season went on. His 335 receiving yards from Weeks 14-18 ranked third among all tight ends, trailing only San Francisco’s George Kittle and Arizona’s Trey McBride.

Brock Wright, an undrafted free agent in 2021, is entering the second season of a three-year, $12 million extension he received in 2023. He doesn’t have the receiving chops of LaPorta, but he’s been a reliable backup (he caught 26 of his 30 targets over the last two seasons) and a solid blocker.

The position is rounded out by Shane Zylstra, who began last season on the practice squad before earning his way onto the active roster, and Kenny Yeboah, the former New York Jets tight end who signed with the Lions this offseason. The Lions have carried three tight ends on their initial 53-man roster for the last two seasons, so there may be a training camp battle brewing between these two. A third challenger could also make his way into the competition through the draft.

Level of need: Moderate

The Lions don’t have a tight end signed beyond the 2026 season, so it wouldn’t be all that surprising if general manager Brad Holmes wants to add a player at the position on a four-year pact. It would be a bit shocking, though, if the Lions spent their first-round pick on a tight end. LaPorta is still just 24 years old, and the list of TEs across the league who have more receiving yards since 2023 — Kittle (2,126), McBride (1,971) and Kansas City’s Travis Kelce (1,807) outdid LaPorta (1,615) during this two-year stretch — isn’t long.

At the top

The top two tight ends in this year’s class are nearly unanimous among analysts: Penn State’s Tyler Warren at No. 1 and Michigan’s Colston Loveland at No. 2. LSU’s Mason Taylor, the son of former Miami Dolphins star Jason Taylor, has also drawn recent buzz, but consensus rankings still have him behind Warren and Loveland.

Penn State ran much of its offense last season through Warren, who led the team in receiving yards (1,233) and receiving touchdowns (eight). He chipped in on the ground, as well, adding 218 yards and four scores on 26 rushing attempts. He does a bit of everything, which is why some mock drafts have the former Nittany Lions star as a top-10 pick.

Loveland tallied 582 yards and five touchdowns on 56 catches last season, and he did so while dealing with a shoulder injury he sustained against Arkansas State in September. Loveland, who had surgery on Jan. 29 to repair the AC joint in his right shoulder, missed one game due to the injury. Much of Loveland’s work came when he was not attached to the offensive line; 48.7% of Loveland’s offensive snaps over the last two seasons have come with him lined up either in the slot or out wide.

Teams who could be after a TE in Round 1

Jacksonville Jaguars (No. 5), New York Jets (7), Carolina Panthers (8), Indianapolis Colts (14), Denver Broncos (20), Los Angeles Chargers (22), Los Angeles Rams (26)

Down the board

Assuming Warren and Loveland are the only tight ends taken in Round 1, Taylor will be the highest-rated tight end available on Day 2. Other top options for the second round and early third round include Miami’s Elijah Arroyo, Bowling Green’s Harold Fannin Jr. and Oregon’s Terrance Ferguson.

Fannin is particularly intriguing. His detractors say his level of competition led to inflated numbers — he led the country in receptions (117) and receiving yards (1,555) — but he was uber productive in games against Penn State and Texas A&M, combining for 282 yards and two touchdowns on 19 receptions. Arroyo, meanwhile, is a fluid mover, which helped him post 590 yards and seven touchdowns last season. Similar to Loveland, a decent chunk of Arroyo’s offensive snaps in 2024 (45.2%) came with him lined up in the slot or out wide.

Syracuse standout Oronde Gadsden II‘s 934 receiving yards in 2024 ranked third nationally among tight ends, behind Fannin and Warren. A former receiver who made a position change midway through his collegiate career, Gadsden bounced back from injury last season. He had 975 yards as a receiver in 2022, but he missed all but two games in 2023 with a Lisfranc injury.

A couple Day 3 options we’ll highlight are CJ Dippre (Alabama) and Caden Prieskorn (Ole Miss). An Orchard Lake St. Mary’s grad, Prieskorn has more of a reputation as a pass-catcher (he had at least 400 receiving yards each season from 2022-24, and he hauled in 84.6% of his contested catches from 2023-24). Dippre posted a solid 443 receiving yards over two campaigns with the Crimson Tide, and he was one of the veteran contributors who stayed at Alabama through the coaching change from Nick Saban to Kalen DeBoer.

Time to target

If the Lions extend LaPorta next offseason — McBride reset the market earlier this month with a four-year, $76 million contract that’ll assumingly serve as an outline for a new contract with LaPorta — they’re going to need cheap depth behind him. Spending a first-round pick on the position doesn’t seem likely, but the Lions could jump at a tight end they like as early as Day 2.