Home Draft Profiles 2026 NFL Draft Profile: Justin Joly, TE, NC State

NC State tight end Justin Joly is moving up several NFL Draft Big Boards including the Buccaneers / via Instagram

2026 NFL Draft Profile: Justin Joly, TE, NC State

March 26, 2026

The 2026 NFL offseason is here and that means it’s time for mock drafts, draft profiles and everything that goes with them. So without further ado, here’s one of many Draft Profiles for the 2025 NFL draft.

Justin Joly, TE, NC State

HT: 6’4
WT: 242 lbs

Accolades:

First-team All-ACC (2025)

Video:

Pros:

Reliable Hands/Catch Radius: Natural ball skills with the ability to extend outside his frame. Notable year-to-year improvement limiting drops while consistently finishing through traffic.
Contested Catch Ability: Plays with strong body control at the catch point. Times his leaps well, shields defenders with his frame, and maintains focus through contact.
Downfield Production: Among the more efficient tight ends in this class working the intermediate and vertical areas. Creates chunk plays rather than being limited to underneath usage.
Fluid Athleticism: Easy mover who can stress the seam and force safeties to honor his ability to get down the field. Covers ground smoothly with build-up speed.
Alignment Versatility: Experience lining up inline, in the slot, detached wide, and even in the backfield. Offers offensive coordinators true formation and matchup flexibility.
Route Nuance: Shows subtle craftsmanship at the top of routes. Uses pacing, head fakes, and tempo variation to separate without needing elite burst.
Pass Protection Value: Technically sound and assignment-reliable in protection. Rarely gave up pressure across an extended college sample size.
Red Zone Threat: Proven scoring presence with double-digit touchdowns over his final two seasons. Uses size, timing, and ball skills to finish drives.

Cons:

Size/Play Strength Concerns: Below ideal NFL tight end measurables with a lighter build. Can struggle to consistently match the physicality of bigger defenders in congested areas.
Run Blocking Impact: More positional than punishing as a run blocker. Tends to shield and steer rather than generate displacement or finish with authority.
Leverage/Technique Issues: Pad level will rise through contact and his base can get too wide, limiting balance and power transfer at the point of attack.
Diminished Burst/YAC: Post-catch production and overall explosiveness appeared to taper off from 2024 to 2025, raising questions about top-end playmaking upside.
Route Precision: Will occasionally round or drift at the top of breaks, allowing defenders to close throwing windows and contest targets.
Hands Consistency: Doesn’t always attack the football with full extension. At times lets the ball travel into his frame, leading to tighter finishes at the catch point.

Summary:

Joly projects best in an offense that treats the tight end as a movable receiving piece rather than a static inline presence. His ball skills translate — he tracks it naturally down the field, can adjust when placement is imperfect, and shows the toughness to finish catches through contact in congested windows. While his route running still needs refinement, there is clear feel and subtle craft to build on, suggesting real upside with focused coaching on his footwork and pacing. In multiple-tight end groupings, he offers alignment flexibility, capable of lining up attached to the formation, working from the slot, or flexing out wide without telegraphing intent.