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.
Tanner Koziol, TE, Houston
HT: 6’6
WT: 246 lbs
Accolades:
- First-team All-Big 12 (2025)
- Second-team All-MAC (2024)
- Third-team All-MAC (2023)
Video:
Pros:
- Catch Radius/Length: 6’6 frame creates elite catch radius, consistently winning above defenders on contested throws.
- Soft Hands: Naturally soft hands secure passes cleanly away from frame at all levels of field.
- Contested Catch Focus: Maintains strong focus through contact, consistently hauling in contested targets throughout career.
- Explosiveness/High Point Ability: Excellent lower-body explosiveness translates to strong vertical wins and high-point ability.
- Route Tree Versatility: Ran full route tree at Houston from in-line, slot, and wide alignments.
- Zone Awareness: Finds soft spots in zone coverage and works efficiently underneath routes.
- Route Craft: Subtle head fakes and body control create hesitation at top of routes.
- Durability/Volume: Four-year contributor with nearly 2,500 snaps and 27 straight games with a catch.
Cons:
- Short-Area Quickness: Lacks the burst and lateral quickness to consistently separate at route break points.
- Route Tempo: Too consistent in pace, making his releases easier to pattern and disrupt.
- Run Blocking: Struggles to generate leverage and sustain anchor at the point of attack.
- Press Resistance: Can be rerouted by physical jams that throw off timing and disrupt route execution.
- Play Strength: Light build relative to the position limits his ability to anchor against power.
- Vertical Separation: Average play speed restricts his ability to consistently stack defenders or separate deep.
Summary:
The Combine essentially confirmed what Koziol is as a prospect. His elite vertical and broad jump numbers reflect the lower-body explosiveness you see when he elevates over smaller defenders to finish at the catch point. But at 247 pounds, he’s undersized for the position at the next level, and that shows up when he’s asked to anchor in the run game or sustain blocks. The testing made the profile clear: he’s a pass-catcher first and foremost, and forcing him into a traditional in-line Y role would be working against his strengths.
Where Koziol fits best is as a big slot weapon operating in the intermediate areas and red zone. At 6’6″, with soft hands and a massive catch radius, he doesn’t need elite long speed to create value between the numbers. He produced consistently across multiple levels of competition, and his contested-catch success translated even as the competition improved. The explosiveness from his testing hints at more seam-threatening ability than his college tape consistently showed, especially when used on the move or into favorable leverage. He’s at his best when schemed free—because against tight man coverage, he’s not a consistent separator on his own.
The range of outcomes is defined. The ceiling is a quality TE2 with a stable pass-game role in a system that plays to his strengths. The floor is a fringe roster player who can’t hold up as a blocker. His success will depend heavily on coaching intent—he needs a staff willing to feature the receiving skill set while minimizing the schematic exposure of his limitations.
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