Justin Joly

Draft-Week Buzz

No verified pre-draft news items in the past 30 days for this prospect. See Day 2/3 Team Fits below for projected landing spots and /news.html for the cross-prospect timeline.

Background

NC State TE from Brooklyn, NY; UConn transfer who produced immediately in the ACC.

College Production

2024 NCSU: 52 rec / 546 yds / 4 TDs. 2025: 67 rec / 789 yds / 7 TDs.

Scouting Take

Two-way TE with sideline separation and plus blocking. Below-average athletic profile; less suddenness.

Draft Projection

Round 3-4. Two-way Y-TE starter.

Advanced Stats & Production

Metrics blended from PFF grade sheets, school box scores, and Combine/Pro Day box scores. Position-specific: QB shows efficiency + turnover rates, WR/TE show route-running + contested-catch, OL shows pass-block grade + pressures allowed, EDGE/IDL show pass-rush win rate + pressure rate, LB/DB show coverage grade + missed-tackle rate.

Sources

• ESPN Player Page
• Wikipedia
• 247Sports Profile

Our scouting profile is assembled from these primary sources + cross-checked against ESPN (Kiper / Reid / Miller), PFF's 2026 Big Board, Dane Brugler's The Beast 2026, and Daniel Jeremiah's top-50. See our full methodology and citations.

Day 2 / Day 3 Team Fits

NFL teams that lost a same-position veteran this offseason — and could target Justin Joly as a Day 2/3 replacement option.

• REPORTED Pittsburgh Steelers: moved on from Jonnu Smith (two-way-TE).
  Picks held: R1 #21; R2 #53
• REPORTED Seattle Seahawks: moved on from Will Dissly (blocking-TE).
  Picks held: R1 #32; R2 #64

Confidence: "VERIFIED" departures cite a publication URL (Spotrac, OverTheCap, ESPN, NFL.com, team transactions page) confirming the move and date. "REPORTED" entries come from public free-agency trackers without a single canonical source we could attach. Fits are archetype-and-position based; we are not claiming the team has expressed interest in the prospect.

NFL Scheme Fit

Scheme matches are bucketed from the prospect's height, weight, and (for WRs) archetype tag against a static lookup of which NFL teams currently run each scheme family.

Rookie Contract & Landing-Spot Outlook

Contract band uses the 2026 NFL CBA rookie wage scale projected from the prospect's expected pick range; guarantee % is the slot-default at that pick. Landing-spot best/worst case is derived from TEAMS data (positional needs + scheme overlap minus same-position R1 conflicts) — not a claim that either team has expressed interest.

By the Numbers — 2026 Class Context

• Frame: Among 2026 TE prospects, his 6-4 / 250 lbs frame sits at the 78th percentile in height and 96th percentile in weight.
• Position class: Justin Joly is TE #6 of 23 ranked TEs in the 2026 class. Of those, 3 are projected in the R3 range.
• School pipeline: One of 3 NC State prospects in the 2026 NFL Draft — but the only TE.

Computed factually from the 2026 prospect class roster — height/weight percentiles benchmark this player against every other ranked prospect at the same position. Recruiting arc compares his high-school 247Sports/Rivals composite to his current projected round.

Justin Joly’s NFL Archetype: Sam LaPorta

Sam LaPorta (Detroit Lions)

Closest TE physical profile in the modern NFL: 6-4/250 lbs. Same frame, same role bucket — NOT a talent or career-arc projection.

Note: this is a physical-profile match — frame, position, role bucket. Not a talent or career-arc projection.

Similar Tight End Prospects

Closest matches to Justin Joly (6-4 / 250 lbs, #6 TE) by ranking proximity and physical profile. SIZE MATCH = within 1″ height and 10 lbs; TIER MATCH = within 2 ranking spots.

• Michael TriggSIZE MATCH Baylor · 6-3/245 lbs · #7 TE · R4
• Sam RoushSIZE MATCH Stanford · 6-5/250 lbs · #4 TE · R3
• Max KlareSIZE MATCH Ohio State · 6-4/245 lbs · #3 TE · R2-R3
• Jack EndriesSIZE MATCH Texas · 6-4/245 lbs · #9 TE · R4-R5
• Oscar DelpSIZE MATCH Georgia · 6-5/240 lbs · #5 TE · R3

→ Full Tight Ends rankings

NC State & The 2026 Class