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.
Scouting Nugget: Purdue transfer
Expanded bio coming soon. This prospect is Tight End #3 in the 2026 class.
Background
Ohio State TE from Carmel, IN; Purdue transfer who joined OSU for the Heisman-chasing 2025 team.
College Production
2023-24 Purdue: 850+ career rec yds. 2025 OSU: 48 rec / 548 yds / 7 TDs as Mendoza's TE1.
Scouting Take
Reliable hands and seam stretcher; scheme-flex alignment. Blocking is a weakness; doesn't block in-line consistently.
Draft Projection
Round 2-3. Move TE / hybrid F-option.
Mock-Draft Consensus
| ESPN (Jordan Reid) | PFF Big Board | Jeremiah Top 50 | Consensus Avg | Realistic Range |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| #80 | #76 | — | #78.0 | Picks 55-100 |
30-day trend: Stable
Ranks cross-referenced from ESPN's Jordan Reid top-500, PFF's 2026 Big Board top-200, and Daniel Jeremiah's top-50 (NFL.com). Realistic draft-night range reflects projected team fit and trade scenarios, not just big-board placement.
Advanced Stats & Production
| 2025 PFF grade | 83.1 |
| Yards per route run | 2.05 |
| Run-block grade | 64.8 |
| Contested catch rate | 55% |
| Drop rate | 2.9% |
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
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 Max Klare 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.
Rookie Contract & Landing-Spot Outlook
Projected Rookie Contract Value
~$8.0M – $13.0M (4-year deal) · Pick range: #33-64 · ~85% guaranteed
Mid-pick band — guarantee % varies pick-to-pick
Best-Case / Worst-Case Landing Spot
Why: TE listed in their top-5 positional needs.
Year-1 arc: Day-1 starter window with cap-controlled rookie-contract production.
Why: TE not in their stated top-5 needs; runs a scheme that doesn't naturally amplify his profile.
Year-1 arc: Depth-chart competition + special-teams reps as Year-1 baseline.
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 / 245 lbs frame sits at the 78th percentile in height and 78th percentile in weight.
- Position class: Max Klare is TE #3 of 23 ranked TEs in the 2026 class. Of those, 2 are projected in the R2 range.
- School pipeline: One of 9 Ohio 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.
Max Klare’s NFL Archetype: Sam LaPorta
Sam LaPorta (Detroit Lions)
Closest TE physical profile in the modern NFL: 6-4/245 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 Max Klare (6-4 / 245 lbs, #3 TE) by ranking proximity and physical profile. SIZE MATCH = within 1″ height and 10 lbs; TIER MATCH = within 2 ranking spots.
- Eli StowersSIZE MATCH Vanderbilt · 6-4/240 lbs · #2 TE · R2
- Sam RoushSIZE MATCH Stanford · 6-5/250 lbs · #4 TE · R3
- Justin JolySIZE MATCH NC State · 6-4/250 lbs · #6 TE · R3-R4
- Kenyon SadiqSIZE MATCH Oregon · 6-3/241 lbs · #1 TE · R1 15-25
- Oscar DelpSIZE MATCH Georgia · 6-5/240 lbs · #5 TE · R3
Ohio State & The 2026 Class
More from Ohio State
- Arvell Reese · EDGE #1 · R1 top 5
- Kayden McDonald · IDL #2 · R1
- Ethan Onianwa · IOL #27 · R7
- Sonny Styles · LB #1 · R1 top 5
- CJ Donaldson · RB #27 · UDFA
Other R2-R3 prospects in the 2026 class
Different positions, same projected draft tier as Max Klare.
- Drew Allar · QB · Penn State
- Carson Beck · QB · Miami (FL)
- Mike Washington Jr. · RB · Arkansas
- Malachi Fields · WR · Notre Dame
- Chris Brazzell II · WR · Tennessee
- Markel Bell · OT · Miami (FL)