Riley Nowakowski

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

Indiana TE from Rochester Hills (MI); Wisconsin transfer.

College Production

2024-25 IU: 50+ career rec, 600+ yds as Y-TE.

Scouting Take

In-line Y-TE with reliable blocking. Below-average receiving upside.

Draft Projection

Round 5. Y-TE starter in 12-personnel.

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 Riley Nowakowski 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.

Versatility, Limits & Roster Pathway

Derived from height/weight against the 2026 position cohort and the prospect's projected round. Versatility callouts identify alternate alignments NFL teams have historically used for similar size profiles. Limiting-trait notes flag the single most-cited measurable concern; severity reflects how often that flag ends a Day 1 starter projection. Roster-pathway notes describe the realistic Year 1 NFL role for Day 3 picks.

By the Numbers — 2026 Class Context

• Frame: Among 2026 TE prospects, his 6-4 / 240 lbs frame sits at the 78th percentile in height and 30th percentile in weight.
• Position class: Riley Nowakowski is TE #11 of 23 ranked TEs in the 2026 class. Of those, 2 are projected in the R5 range.
• School pipeline: One of 7 Indiana 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.

Riley Nowakowski’s NFL Archetype: Jonnu Smith

Jonnu Smith (Pittsburgh Steelers)

Closest TE physical profile in the modern NFL: 6-4/240 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 Riley Nowakowski (6-4 / 240 lbs, #11 TE) by ranking proximity and physical profile. SIZE MATCH = within 1″ height and 10 lbs; TIER MATCH = within 2 ranking spots.

• Dae'Quan WrightSIZE MATCH Ole Miss · 6-4/245 lbs · #12 TE · R6
• Jack EndriesSIZE MATCH Texas · 6-4/245 lbs · #9 TE · R4-R5
• Lance MasonSIZE MATCH Wisconsin · 6-4/245 lbs · #13 TE · R6-R7
• Lake McReeSIZE MATCH USC · 6-4/240 lbs · #15 TE · R7
• Seydou TraoreSIZE MATCH Mississippi State · 6-5/245 lbs · #14 TE · R7

→ Full Tight Ends rankings

Indiana & The 2026 Class