It's absurd that people attempt to make the case for anyone else as tight end U. Miami isn't just a clear-cut No. 1. The Hurricanes are tops by a country mile (or an Everglades mile, if you will). In the Position U era (since 1998), the Canes have had 15 tight ends drafted. They've had a future NFL tight end on their roster every year. The 2007 season was the lone year their starter (or co-starter) at tight end didn't go on to be drafted. Will Mallory added to the lineage this spring, going in the fifth round to the Indianapolis Colts, and he joins a genuinely astonishing parade of talent that includes Jeremy Shockey, Greg Olsen, Bubba Franks, Jimmy Graham and David Njoku.
The rest of the top 10:
2. Notre Dame
3. Iowa
4. Stanford
5. Florida
6. Missouri
7. Wisconsin
8. Oklahoma
9. Michigan
10. UCLA
If Miami is the clear-cut No. 1, there's also little doubt about which team is No. 2. Michael Mayer added to a long list of terrific Notre Dame tight ends when he went in the second round of this year's NFL draft, joining the likes of Tommy Tremble, Cole Kmet, Tyler Eifert and Kyle Rudolph.
New to the top 10: None. This year's list looks essentially the same as last year's, but that should change in 2024 thanks to a guy named Brock Bowers, who is waiting in the wings for Georgia.
Biggest riser: Until April, Utah hadn't seen a tight end selected since Henry Lusk went in the seventh round of the 1996 draft. But Dalton Kincaid offered an emphatic end to that drought when he was taken 25th overall by the Buffalo Bills. Kincaid's terrific season and lofty draft status were enough to move Utah up from 131st last year to a respectable No. 74 now.
Who's missing: Have we mentioned a guy named Bowers who plays for the two-time defending champs? Yes, Georgia narrowly missed out on the top 10 this year (it ranks 11th) despite Darnell Washington going in the third round of this year's draft. The Bulldogs have actually had a solid run of draft picks, too -- with Arthur Lynch, Isaac Nauta, Charlie Woerner, Tre' McKitty and John FitzPatrick all selected over the past decade. That group hasn't exactly impressed at the next level, however, so that again puts Bowers in the spotlight. He's the clear No. 1 tight end in the country entering the season, and he has a chance to rocket UGA up the TEU board for 2024.
Best outside the Power 5: No. 14 Colorado State holds a minuscule edge over No. 15 BYU, thanks in large part to 2022 second-rounder Trey McBride. But since BYU begins life in the Big 12 this season anyway -- thus joining the ranks of the Power 5 -- we can reward the Rams without much hesitation.
oh shyt Iowa! Just jokes..
