Training camp is here for the NFL, and former Penn State football players are back in action from rookies to well-seasoned veterans.
Entering Year 2 with some high expectations is tight end Tyler Warren. The 2024 John Mackey Award winner and 2025 No. 14 overall pick had a successful rookie season with the Indianapolis Colts. Warren started 12 games and played in all 17 contests, logging 76 receptions for 817 yards and four touchdowns.
Those already-impressive numbers weren't the only things that stood out in Warren's first NFL season. He had the second-most yards after catch (487) behind Arizona Cardinal tight end Trey McBride in 2025 and had the fifth-most total receiving yards. Ranking in at fourth-most in the league, 42 of Warren's receptions were good to either move the chains or put six points up on the board.
For Pro Football Focus, the former Nittany Lion slotted in as the No. 10 top tight end in the NFL heading into the 2026 season. Only one other rookie from 2025, Chicago Bear Colston Loveland (No. 5), made it into the Top 10.
Top 10 Tight Ends Ahead of the 2026 NFL Season pic.twitter.com/pr7YgHcSZ9
— PFF (@PFF) July 23, 2026
Tyler Warren is ranked as the No. 10 NFL tight end ahead of 2026 season and five other former Nittany Lions make Top 32
Warren wasn't the only former Penn Stater that PFF recognized. Dalton Wasserman and Max Chadwick compiled a list of the top 32 tight ends in the league, and five others came from Tight End University as well. The Nittany Lions were the most represented in this ranking, only solidifying their name as TEU further in college football.
Brenton Strange, current Jacksonville Jaguar, was ranked No. 11. He spent four seasons in Happy Valley (2019-22) and was drafted No. 61 overall in the second round of the 2023 NFL Draft. Strange logged 46 catches for 540 yards and three touchdowns in 2025 for Jacksonville.
"Strange had the best year of his young career in his third season with the Jaguars. His 73.4 PFF run-blocking grade placed fifth among all tight ends in the league, while his 77.6 PFF receiving grade was 11th. Strange also averaged 1.70 yards per route run, the 10th-best rate for tight ends," Wasserman and Chadwix wrote.
Juwan Johnson, who spent three years at Penn State, was No. 18 on PFF's list. Like Strange, Wasserman and Chadwix noted that Johnson had his best NFL season in 2025. He logged 889 receiving yards, which was third-most in the league.
He played for the Nittany Lions from 2016-18, making 37 games appearances and tallying 1,123 receiving yards on 81 catches. New Orleans signed Johnson as an undrafted free agent in 2020.
Pittsburgh Steeler Pat Freiermuth is, unsurprisingly, on PFF's list as well, coming in at No. 20. The 2021, Round 2, No. 55 overall pick spent three seasons as a Nittany Lion (2018-20) and is heading into Year 6 with the Steelers.
"His 141 career catches that went for either a first down or a touchdown are the 10th-most in the NFL over the past five seasons. Similarly, Freiermuth’s 1,232 yards after the catch in that span are 11th," Wasserman and Chadwix wrote.
Despite sustaining a chest injury that ruled him out of three games in 2025, Cincinnati Bengal Mike Gesicki still earned a spot in the top 32. He was ranked No. 20 with PFF recognizing the former Penn Stater (2014-17) didn't drop a single catchable pass in 2025.
New York Giant Theo Johnson closed out the list at No. 32. He played for the Nittany Lions from 2020-23. While Wasserman and Chadwix wrote that he will likely slot in as the No. 2 tight end for the Giants in 2026, his production as a pass-catcher won't be wiped away entirely.
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