Carsen Ryan has been waiting for this moment since he was 5 years old, when his parents gave him a plastic Cincinnati Bengals helmet and Fathead posters of Chad Johnson and Carson Palmer. Now the BYU tight end from Orem is hearing that his path to the NFL could come this weekend.
Ryan and his agent believe he could go in rounds 5-7 of the 2026 NFL draft, and he said he feels confident he will be in an NFL camp next week one way or the other. “Yeah, I like my chances quite a bit,” Ryan said, adding that if he is not drafted, “it is not the end of the world.”
The 6-foot-4, 255-pound tight end was not showing up on many mock draft boards after BYU’s 25-21 win over Georgia Tech in the Pop-Tarts Bowl in December. Then he turned heads at BYU’s pro day in March, when he ran a 4.66-second 40-yard dash, did 23 reps on the bench press and posted a 33.5-inch vertical jump after not getting an invitation to the NFL combine in February.
Ryan said he felt the workout changed the way teams viewed him. “I feel like my explosiveness really got a lot better,” he said, explaining that he leaned out, focused on eating healthy and got his body composition where he wanted it. “My explosiveness took a big step, and I got a lot quicker. I was really happy with that progress as far as speed goes.”
His season also gave evaluators plenty to work with. Ryan caught eight passes for 120 yards in the bowl game and finished the year with 45 catches for 620 yards and three touchdowns. After the game, he went to Los Gatos, California, to train with California Strength, a move that helped him sharpen the athletic profile NFL teams are weighing against his role as a receiver and blocker.
That balance is part of what has kept Ryan in the conversation. Dane Brugler gave him a fifth-round grade in The Athletic’s draft preview and wrote that he is “more coordinated than explosive” while offering a mix of pass-catching and blocking. Mel Kiper Jr. ranked Ryan No. 14 on his list of top H-backs and fullbacks, though he left him off a list of the top 23 tight ends. Pro Football Focus called him the best late-round prospect at the tight end position in the draft.
An agent familiar with the process said he had heard “a lot of good things about Carsen Ryan,” but also noted that “this is a very deep tight end class,” which could push some players down the board. That is the tension in Ryan’s case: his pro day and productive final season helped his stock, but depth at the position means he may still have to wait to hear his name called.
Ryan, though, sounds ready for either outcome. He said he has heard enough positive feedback to think he will probably be drafted, but if he is not, he can still pick a path that works. That is where he is headed now — toward the NFL, with or without a call in the draft.
