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The tight end position is among the most nebulous on the football field. They come in several shapes and sizes, spend time as offensive linemen and wide receivers, and have the ability to change the math for an offense, both on the ground and through the air.
And yet, early-round options have been sparse. First-round hit rates are consistently troubling, and discourse on positional value goes back and forth on whether teams should be investing in tight ends.
Frequently, teams reap the most surplus value from later-round picks and second-contract veterans. It's a hard position to learn, a harder one to predict, and one that teams still struggle to manage properly.
Michael Trigg stock update
Subsequently, different teams and evaluators have their preferred flavor of tight end prospect, and when one flashes upside, we rush to push them up boards.
Earlier this season, Baylor Bears tight end Michael Trigg found himself amid the hoopla. He was creating explosive plays with regularity and found six scores in his platform year -- more than enough production to put him on the NFL Draft radar.
The allure was easy to see. Trigg's combination of arm length and hand size makes him a freak at the catch point, and in the body of an oversized receiver, we should still expect Trigg to make plays at the next level, especially in the red zone.
However, Trigg's stock isn't likely to settle as high as his biggest fans might hope.
Part of that was on film the entire time. Trigg, at 240 pounds, isn't built to be a blocker. He doesn't exceed those expectations, either. This is a big wide receiver, and while that's not necessarily a bad thing, it may limit him to part-time duties at the next level.
Trigg also didn't help himself in the months after his final collegiate season. To date, Trigg's only athletic testing is a vertical jump of 27.5 inches, a fourth-percentile mark from MockDraftable's database.
It's possible that a hamstring injury played into this and/or prevented further testing. He didn't work out at the Combine because of it, and after his underwhelming vertical jump, Trigg has opted to prioritize his recovery.
Michael Trigg is a TE prospect in the 2026 draft class. He does not qualify for a #RAS due to a lack of measurements.https://t.co/CXFnCmNuWC pic.twitter.com/Jt7M2oKVw1
— RAS.football (@MathBomb) April 3, 2026For Trigg's long-term outlook, that's probably the right decision. But failing to confirm his dynamism (he never projected to run an incredibly fast 40 for the position) is a concern, and it isn't immediately clear that a fully healthy vertical jump would have washed those worries away.
MORE: Jermod McCoy just ran the most important 40-yard dash of the draft cycle
If Trigg isn't the quick-twitch athlete we once thought, it's much harder to see him as an every-down starter and less enticing to give him reps as a frequent TE2.
There's still a role for Trigg at the next level, but the likelihood that he is limited to red zone and certain passing downs -- where his ability to win above the rim can shine -- feels higher than it did when he was terrorizing Big 12 defenses. That should render him a mid-Day 3 pick, rather than the fourth-round grade he originally picked up on my board, although a team could talk itself into Trigg with better medicals and information we're not privy to.
Trigg's pre-draft process didn't unfold as he had hoped. It shouldn't destroy his stock, but from afar, it seems like some damage has been done, and in a decent TE class, that will probably manifest in picks flying off the board on Day 3.
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