Bucs Sniffing Sleeper Tight End
April 10th, 2026
Ohio State TE Max Klare.
Joe doesn’t know what to make of pre-draft visits prospects make to NFL facilities. The Bucs rarely draft guys who they brought in for interviews.
Joe has a strong hunch Bucs AC/DC-loving general manager Jason Licht mostly uses these visits as fishing expeditions, figuring the Bucs are likely to play these guys somewhere down the road, and thye try to see what makes these guys tick so the Bucs could use that against them.
Al Davis and Bill Belicheat, were notorious for these clandestine acts.
One guy reported last month to visit the Bucs is Ohio State tight end Max Klare. He had a solid year last year but he didn’t make as much noise as Kenyon Sadiq from Oregon or maybe even Michael Trigg out of Baylor.
In his exhaustive draft guide, “The Beast,” Dane Brugler of The Athletic has Klare rated as his No. 3 tight end in the draft.
A one-year starter at Ohio State (and two-and-a-half-year starter overall), Klare was used across the formation in head coach Ryan Day’s offense, alternating between the slot, backfield, wing and inline. After a breakout 2024 season at Purdue, he transferred to Columbus and had high expectations in the Buckeyes’ offense. However, he was underutilized in the passing game, in large part because of all the mouths Ohio State had to feed (his percentage of catches that went for 10-plus yards dropped from 60.8 in 2024 to 39.5 in
‘25).Klare is a good-looking athlete and shows speed and urgency that suggest he has yet to play his best football. He needs to improve with some of the pacing and subtleties of getting open, but his route movements are crisp and fluid. He has the body control to play the ball well in the air and flashes a burst after the catch. The foundation is there to be a serviceable positional blocker, although it will likely never be a strength of his game. Overall, Klare has a low ceiling as a blocker and needs to continue adding refinement as a route runner, but his combination of athleticism, toughness and ball skills gives him a modern-day skill set. He projects as an F tight end, similar in ways to Dalton Kincaid.
Joe thinks Klare may be underrated. He had about a 30 percent drop in production from 2024 when he was at Purdue. That doesn’t bother Joe for a couple of reasons. One is, it seemed Ohio State head coach Ryan Day used him as a decoy as much as he was used as a tight end. Plus, Day had him lining up all over the place, not just as a tight end.
And as Brugler noted, Klare went from being the big dog at Purdue to just one of a big litter at Ohio State. Of course, the Buckeyes were going to target receivers Jeremiah Smith and Carnell Tate more than Klare. That’s just common sense.
Brugler thinks Klare may go as late as the third round. Maybe Brugler thinks Klare has more upside than Trigg, who Joe thinks is a mismatch nightmare?
Watching film of Klare, it seems like he has a sneaky quick first step or two to create separation.
Max Klare 7 REC, 105 YDS, 1 TD vs Rutgers Today.pic.twitter.com/bEoA7ux7Ja https://t.co/Vo9yZUObZn
— Football Performances (@NFLPerformances) November 22, 2025
April 10th, 2026 at 9:07 am
Any Buckeye will excel
April 10th, 2026 at 9:18 am
why this love for TEs?…lol…i cant even name the other TE ATL had other than Pitts
TE shouldnt even be on the radar for the Bucs unless he’s a Darrell Washington type TE whos going to be strictly inline and help the run game…
you wanna protect baker…draft IOL not a TE
you wanna improve the run game…draft IOL not a TE
you wanna keep baker from leading the NFL in INTs again….draft IOL not a TE
GO BUCS!!!!
April 10th, 2026 at 9:24 am
Max Klare actually had a real good season with Ohio State
He was a very efficient Tight End
Considering the fact Ohio State had 2 Top 10 players at WR
Carnell Tate and Jeremiah Smith was the best WR duo in the nation
Klare is a solid TE, he’s no sleeper
April 10th, 2026 at 9:26 am
Looks like he is a sleeper and would fit in a Robertson offense. He was used in multiple positions at Ohio,. so he’s versatile and hopefully he’s available for the Bucs in the fourth round.
April 10th, 2026 at 9:36 am
Interesting that they have brought in 4 TE’s for these visits…
April 10th, 2026 at 9:40 am
They’re trying to build an offense around Baker Mayfield strengths
Getting the ball to RB, TE, Slot WR, and let them run for YAC
That’s why they paid Kenneth Gainwell so much
I would be shocked if they pass on Kenyon Sadiq
April 10th, 2026 at 9:53 am
everyone has complained about the pass rush for 3 yrs now. why in the hell are we talking about a TE at 15. the 1st 4 picks should be edge, cb, lb, dt. stop giving licht fuel to make a dumb move.
April 10th, 2026 at 9:58 am
813..
We get it, you want a guard drafted early. I wouldn’t hate it either. Depends on how the board falls. I also agree with the overblown “12 personal” everyone keeps talking about with Robinson. Pitts wasn’t used much as an inline TE, we was lined up more like a WR and their other TEs were rarely used.
Would it be nice to have a TE that can be used as a weapon to stretch the defense? Sure, but that seems pretty low down the list of some glaring holes at edge, LBer, CB and a young guard to fortify the oline.
If they dont like Culp and/or Durham, then draft a guy in the middle rounds. But definitely not as big a need as some make it out to be.
April 10th, 2026 at 10:01 am
If he falls to us BPA I’m all for it!
April 10th, 2026 at 10:14 am
nope – have 4 TEs on roster all drafted by Fred-Flintstone-doppelgänger Jason Licht – 2 of whom were just extended – a new TE would require that JL admit a mistake which he never does – although Licht could be so plastered on Draft Day that he accidentally sends the wrong card up to the desk
April 10th, 2026 at 10:19 am
I’ve read that Robinson likes to use 12 personnel a lot, so could he be pushing for an additional tight end?
I’ve also read that he’s very flexible and can tweak his offense to match the skill set of the roster.
I guess we’ll see after the draft in 2 weeks.
Day one, best available (unless it’s a tackle, running back or receiver… we know it won’t be a QB)
Day 2, a lot of defense, no safeties… OG possible.
Day 3, still mostly defense but a TE or OG only acceptable offensive players. Depth WR?
April 10th, 2026 at 10:37 am
Yes Licht is tremendous at drafting TE’s……
Meanwhile the defense is an open festering wound with a Dr Bowles that just can’t mend it.
Brady made Licht look like a genius.
In reality he’s just a fat Forest Gump.
April 10th, 2026 at 10:42 am
not-ROH-worthy Jason-Licht-in-the-Loafers drafted Braswell, gimpy Walker, Diaby, Nelson, and brought in “heralded” AQ Muhammad – that is five – as JBF posters have noted, Licht appears overly-intoxicated with Braswell and Walker – so with YaYa AQM “hungry” and Braswell-Walker needing to prove themselves and Nelson deserving more reps, why would Licht admit his own record of incompetence and stupidity by drafting yet ANOTHER OLB ? I suggest that his ego will not allow him to, pass-rush be damned
April 10th, 2026 at 10:47 am
Clearly, they don’t view Durham, Culp or Ko as suitable counterparts to Otton in the 12
April 10th, 2026 at 10:57 am
@Beeej – wait, what?! are you speaking heresy ? that JL is not a draft guru and the best GM in the NFL ? that he drafted Durham Culp Ko and still needs ANOTHER TE ?! Shocking !
April 10th, 2026 at 10:58 am
Looks to have soft hands.
April 10th, 2026 at 11:03 am
THE WORD OF THE DAY IS TRENCHES. And a mumble of DEFENSE prospects. That is the way I think the Bucs should focus on the draft. Tired of the tight end talk enough of that already!
April 10th, 2026 at 11:11 am
Shouldnt have paid Otten, should have let him walk and draft his replacement in the later rounds. This guy and other TEs would have been sufficient in replacing Otten’s production. Besides they still dont know what that have in Culp. That money should have went to help defense with a better FA. Dont understand what this FO is looking at, the fans see the obvious issues with this team.
April 10th, 2026 at 11:17 am
Ok te interested third round or so. Im hoid. Not too much capital unless Tony Gonzalez is available
April 10th, 2026 at 11:20 am
Bucs already have 3 sleepy TEs to go with our 10 million dollar man Otton. Why do we need yet another sleepy TE?
April 10th, 2026 at 11:20 am
Can he play defense?
April 10th, 2026 at 11:26 am
Otton is a perfectly serviceable TE, and is being paid slightly less than his ranking. So are you people complaining that Licht drafted a sixth round guy in Durham and a seventh round guy in Culp ,and somehow these aren’t all pro starters? You people are idiots
April 10th, 2026 at 11:32 am
Dunno – feel like if we go TE.. get the best one. Otherwise, pass until next year because the middle of draft has talent at positions of need (CB, OG, edge). Top DL will be gone by 3rd round however. Can understand BPA with clear talent TE like Sadiq – not loving using rounds 1-4 on JAG.
April 10th, 2026 at 11:39 am
All these tight ends are sleepers, the least stocked position group outside of long snappers and kickers
April 10th, 2026 at 11:41 am
“So are you people complaining that Licht drafted a sixth round guy in Durham and a seventh round guy in Culp ,and somehow these aren’t all pro starters?”
That’s exactly why they’re thinking, that we’re not seeing a football team being put together. They want the Avengers to assemble.
April 10th, 2026 at 12:11 pm
We have two needs on offense: TE and OG. Transformational TE at 15? I wouldn’t complain. For sure starter on Day 2, OK. But I would target rounds 4/5 for these positions. Quality OG depth is a must. Better TE is not my top priority.
April 10th, 2026 at 12:27 pm
How is TE a need? Dlineman, ILB is a need if they want one then that’s a different conversation but I would not say it’s a need. I wouldn’t even say guard is a need but they definitely need depth on the oline but that’s different then drafting a guard in the first because you need it as a team.
April 10th, 2026 at 12:32 pm
interesting hatchet-job on Gruden recently in The Athletic (Spytek too) – supports my contention that only five individuals have been responsible for ALL of the Buccaneers success – Doug Williams, Tony Dungy, Monte Kiffin, Rich McKay, Tom Brady – yes there have been a multitude of great PLAYERS (Brooks, Lynch, Barber, etc etc) but those five were responsible for the 1979-1982 1997-2002 2020-2021 eras where the Bucs had real success – Gruden basically rode Dungy’s coattails – I don’t think Gruden is as bad as The Athletic makes out – (the emails , the emails) and he was actually not bad in Tampa just not great
April 10th, 2026 at 12:38 pm
Otten is a very good tight end. Ko is a tough blocker, a willing special teams player, and a good teammate. Durham, he is eager and still keeps making the team. Same with Culp. So even though Kieft will probably get more snaps than Durham or Culp, it’ll be interesting to see who is our #2 pass catching tight end. Culp or Durham? If Otten goes down, which one comes in, Durham or Culp? Durham in the red zone and Culp with a big field maybe? Anyway, I think taking a tight end is far from what the Brass is thinking about going into this draft.
April 10th, 2026 at 1:02 pm
This draft is filled with a bunch of big WR’s playing TE – meaning they can catch and run, but aren’t very good at blocking. Otton already falls into this category, although compared to the TE’s coming out now, Otton would be considered a better block than most in this class – that’s more about how far the standards for blocking have fallen than anything else.
Anyways, for me, since we already have a receiving first TE, I’d rather get a 2nd TE who can block, but isn’t a stiff – basically someone who at least has the chance of becoming the next Gronk. To me, there’s only one guy who has that chance in this class, that’s Sam Roush. Not by any means at all saying he’ll become anything special, but he at least has the size and blocking skills and catching ability to have a chance to be special.
As for the other TE’s, there’s a bunch of them that I think can play the role of a receiving first (only) TE, and they’ll put up good stats probably, but they’re just big WRs.
April 10th, 2026 at 1:16 pm
His best year was significantly better than Sadiq’s best year. Sadiq is classic fool’s gold!