There's nothing safer in the NFL than drafting an Iowa tight end. Something about Kirk Ferentz's program just leads to NFL-caliber tight ends getting churned out at a rapid rate.
But the latest Iowa tight end to head to the NFL might be facing a very uphill battle.
The Houston Texans used a seventh-round pick on tight end Luke Lachey in this year's NFL Draft, but a crowded tight end room in H-Town has Lachey facing tough odds to land on the initial 53-man roster.
What did Luke Lachey do in college?
Lachey showed a lot as a blocker at Iowa, but he didn't really look like a dynamic pass-catcher. In fact, all four of his career touchdown receptions came in 2022, a year when it looked like he might be the next big thing.
However, a 2023 ankle injury ended that season early, and while Lachey returned in 2024, he simply didn't look nearly as good when it came to working as a receiver. He caught 28 passes for 231 yards while playing 12 games last season.
We've seen sparks of upside out of Lachey in the past, but the fact that his most recent college season featured a career-low in yards per reception and saw him average just 19.3 receiving yards per game is a bad sign going forward.
Why is Luke Lachey's roster spot in Houston not safe?
The Texans have a bit of a crowded situation at tight end, and it's tough to see Lachey getting past the top three guys on the current depth chart.
Dalton Schultz is locked in as the team's No. 1 tight end. Maybe he's not a game-breaking weapon, but he has a strong rapport with quarterback C.J. Stroud and is a reliable veteran who can keep the chains moving. Long-term, Schultz isn't Houston's answer at the tight end, but in 2025 he is.
Cade Stover, a fourth-round pick last year out of Ohio State, is coming off a relatively quiet rookie year, catching 15 passes for 133 yards and a touchdown. Despite the lack of production, the Texans pretty clearly like Stover, and he caught four passes in the only playoff game he played in before fracturing his collarbone. Assuming he's at full health this year, expect a much more impactful 2025 season.
Brevin Jordan played just two games before tearing his ACL. If Lachey is going to make the roster, it's going to be by beating Jordan out. Jordan has flashed some really intriguing upside at times in the NFL, but has also never played a full season as he enters Year 5 in the league. Jordan is, theoretically, a much more important offensive threat than Lachey would be, but we also don't know what post-ACL injury Jordan will look like. If he's fully recovered, he has an edge over Lachey toward making the initial 53-man roster.
Oh, and Irv Smith Jr. is on the team too. We can probably just ignore that. Houston has more reason to keep Lachey over Smith, who is likely just camp fodder.
It's going to be a very uphill battle for Lachey to make the Texans final roster.