The New England Patriots made some significant investments in their tight end group this offseason. However, at the end of the day, it might not be a surprise if the most impactful player of the bunch ends up being one who flew largely under the radar: undrafted rookie Tanner Arkin.
One of the pleasant surprises of this year’s training camp, Arkin currently looks like the Patriots’ top blocking tight end. It is a role he is well-suited to fill.
Hard facts
Name: Tanner Arkin
Position: Tight end
Jersey number: 84
Opening day age: 23 (7/7/2003)
Measurements: 6’3 5/8”, 262 lbs, 10 1/8” hand size, 32 1/4” arm length, 77 5/8” wingspan, 4.88s 40-yard dash, 7.44s 3-cone drill, 4.50s short shuttle, 33 1/2” vertical jump, 9’5” broad jump, 21 bench press reps, 5.45 Relative Athletic Score
Experience
NFL: New England Patriots (2026-) | College: Colorado State (2021-22), Illinois (2023-25)
A three-star recruit coming out of Fossil Ridge in Fort Collins, CO, Arkin started his college career less than six miles from his high school field: he joined Colorado State in 2021, and in two season as a Ram played 15 games with eight starts. Catching 15 passes for 125 yards along the way, he decided to enter the transfer portal shortly after his redshirt freshman campaign.
Arkin took his talents to Illinois, where he saw prominent action right out of the gate before becoming a fixture in 2024 and 2025. A team captain both seasons, he finished his tenure in Champaign with the second-most career starts by a tight end in school history (29 of 38 games). He also hauled in 30 catches for 226 yards and six touchdowns before leaving school in 2026.
Primarily a blocking tight end in college, Arkin received limited hype entering the NFL. He eventually went undrafted and joined the Patriots as a rookie free agent.
Scouting report
Strengths: From his build to his tenacity and physical play style, Arkin is a blocking tight end through and through. Checking in at just under 6-foot-4 and 262 pounds, he is able to hunker down as a pass protector and take the battle to the defense as a run blocker. He uses his big hands and natural grip strength well to latch onto defenders, and keeps his feet churning to drive them off the ball. He also has the core strength and raw power to hold his own 1-on-1 against defensive edges, as well as a natural feel for leverage and balance. In addition, he operates well when asked to block on the move and can execute down and reach blocks from his alignment on the edge.
Weaknesses: Arkin catching only 45 passes during his college career did not happen by accident. He simply lacks the foot speed and agility to function as anything but a rudimentary part of a passing game, while also not having the length to be used as a consistent contested-catch target. Even when he was thrown the ball, he has been unable to do a lot with it as far as picking up yards after the catch or breaking tackles is concerned. Even as a blocker, he is not a finished product. He oftentimes forces his way to success, winning by brute strength rather than an advanced technical setup particularly in regards to his hand usage.
2025 review
Stats: 13 games (13 starts) | 684 offensive snaps, 156 special teams snaps | 17 targets, 13 catches (76.5%), 114 receiving yards (8.8/catch), 2 TDs, 1 drop | 8 QB pressures surrendered (2 sacks, 2 hits, 4 hurries) | 2 penalties (incl. 0 declined/offsetting)
Season recap: Arkin earned a starting role in the Illinois offense in 2024, and he retained it heading into his final season in college. That was not the only continuation between those two years: he also was once again voted a team captain and ended up seeing a majority of his snaps as a blocker: either run blocking or pass protecting on 72.5% of his offensive snaps, he set new career highs in terms of usage in both categories.
Arkin blocked the run on 368 snaps, and the pass on 128. He was at his best in the running game and helped Illinois average 4.6 yards per carry and score 11 touchdowns when running outside the tackles. Those numbers are naturally not only a byproduct of his presence on the field. That said, his steady usage is an illustration of his success and the trust head coach Bret Bielema and his staff had in him.
As a pass protector, meanwhile, Arkin surrendered a career-worst eight pressures, including two sacks. His 6.6% pressure rate allowed, however, on par with his 2024 season.
In the receiving department, Arkin was again somewhat quiet and went catch-less in five of 13 games. The others saw him post career-highs in yards (114) and yards per catch (8.8), but his impact was still relatively inconsequential — a result of both his role as well as his comparatively uninspiring abilities as a receiver.
After the season, Arkin did participate in the American Bowl. He was neither invited to any of the premier college showcases nor the Scouting Combine.
2026 preview
Position: Y-tight end | Ability: Depth player/Role player | Contract: Signed through 2028 (2029 RFA)
What will be his role? Arkin is the prototypical blocking tight end and will be used accordingly as a Patriot. His first eight training camp practices already show what this means: he mostly lines up inline as a Y-tight end to help create a push in the run game and occasionally provide an extra body in pass protection. Unsurprisingly, he has been employed in a limited fashion as a receiver. The 23-year-old projects as a second or third tight end.
What is his growth potential? It would be easy to say that Arkin has room for growth as a receiver, but the expectations in that regard should still be tempered; his abilities and athletic skill are simply not at the level of a regular pass game contributor outside of helping shore up the protection. When it comes to his blocking, he already is looking like an NFL player but should still improve with more time and experience. He therefore has the potential to become a starter-level TE2 and one of the league’s better blocking specialists at the position.
Does he have positional versatility? Arkin’s versatility manifests itself differently that for other players. He won’t move all around the formation as a receiver, even though he does have some experience in that regard. He also should not be expected to see a high number of snaps as a receiving outlet. He is mostly a blocker, but one who can perform his duties from various alignments inline or in the backfield. He additionally brings extensive special teams experience to New England, having seen most of his action on kickoff return as well as a protector on punts, field goals and extra points.
What is his salary cap situation? Arkin’s salary cap number of $890,833 consists of an $885,000 base salary as well as a fully-guaranteed signing bonus proration of $5,833. In addition, the deal includes $145,000 in salary guarantees. At the moment and with the NFL’s Top 51 rule in place, only the signing bonus counts against New England’s cap.
How safe is his roster spot? Typically, undrafted rookies are longshots to make a team’s roster. Arkin, however, does not look like your typical UDFA. He did not particularly stand out during open offseason workouts, but has regularly repped with the starters since the beginning of training camp and at this point can be regarded the team’s top run-blocking tight end. If there is one rookie free agent to make the team this year, it very well could be him.
Summary: The season-ending injury suffered by free agency acquisition Julian Hill changed the Patriots’ tight end room and robbed them of their designated blocking tight end. Arkin, however, appears to have picked up the slack and therefore positioned himself well in the race for a roster spot.
What do you think about Tanner Arkin heading into the 2026 season? Will he be making the team? Or will the hype start to die down at one point? Please head down to the comment section to share your thoughts.
