The Jets recently signed tight end Connor Hulstein. Today, we break Hulstein down in detail.
The 24-year old Hulstein is listed at 6’5” and 235 pounds and was a third-team FCS all-American last season having led all FCS tight ends in receiving yards.
Background
Hulstein was a three-star high school recruit, who got a chance to attend and play football for Princeton.
After getting hurt in his first junior varsity game in 2021, Hulstein made his debut in a special teams role in 2022.
He started getting
some playing time at tight end in 2023, catching five passes – two of them for touchdowns, including a game-winner against Harvard. Then, in 2024, he caught six passes, including one more touchdown.
He opted to head to Marist as a graduate transfer in 2025, to reunite the former Princeton tight end coach who had initially recruited him.
In a breakout campaign, Hulstein started nine of 12 games, catching 42 passes for an FCS-leading 599 yards and seven touchdowns.
Having gone undrafted in April, Hulstein was invited to attend the Jets’ rookie mini-camp but wasn’t offered a contract. However, they signed him earlier this month when Kenyon Sadiq suffered an injury setback.
He played briefly in Friday’s preseason opener but was only on the field for four offensive snaps.
Let’s move onto some more in-depth analysis of what Hulstein brings to the table, based on in-depth research and film study.
Measurables/Athleticism
The Jets list Hulstein as 235 pounds, although he was listed at 247 last season and weighed in at 241 at his pro day. Either way, he’s a little undersized with below average length, although he has bulked up considerably since he was at high school.
He only ran a 4.90 in the 40-yard dash and posted poor agility numbers and an average bench press at his pro day.
However, he has good explosiveness as he posted a 36-inch vertical and a 125-inch broad jump. A former coach described him as being able to headbutt a basketball rim.
Usage
Although Hulstein was always listed as a tight end, he actually only played inline one-third of the time in college, so he’s obviously more of a move tight end.
Deep threat
Hulstein is effective going down the seam and averaged 14 yards per catch in 2025. However, the long plays that he had in his career tended to be catching intermediate passes and running for yards after the catch.
Rather than getting behind the defense, barring a coverage mix-up, he can perhaps be someone who gets down the seam for back shoulder jump balls.
Hands
Hulstein’s catch rate was only just over 50 percent at Princeton, but he improved this at Marist. Having dropped one in every seven targets at Princeton, he only dropped four of 62 at Marist, more than halving his drop rate.
His body control seems sound and he is capable of hanging onto passes in traffic or catching passes outside his frame.
Routes
Hulstein’s best attribute as a route runner is probably his ability to accelerate up to top speed but he has an upright style that doesn’t really lend itself to sharp cuts.
He is probably the kind of pass catcher you would look to find space in zone defenses or leak out into space rather than getting separation in a matchup, but perhaps he can refine his skills at the NFL level.
Red zone
Hulstein caught 10 touchdown passes in his college career and nine of these were inside the red zone. Marist seemed to find a variety of ways to get him to leak out into space.
After the catch
Hulstein has an ability to turn upfield and pick up extra yardage and can break the occasional tackle, although he’s not particularly elusive.
He had two fumbles during his college career, both in his final season.
Blocking
Hulstein’s run blocking grades on analysis sites such as Pro Football Focus are poor, but his blocking was praised by his coaches in college. Notably, though, they praised his blocking on the perimeter, suggesting that he fares better in space against smaller defenders than when required to block inline.
It’s an area he takes pride in and gives a good effort even if he’s not always 100 percent consistent. Better technique might lead to him being able to stay on blocks with good balance.
Hulstein didn’t stay in to pass protect very often at Princeton but he did it a handful of times per game at Marist and was praised by the coaching staff as one of the best pass protectors on the team.
Within that role, he didn’t give up a sack and only allowed a couple of pressures but wasn’t always completely comfortable.
Physicality
As noted, Hulstein is a little undersized for the tight end position but he doesn’t shy away from contact as a ball carrier and battles hard when trying to block.
He fared quite well on contested catches in 2025, as he made several.
Special Teams
Hulstein played on every unit in college, albeit only a few snaps on kick coverage. He didn’t record a tackle or commit a penalty but he did block a punt in 2022.
Instincts and Intelligence
Hulstein’s production improved in his final season – a sure sign that he was doing a better job of finding spaces within the defense.
Having attended Princeton, Hulstein obviously had excellent academics. He earned a masters degree at Marist.
Attitude
Hulstein is a qualified pilot, and a man of faith who is married with a child.
His coaches have lauded his personality and he’s regarded as a hard worker. He built a squat rack during the COVID-19 shutdown so he could still work out.
On-field discipline hasn’t been an issue as he has been flagged just twice in his career. However, one of these was for unsportsmanlike conduct last season.
Injuries
Hulstein suffered an undisclosed injury in 2021 that kept him out of action for basically the whole season. He was also banged up and missed time in 2023 but that injury was also undisclosed. He played every game last season.
Scheme Fit
Hulstein would play primarily as an h-back, in motion or out in the slot with the Jets, who do operate the kind of multiple tight end sets into which he could fit.
He said in an interview that he prefers gap blocking schemes.
Conclusions
Hulstein barely played in the first preseason game as Andrew Beck and the undrafted Chase Curtis got the majority of the work with the third unit. However, he can probably expect to play more as the Jets may not wish for Beck to play that deep into games assuming they plan to keep him as their number one fullback.
The fact that Sadiq is injured may not actually affect Hulstein but the fact the Jets didn’t add any further depth at the tight end position suggests they are at least willing to get a look at him.
If he gets any opportunities to make plays in camp, he needs to deliver, as well as showing some consistency and potential as a blocker. That will improve his chances of being retained on the practice squad ahead of Curtis.
