Kylen
Granson.
Kylen
Granson.
SMU· 6'1"· 241 lb· 4.64s 40
"A 6-1½, 241-pound Rice-to-SMU move tight end with 78 catches and 14 touchdowns his final two years, undersized for Y work but a Round-4 slot/flex mismatch bet on ball skills and 6.93 three-cone quickness."Pre-draft read
Move tight end, aligning as slot, F, or wing, sparingly in-line. Wins as a route runner in the middle of the field: understands zone windows, sits down in soft spots, and uses a compact stem with short-area quickness to threaten linebackers on option and sit routes. Possesses natural hands—plucks away from the frame, tracks over the shoulder on seams—and plays bigger at the catch point on red-zone fades and back-shoulder throws due to clean body control.
As a blocker, he's functional in space (wham blocks, sift releases, second-level pickups) but overwhelmed as a true point-of-attack Y against edge defenders; short arms and modest anchor lead to lost reps. His separating trait is the combination of feel, hands, and quickness in the short-to-intermediate route tree.
The move tight end is a critical piece of a spread RPO or Shanahan outside zone scheme, giving the offense a versatile chess piece to create mismatches as a receiver and block in space.
Year 1 as a 12-personnel specialist whose red-zone receiving ability and feel for zone windows makes him a high-floor TE2, with a ceiling as a move-only starter.
Any system that asks him to play as an in-line Y, where he would be quickly overwhelmed as a blocker.
Will be most ideally deployed in an offense that uses his receiving skills and versatility in alignment, rather than asking him to play as a traditional in-line Y.
SMU TE Kylen Granson Highlights
SMU career cutup — best showcase of red-zone wins, zone-window feel and the short-area quickness that shaped his Day 3 grade.
Kylen Granson (SMU TE) vs Memphis (2020)
Full 2020 vs Memphis game reel; useful for evaluating hands, route feel and blocking role against an AAC top-half defense.
Kylen Granson, Tight End, SMU — East-West Shrine Bowl
All-star practice reps against pro talent; the man-coverage separation and release-package limits show up here more than the SMU tape.
Granson projects as a move tight end prospect, offering teams a versatile F/slot option who can contribute immediately in specific passing game roles. His collegiate production, combined with a 6.93 three-cone drill, underscored his athletic profile as a nuanced route-runner with the short-area quickness to exploit defenses in the middle of the field. Teams would be buying a reliable pass-catcher with a high floor for a specific role.
He entered the 2021 draft as a two-time transfer, finishing his college career at SMU where he produced 78 catches for 1,257 yards and 14 touchdowns in the pass-friendly Sonny Dykes offense over his final two seasons. His usage in this system showcased his ability to win on early downs and in the red zone, primarily from non-in-line alignments or with scheme designs that leveraged his strengths against linebackers.
Evaluator consensus placed him in the fourth-to-fifth round range, recognizing his value as a specialized receiving tight end. Concerns centered on his undersized frame and lack of strength for in-line blocking, as well as an average long speed and a college competition level below Power Five. He was ultimately selected in the fourth round, 127th overall.
- 01
Red-zone production
14 touchdowns over 2019-2020 at SMU, winning on fades, seams, and boundary throws, exhibiting body control at the catch point.
- 02
Route feel
Reads zone leverage cleanly, sits in correct windows on hook and option routes, and shows understanding of linebacker drops.
- 03
Short-area quickness
6.93 three-cone and 1.61 ten-yard split flash in and out of breaks, separating against slower linebackers on stick, whip, and pivot routes.
- 04
Natural hands
Plucks away from the frame with reliable tracking on over-the-shoulder throws; maintained a low drop rate as target volume climbed.
- 05
Versatile alignment
Ran roughly a third of snaps from the slot, wing, and backfield at SMU, providing an off-the-shelf F/H role with immediate 12-personnel utility.
- 01
Undersized for in-line Y
At 6-1½, 241 with 32⅝-inch arms, he lacks the length or mass to consistently hold up as a true point-of-attack Y against NFL edge defenders.
- 02
Point-of-attack blocking
Shows a willing but overmatched drive blocker who wins on angles and sift releases more than in phone-booth scenarios.
- 03
Level of competition
AAC defenses provided repeat wins against linebackers and safeties he would not regularly face in the NFL.
- 04
Long speed
4.64 forty is adequate but he is not a vertical seam runner who threatens NFL safeties deep, limiting big-play upside on play-action shots.
— — — positional median (p50)
- 40 yd
- 4.64sp50
- Vertical
- 36.5inp50
- Broad jump
- 120inp50
- Three-cone
- 6.93sp50
- Shuttle
- 4.40sp50
- Bench
- 16repp50
| Yr | Team | G | Rec | Yds | TD |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2016 | Rice | 7 | 33 | 381 | 2 |
| 2017 | Rice | 9 | 18 | 241 | 0 |
| 2019 | SMU | 13 | 43 | 721 | 9 |
| 2020 | SMU | 10 | 35 | 536 | 5 |
| Career | — | 39 | 129 | 1879 | 16 |
A dash means the figure is not published by a source we trust — never a zero we invented.
Rotational TE2/F who carves out a role on early-down 12 personnel and situational passing without ever becoming a lead receiver — the realistic Granson NFL outcome and effectively where his career has landed.
Aspirational move-tight-end outcome — a late-career F/Y hybrid who wins on seams and red-zone fades. Granson has the hands and body control but not the size or long speed to reliably reach this tier.
Cautionary Day 3 receiving tight end whose lack of true Y size limited his snap share and shortened his career to backup-only reps — the floor if the blocking never gets to acceptable NFL grade.
Everything above is the pre-draft evaluation. This section is what actually happened — updated year over year.
Solid role hit. TE2/3 rotational role throughout, 15-30 catches per year, red-zone / matchup piece. Signed 1-year deal with Kansas City in 2024. Journeyman receiving-TE — Round-4 role value.
Pre-draft context. Kylen Granson began at Rice, transferred to SMU and became one of the most productive receiving tight ends in the AAC, finishing his career with 78 receptions, 1,257 yards and 14 touchdowns over 2019-2020 in a pass-heavy offensive scheme. He measured 6-1½, 241 with 32⅝-inch arms at his SMU pro day and tested as an above-average receiving athlete for the position — 4.64 forty, 36½-inch vertical, 120-inch broad jump and a 6.93 three-cone that flashes short-area quickness — although the 16-rep bench and lack of true in-line size were the counterweights. The consensus board pegged him as a Day 3 flex tight end whose route running and hands would need to carry a role that did not include heavy in-line blocking.
NFL fit — Indianapolis Colts. Indianapolis took him at pick 127 to work as a move-tight-end complement to Mo Alie-Cox, with the team's offensive approach already using multiple 12-personnel packages that fit an F-role. He carved out a rotational spot immediately, played roughly 40-60 percent of offensive snaps across his four seasons, and became a reliable third-down and red-zone option for a quarterback room that cycled through Carson Wentz, Matt Ryan, Sam Ehlinger, Gardner Minshew and Anthony Richardson.
Retrospective. Granson never broke past 40 catches in a season and his blocking never grew to true Y-standard, which capped his ceiling. His best year was 2022 (31 catches, 302 yards, 3 TD) and his career line through 2024 sits around 110 receptions, roughly 1,100 yards and 6 touchdowns. Indianapolis moved on after 2024 and he signed with the Tennessee Titans on a one-year deal for the 2025 season as a rotational TE2/F. He is a fair Day 3 hit at a position where fourth-round tight ends usually wash out — a real career, but a rotational one.