Gunnar
Helm.
Gunnar
Helm.
Texas· 6'5"· 241 lb· 4.84s 40
"A fundamentally sound blocker with the frame and technique to move defenders in the run game, Helm offers a safe floor as a short-area pass catcher whose upside is capped by his limited athleticism."Pre-draft read
Helm is a true in-line tight end who earns his job with his hands and his feet in the run game. He fits blocks with good pad level, sustains through the whistle, and can be left alone on the backside of zone concepts without the play breaking down. At 6-5 and 241 pounds with nearly 33-inch arms, the frame does the work his athleticism cannot.
As a receiver he is a reliable short-to-intermediate target rather than a mismatch. He finds soft spots against zone, catches cleanly through contact, and has the size to box out linebackers. The 4.84 forty is exactly what it looks like on tape: he does not separate down the seam and he will not run away from a safety after the catch.
The Titans utilize a run-heavy Shanahan outside zone scheme, emphasizing physical play and 'positionless' football traits.
Immediate special teams contributor with a ceiling as a depth Y-TE who can fill in at H-back, offering run blocking and short-yardage receiving.
A pass-heavy Air Raid or spread offense that requires high-volume receiving and dynamic route running.
Helm's blocking prowess and versatility align well with the Titans' physical, multiple-TE approach, even if his athleticism limits his receiving upside.
Gunnar Helm - Texas Highlights 2024
Game film cut-up of Gunnar Helm's Texas tape.
Gunnar Helm Texas Highlights
Game film cut-up of Gunnar Helm's Texas tape.
Gunnar Helm Rookie Highlights | 2025 - 2026 NFL Season Titans
Game film cut-up of Gunnar Helm's Texas tape.
Helm waited his turn at Texas and then cashed in. He caught 19 passes total across his first three seasons before exploding in 2024 for 60 receptions, 786 yards and seven touchdowns as a full-time starter, finishing second-team All-SEC and setting a Texas single-season record for a tight end. He leaves with 79 career catches for 1,022 yards and nine scores in 55 games.
The evaluation hinges on how much you weigh the testing. A 4.84 forty and a 30-inch vertical are bottom-of-the-position numbers, and they cap his ceiling as a vertical threat. But the 7.15 three-cone and 4.40 shuttle are respectable, and they explain a player who is better in a phone booth and on option routes than a stopwatch would predict. He is a functional blocker right now, which is rarer than it should be.
The projection is a Day 3 TE2 who plays immediately in two-tight-end sets because he can block, then grows into the volume role if the offense needs a chain mover. The ceiling is a low-end starter with 50 catches and a full run-game job. The floor is a blocking specialist and core special teamer. Safe, useful, and unlikely to be a difference maker.
- 01
In-line blocker
Helm is a legitimate in-line blocker who sustains through the whistle with good pad level.
- 02
Reliable hands
He has reliable hands and a large catch radius, with the frame to box out linebackers.
- 03
Zone coverage awareness
Helm understands zone coverage and consistently settles in the soft spot.
- 04
Short-area quickness
His 7.15 three-cone and 4.40 shuttle show usable short-area quickness for a tight end.
- 05
Productive in SEC
He produced at a high level in the SEC the moment he was given the full-time job.
- 01
Bottom-tier athleticism
Helm's 4.84 forty and 30-inch vertical are bottom-tier athletic numbers for the position.
- 02
No seam threat
He is not a vertical seam threat, allowing safeties to play him flat-footed.
- 03
Minimal YAC
Helm creates almost nothing after the catch and goes down on first contact.
- 04
Limited college production
He had only one productive college season, with 19 catches across his first three years.
— — — positional median (p50)
- 40 yd
- 4.84sp50
- Vertical
- 30inp50
- Broad jump
- —in
- Three-cone
- 7.15sp50
- Shuttle
- 4.40sp50
- Bench
- —rep
| Yr | Team | G | Rec | Yds | TD |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2021 | Texas | 12 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| 2022 | Texas | 13 | 5 | 44 | 0 |
| 2023 | Texas | 14 | 14 | 192 | 2 |
| 2024 | Texas | 16 | 60 | 786 | 7 |
| Career | — | 55 | 79 | 1022 | 9 |
A dash means the figure is not published by a source we trust — never a zero we invented.
- Quinn EwersQB24%
- Arch ManningQB15%
- Matthew GoldenWR10%
#5 of 15 tracked contributors · Produced well above his snap share · Offense explosiveness 1.28 (p56) · CFBD — usage x PPA per tracked player
Honors
- Second-team All-SEC (2024)
Complete second tight end who blocks in-line and takes 40 to 50 catches a year.
Move tight end whose reliability in the intermediate game turned into a volume-target starter role.
Big-bodied blocking tight end who stays a third option and special-teams contributor.
Everything above is the pre-draft evaluation. This section is what actually happened — updated year over year.
Tennessee got the ceiling in year one. Helm opened camp behind Chig Okonkwo and finished the season as the Titans primary receiving tight end: 16 games, 10 starts, 44 catches on 55 targets for 357 yards and two touchdowns, a franchise rookie record for receptions by a tight end.
The shape of the production is exactly what the tape promised. Eight yards a catch on an 80 percent catch rate is a chain mover, not a seam threat, and none of the 4.84 speed concerns were disproved. What the profile undersold was how quickly a reliable, blocking-capable tight end can win targets from a young quarterback who needs a safety valve. He is already ahead of the likely comp on volume and behind it on explosiveness, which is a very good place for pick 120 to be.