Tight end wasn’t high on the Rams’ list of needs coming into the draft but given the fact that Colby Parkinson and Davis Allen could become free agents in 2027, it was a spot they could use future depth at.
Just as they did last year, the Rams used their second-round pick on a tight end, selecting Ohio State’s Max Klare 61st overall.
Klare probably won’t be an instant-impact player for the Rams, given the presence of Parkinson, Allen, Terrance Ferguson and Tyler Higbee, but he’s someone who should carve out a role as a receiving tight end in the next year or two.
What are the Rams getting in their new tight end? Expert scouting reports show he’s a good receiver who needs to work on his blocking, but the upside is there.
Lance Zierlein, NFL.com
Highly athletic, pass-catching tight end capable of earning volume targets on the pro level. Klare can live beyond the typical targeted depth for most tight ends thanks to his route inventory and ability to generate separation across the field. He’s best from the slot but can widen out when a matchup presents itself. Hands and ball-tracking are below average but his production could make teams forget the drops. He improved as a run blocker as the season progressed, but “functional” might be the finish line there. In a league craving impact tight ends, Klare has a chance to inject life into an offense hunting mismatches.
Dane Brugler, The Athletic
Klare is a good-looking athlete and shows speed and urgency that suggest he has yet to play his best football. He needs to improve with some of the pacing and subtleties of getting open, but his route movements are crisp and fluid. He has the body control to play the ball well in the air and flashes a burst after the catch. The foundation is there to be a serviceable positional blocker, although it will likely never be a strength of his game. Overall, Klare has a low ceiling as a blocker and needs to continue adding refinement as a route runner, but his combination of athleticism, toughness and ball skills gives him a modern-day skill set. He projects as an F tight end, similar in ways to Dalton Kincaid.
Klare didn’t do any testing at the combine or his pro day but on-field athleticism scores from Pro Football Focus put him in the 99.6th percentile. That shows the combination of speed and explosiveness he brings to the Rams, similar to Ferguson.
The tight end position typically comes with a steeper learning curve than other positions, so Klare will need some time to develop, just as Ferguson did. But by the start of 2027, he could be one of the team’s top two tight ends.
This article originally appeared on Rams Wire: 2026 NFL Draft: Scouting report for new Rams TE Max Klare