One of the best pass-catching tight ends in college football is officially NFL bound.
Houston tight end Tanner Koziol was selected as the 164th overall selection of the 2026 draft by the Jacksonville Jagurs. The fifth rounder became the first Houston draft selection of the Willie Fritz era and the first Cougar tight end picked since Feni Onobun in 2010.
Koziol is the 13th tight end off the board in 2026. As a senior in 2025, he ranked first among all FBS tight ends in 2025 with 74 receptions and second to Vanderbilt’s Eli Stowers with 726 receiving yards. Koziol’s totals were the highest for a Cougar tight end since Mark Hafner secured 86 receptions for 907 yards in 2008, and his presence redefined a Houston offense which skyrocketed from 133rd to 55th in scoring offense from 2024 to 2025.
Koziol produced his lone 100-yard game at Houston in a signature road win at Arizona State — a victory which vaulted the Cougars into the rankings for the first time since 2022. He then concluded his college career with a gritty Texas Bowl performance, totaling a season-high nine receptions for 76 yards and a touchdown in a triumph over LSU — securing a key contested fourth down reception in the winning effort.
Prior to his one year at Houston, Koziol suited up at Ball State from 2022-24. In 2024, he ranked sixth in the FBS and second among all FBS tight ends with 94 catches, converting them into 839 yards and eight touchdowns. The focal point of Ball State’s offense, the star tight end accumulated at least nine receptions in seven of his 12 outings.
Koziol was one of two Cougars to receive an invite to the 2026 NFL Combine where he logged a 4.70-second 40-yard dash, a 36.5-inch vertical jump, and a 10-foot-2-inch broad jump. Measuring between 6’6” and 6’7”, tight end presents impressive size, and perhaps his greatest trait is his catch radius — frequently extending his arms to secure receptions rather than relying on his body. As evidenced by his statistics, receiving is his specialty, and he looks to thrive as a walking mismatch at the next level.
Koziol heads to a Jacksonville Jaguars team fresh off an AFC South championship. The Jaguars retain starting tight end Brenton Strange who produced 46 receptions and 540 yards in 2025. However, addressing the tight end position was a priority for Jacksonville in this draft. The Jaguars selected Texas A&M tight end Nate Boerkircher at pick No. 56 in the second round before adding Koziol in the fifth round.