As we count down the days preparing for the NFL Draft from April 23-25, we’ll be profiling this year‘s crop of BYU players hoping to hear their names called on draft day. Today, we will focus on tight end Carsen Ryan.
Carsen Ryan's BYU career summary
In retrospect, Carsen Ryan's career at BYU is something of a case of what could have been. He only played one season in Provo. It feels like it would have benefitted by Ryan and the Cougs if he had spent his entire career at BYU.
Despite playing his prep ball in BYU's backyard at American Fork and Timpview, the four-star talent chose to play at UCLA. In two seasons with the Bruins he had 19 receptions for 287 yards then transferred to Utah in 2024. He had 10 receptions for 113 yards with the Utes, then saw the light and came to BYU in 2025.
And his one and only season in Provo was outstanding.
Last year Carsen reeled in 45 receptions for 620 yards and three touchdowns, averaging 44.3 receiving yards per game. He was the security blanked freshman quarterback Bear Bachmeier could rely on at key moments for the 12-2 Cougars. In addition to the receptions, Ryan was a willing and capable blocker who never needed to come off the field.
He received Honorable Mention All-Big 12 recognition for his stellar play.
Carsen Ryan's Relative Athletic Score
Since he wasn't invited to the NFL Draft Combine, Ryan's biggest platform to show off his athleticism was at BYU's Pro Day, and he knocked it out of the park.
One way to objectively measure a player's athleticism is through a stat called Relative Athletic Score -- or RAS -- which compares a player's performance in combine drills against other players at the same position. A RAS of 8.0, for example, means the player scored in the 80th percentile relative to players at their same position. Here's how Carsen Ryan fared:
Carsen Ryan is a TE prospect in the 2026 draft class. He scored a 9.29 RAS out of a possible 10.00. This ranked 105 out of 1456 TE from 1987 to 2026.https://t.co/JeNF4iLgLb pic.twitter.com/FXcxQFpxr3
— RAS.football (@MathBomb) April 3, 2026
That's right, Carsen Ryan scored in the top 93rd percentile in athleticism for tight end. Of the 1,459 tight ends with a Relative Athletic Score, Ryan ranks No. 105. And he pulled this off despite his height of just over 6-foot-3 pulling him down quite a bit (pun intended) with a 3.34 score for being shorter than most NFL tight ends. Just about everything else he did at BYU's Pro Day was down right elite.
Draft projection and comparable player
As things currently stand, few NFL draft sites project Carsen Ryan to get drafted. Mock drafts that do include his name usually have him as a seventh round pick. Alec Lewis of The Athletic projected him going to the Minnesota Vikings in the seventh round.
Pro Football Focus recently selected Ryan as "the best late-round option" at tight end in the 2026 NFL Draft. PFF then went on to list a host of impressive statistics, including:
- His 82.6 PFF receiving grade ranked fourth among tight ends with at least 40 catches
- Ryan's 7.5 yards after the catch per reception ranked first in the draft class among tight ends with at least 40 catches
- His 11 forced missed tackles ranked second among qualified tight ends
- Ryan aligned in-line on 55.9% of his snaps and also contributed as a run blocker, earning a 75.3 PFF run-blocking grade in 2025.
PFF ranks him as the No. 292 prospect in this year's draft, so just outside of the 257 picks in that will occur. Similarly, NFL Mock Draft Database has him as the No. 302 prospect on the board.
In other words, it's technically possible but unlikely Carsen will be selected in this year's draft. But even if he's not drafted he's going to sign as a free agent somewhere and get his shot to make an NFL roster. And I believe he will do just that.
And assuming he does, he could follow a similar path as former BYU great Chad Lewis. Back in 1997 Lewis joined the Philadelphia Eagles as an undrafted rookie free agent after a stellar career at BYU. He made the 53-man roster as a rookie and caught 12 passes for 94 yards. That was the beginning of what would blossom into a nine-year NFL career with 229 receptions, 2,361 yards, 23 touchdowns, and three Pro Bowl selections.
Chad Lewis went from BYU stardom, to an undrafted NFL rookie, to a three-time Pro Bowler.
Carsen Ryan may soon be starting the same journey.