Skip to main content
Draftanomics
Prospect dossier

Andrew Rappleyea

TE · Penn State · 2027 NFL Draft class

Public Draft Board rank #121·10 contributing sources·Board as of August 31, 2026
Draftanomics scouting
Preseason edition · August 23, 20264 min read

Master scouting report

Rappleyea has the density, short-area movement, route flexibility and blocking temperament to become a true three-down tight end. The talent is ahead of the résumé: 20 career catches, one complete season and uneven finishing through contact keep him in projection territory entering 2026.

By Draftanomics · Sources & edition · Print report

01Career And Production

Rappleyea did not catch a pass in his first two seasons, then returned from a knee injury to start eight games and catch 20 balls for 180 yards and three touchdowns in 2025. Four catches for 75 yards at Rutgers included a 53-yard score, and five more catches came in the bowl win over Clemson. That late involvement is encouraging, but it remains an extremely small receiving sample for a fourth-year player.

02Frame And Athleticism

Rappleyea is a dense athlete with long-striding acceleration, sudden corrective quickness and enough hip flexibility to redirect on tight route angles. That is a much more valuable profile than a linear move tight end because it supports attached, wing and detached work without an obvious athletic concession.

03Route Running

Rappleyea has a developed route inventory, efficient stem footwork and the ability to plant and drive without wasting motion. That fluid movement can create separation against linebackers and safeties, giving him receiving utility beyond size alone. The routes are a legitimate reason for optimism, but a larger target load must show that they produce openings against starting Big Ten coverage.

04Hands And Catch Point

Rappleyea shows good possession in space and flashes of strong body control, but contact at the catch point produces inconsistent finishes. He needs to secure the ball through the defender's arrival more reliably. The limited receiving sample makes a dependable contested-catch projection premature.

05Intermediate And Vertical Value

He can threaten a seam, cross a linebacker's face and work the intermediate middle from multiple alignments. The 53-yard Rutgers touchdown showed enough acceleration to punish poor spacing, while his overall 9.0-yard average reflects how little sustained vertical work the offense produced. His 2026 receiving role must reveal whether the athleticism creates independent separation or mainly capitalizes on coverage structure.

06After The Catch

Rappleyea’s explosive play against Rutgers shows potential after the catch, with sustained open-field creation still to establish. The distinction matters because three-down value is higher if short completions can become first downs without perfect blocking.

07Movement Blocking

Rappleyea can insert through an interior gap, cross the formation and climb to the second level with corrective quickness and balance. His density lets him finish smaller targets, and leverage and base drive provide an attached-blocking foundation. Sustained execution against starting ends and late-moving targets is less established over a full season.

08Availability

A knee injury after the 2024 opener ended the season before it began. Rappleyea responded by appearing in all 13 games in 2025, his first uninterrupted college year, and his best receiving and blocking work came late. One healthy season is a positive answer, not a complete durability record, so availability remains part of the evaluation rather than a disqualifying red flag.

The case for the player

Strengths

  • Unusual short-area quickness and flexibility for a 251-pound tight end.

  • He can align inline, at wing or detached without removing a credible blocking threat.

  • Leverage, base drive and positional blocking provide a useful attached-role foundation.

  • His late-season surge included touchdowns in three consecutive games.

  • A 53-yard score demonstrates that the movement can create an explosive receiving play.

The questions that remain

Concerns

  • Twenty career catches leave almost every receiving conclusion dependent on projection.

  • Possession through contact remains inconsistent despite good catch-point flashes.

  • He is not yet a proven creator after the catch across a meaningful target sample.

  • The blocking ceiling needs a full season of consistent execution against starting ends.

  • The 2024 knee injury leaves only one uninterrupted college season.

Building the fit

NFL role and scheme fit

A multiple offense can use Rappleyea as a true Y, wing or big slot rather than hiding him in one specialty. Play-action seams, crossers and intermediate option routes use his acceleration and route footwork; split zone, insert blocks and climbs use the same movement in the run game. He should not be reduced to a detached receiving role because blocking is part of the appeal. Early special-teams work would give him time to grow into a larger offensive share.

The Draftanomics view

Bottom line

Rappleyea projects as a developmental tight end with the traits to grow into a broad attached and receiving role. Route footwork, short-area quickness and a credible blocking base distinguish him from a detached-only option. Twenty career catches leave receiving consistency, contact strength and sustained value after the catch unproven. One uninterrupted season after knee injury also limits the availability record.

Sources & edition

The Draftanomics assessment, synthesized from attributed reporting. Role and development language expresses scouting opinion.

Original analysis through August 23, 2026. Restoration reviewed September 6, 2026; this is not an in-season update. No new Draftanomics all-22 review is included.

11 original sentences are omitted pending further evidence or source-use review. The remainingassessment is expressed in revised house prose. Source links support the assessment; they do not represent independent votes or permission to reproduce an article.

View the 4 referenced sources
  • Andrew Rappleyea - 2026 Football - Penn State - Official Athletics WebsitePenn State Athletics

    Penn State records 20 catches for 180 yards and three touchdowns in 13 games and eight starts in 2025. The game entries include four catches for 75 yards and a 53-yard touchdown against Rutgers, plus five bowl catches for 18 yards and an 11-yard touchdown. He scored in each of the final three games. He had no catches in 2023 or 2024 and played only the 2024 opener before injury. The current listing is 242 pounds; the 2025 listing was 252.

  • Andrew Rappleyea qualitative tight end evaluationIan Cummings · June 16, 2026

    A dense build, explosive acceleration, corrective quickness, hip flexibility and developed route stems and breaks. Cummings describes inline leverage, drive strength and interior and boundary blocking, but inconsistent possession through contact and unproven production after the catch. The evaluation includes the reported knee-injury history. Provider scores and rankings are excluded.

  • Andrew Rappleyea prospect profileBrian Bosarge · July 22, 2026

    Fluid route breaks and separation against linebackers and safeties, hands away from the frame and seam and intermediate receiving ability. Bosarge describes linear burst after the catch and a need for more inline power and availability. His detailed film notes are explicitly marked pending. Testing projections are excluded.

  • Andrew Rappleyea — retained nfl_draft_buzz evaluationNFL Draft Buzz

    A limited receiving sample and functional ability after the catch. NFL Draft Buzz is more cautious about run blocking than Cummings. Provider drop figures and rankings are excluded.

Read statement references

Every passage remains linked to its supporting sources. Open a section to inspect the assessment and its evidence.

Sources for overview
  1. House assessment

    Rappleyea has the density, short-area movement, route flexibility and blocking temperament to become a true three-down tight end.

  2. House assessment

    The talent is ahead of the résumé: 20 career catches, one complete season and uneven finishing through contact keep him in projection territory entering 2026.

Sources for career and production
  1. Reported fact

    Rappleyea did not catch a pass in his first two seasons, then returned from a knee injury to start eight games and catch 20 balls for 180 yards and three touchdowns in 2025.

  2. Reported fact

    Four catches for 75 yards at Rutgers included a 53-yard score, and five more catches came in the bowl win over Clemson.

  3. Reported fact

    That late involvement is encouraging, but it remains an extremely small receiving sample for a fourth-year player.

Sources for frame and athleticism
  1. House assessment

    Rappleyea is a dense athlete with long-striding acceleration, sudden corrective quickness and enough hip flexibility to redirect on tight route angles.

  2. House assessment

    That is a much more valuable profile than a linear move tight end because it supports attached, wing and detached work without an obvious athletic concession.

Sources for route running
  1. House assessment

    Rappleyea has a developed route inventory, efficient stem footwork and the ability to plant and drive without wasting motion.

  2. House assessment

    That fluid movement can create separation against linebackers and safeties, giving him receiving utility beyond size alone.

  3. House assessment

    The routes are a legitimate reason for optimism, but a larger target load must show that they produce openings against starting Big Ten coverage.

Sources for hands and catch point
  1. House assessment

    Rappleyea shows good possession in space and flashes of strong body control, but contact at the catch point produces inconsistent finishes. He needs to secure the ball through the defender's arrival more reliably. The limited receiving sample makes a dependable contested-catch projection premature.

Sources for intermediate and vertical value
  1. House assessment

    He can threaten a seam, cross a linebacker's face and work the intermediate middle from multiple alignments.

  2. House assessment

    The 53-yard Rutgers touchdown showed enough acceleration to punish poor spacing, while his overall 9.0-yard average reflects how little sustained vertical work the offense produced.

  3. House assessment

    His 2026 receiving role must reveal whether the athleticism creates independent separation or mainly capitalizes on coverage structure.

Sources for after the catch
  1. House assessment

    Rappleyea’s explosive play against Rutgers shows potential after the catch, with sustained open-field creation still to establish.

  2. House assessment

    The distinction matters because three-down value is higher if short completions can become first downs without perfect blocking.

Sources for movement blocking
  1. House assessment

    Rappleyea can insert through an interior gap, cross the formation and climb to the second level with corrective quickness and balance. His density lets him finish smaller targets, and leverage and base drive provide an attached-blocking foundation. Sustained execution against starting ends and late-moving targets is less established over a full season.

Sources for availability
  1. Reported fact

    A knee injury after the 2024 opener ended the season before it began.

  2. House assessment

    Rappleyea responded by appearing in all 13 games in 2025, his first uninterrupted college year, and his best receiving and blocking work came late.

  3. House assessment

    One healthy season is a positive answer, not a complete durability record, so availability remains part of the evaluation rather than a disqualifying red flag.

Sources for strength
  1. House assessment

    Unusual short-area quickness and flexibility for a 251-pound tight end.

Sources for strength
  1. House assessment

    He can align inline, at wing or detached without removing a credible blocking threat.

Sources for strength
  1. House assessment

    Leverage, base drive and positional blocking provide a useful attached-role foundation.

Sources for strength
  1. Reported fact

    His late-season surge included touchdowns in three consecutive games.

Sources for strength
  1. Reported fact

    A 53-yard score demonstrates that the movement can create an explosive receiving play.

Sources for concern
  1. House assessment

    Twenty career catches leave almost every receiving conclusion dependent on projection.

Sources for concern
  1. House assessment

    Possession through contact remains inconsistent despite good catch-point flashes.

Sources for concern
  1. House assessment

    He is not yet a proven creator after the catch across a meaningful target sample.

Sources for concern
  1. House assessment

    The blocking ceiling needs a full season of consistent execution against starting ends.

Sources for concern
  1. House assessment

    The 2024 knee injury leaves only one uninterrupted college season.

Sources for nfl role and scheme fit
  1. House assessment

    A multiple offense can use Rappleyea as a true Y, wing or big slot rather than hiding him in one specialty.

  2. House assessment

    Play-action seams, crossers and intermediate option routes use his acceleration and route footwork; split zone, insert blocks and climbs use the same movement in the run game.

  3. House assessment

    He should not be reduced to a detached receiving role because blocking is part of the appeal.

  4. House assessment

    Early special-teams work would give him time to grow into a larger offensive share.

Sources for bottom line
  1. House assessment

    Rappleyea projects as a developmental tight end with the traits to grow into a broad attached and receiving role. Route footwork, short-area quickness and a credible blocking base distinguish him from a detached-only option. Twenty career catches leave receiving consistency, contact strength and sustained value after the catch unproven. One uninterrupted season after knee injury also limits the availability record.

College record & draft context

College production, measurables, experience, and the prospect's place on the sealed Public Draft Board.

Public Draft Board

Public Draft Board rank
#121
Position rank
TE7
Contributing sources
10
Movement since prior snapshot
Down 53

Sealed snapshot as of August 31, 2026 · equal-weight aggregation of public boards, minimum 3 sources for a rank · The Public Draft Board

College production

Receiving
StatisticSeason 2025
Receptions20
Receiving yards180
Yards per reception9
Receiving TD3
Long53

Seasons of evidence: 1. Games played, snap counts, and usage shares are not in the retained data. An em dash means the value is not in the dataset, not zero.

Evidence notes

  • The retained data contains one season of receiving production (2025).
  • The newest college season in the retained data is 2025; the 2026 season is not yet included.
  • No verified athletic testing is included in the sealed dataset for this prospect.
  • 10 contributing public boards rank this prospect; the Public Draft Board places him at #121.
  • The aggregate public rank fell 53 spots between the two most recent sealed weekly snapshots.

Each note restates a displayed fact. None is a forecast of NFL performance.

Experience and measurements

Listed height
6'4"
Listed weight
242 lb
Class
Junior
Age
Not in dataset
Recorded school
Penn State
Former school
Not in dataset
Hometown
Millbrook, NY
Jersey
#87
Recruiting stars
4-star
Recruiting rank
#128 nationally

"Not in dataset" means the value is absent from the sealed dossier dataset, not that it does not exist.

Athletic testing

Not included in the sealed dataset. No combine, pro-day, or RAS value is retained for the 2027 class; absence here does not mean no testing has taken place.

Listed roster height and weight (CollegeFootballData); no verified athletic testing is retained. Bio captured August 29, 2026.

Historical comparisons

Historical profile comparisons are being rebuilt.

Sources and methodology

  • Retained bio and measurements: Draftanomics prospect ingest (CollegeFootballData rosters and recruiting), retained seed data/seed/prospects_upcoming_full.parquet.
  • Retained college production: CollegeFootballData season statistics via the retained player cross-reference; position-relevant categories only; all-zero category rows dropped.
  • Age: unavailable — no birth date or age is retained for the 2027 class.
  • Transfer history: not retained — the page shows the current school and, where the frozen id names a different school, the former school.
  • Public Draft Board: sealed snapshot as of August 31, 2026; per-source ranks are not published under the aggregate-only source policy.

Board methodologyDossier methodologyResearch status

Board position reflects aggregated public opinion; the scouting report is a separate editorial assessment.