The Cincinnati Bengals found some diamonds in the rough in the seventh round of the 2026 NFL Draft. Texas tight end Jack Endries was the first of those two selections at No. 221 overall, and all indications are, he's determined to prove he was worthy of a far higher pick.
Grateful as Endries must be to be a newly minted NFL player, he's also fired up about being overlooked so often by every other team who could've acquired him. That competitive spirit bodes well for his future impact on a rather thin Bengals tight end group.
Who Dey Heads, I have a feeling we're gonna like this guy. Endries will have anyone with a pulse figuratively ready to run through a brick wall.
Bengals seventh-round pick Jack Endries is out for revenge on every team who passed him up in 2026 NFL Draft
As documented by ESPN beat reporter Ben Baby, Endries felt a type of way about sliding all the way to the latter stages of Day 3 in the draft based on this mic-drop quote:
New Bengals TE Jack Endries, who is the first of the team's two selections in the seventh round: "I'll make sure that I make every team that didn't f-----g draft me pay."
— Ben Baby (@Ben_Baby) April 25, 2026
Ooh! Come on, Jack! Tell us how you really feel!
Talk is cheap, of course, but if Endries can back up those words on the gridiron, the Bengals may have indeed gotten one of the steals of the draft.
Mike Gesicki is the clear go-to pass-catching option among the Bengals' current crop of tight ends. However, there's plenty of room for Endries to contribute in that department and to log significant snaps if the Bengals' scheme shifts more toward 12 and 13 personnel packages.
Endries comes to the NFL with three years of strong production. In his first two seasons at Cal, he had 91 receptions for 1,030 yards and four TDs. The 22-year-old then transferred to Texas to record 33 catches, 346 yards, and three more scores last year.
In the Bengals draft grades piece I linked to in the lede, I gave the selection of Endries a solid A-minus, and had him as my 113th-ranked overall prospect. Maybe that grade was a little low based on Endries' proven receiving prowess and how far he fell relative to where I thought he'd be drafted.
You’ll find new Bengals TE Jack Endries in the top middle of this production/athleticism graphic.
— Gridiron Grading (@GridironGrading) April 25, 2026
That is the prime spot for very good TE2s and low-end TE1s.
That is a great pick in Round 7. https://t.co/LO6YS5PIAs
One thing's for sure: Endries is no stranger to reeling in throws from blue-chip quarterbacks. He played with reigning Raiders No. 1 overall pick Fernando Mendoza at Cal, and played with another possible future first overall selection in Texas' Arch Manning in 2025.
Now, Endries will have the chance to be a weapon for the 2020 draft's top pick in Bengals superstar Joe Burrow. And if his eagerness to prove the rest of the league wrong about his humble draft status is anything to go by, Endries should be a major asset to Burrow in the coming years.
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