While Ohio State’s top five prospects in the NFL draft are aiming to make school history by tying the Buckeyes’ record for first-round selections in a single draft, two others are seeking to make school history in the middle rounds.
Tight ends Will Kacmarek and Max Klare filled distinct roles for Ohio State in 2026. Kacmarek lived up to his preseason billing from tight ends coach Keenan Bailey as the best blocking tight end in the country, Klare was the team’s top receiving threat at the position. Now, on Friday and/or Saturday, the pair could become the first duo of Buckeye tight ends taken in the same draft in the modern NFL era.
They might be the first two Ohio State tight ends ever taken together in one NFL draft, in fact. The only other potential Buckeye tandem is Dick Brubaker and Dean Dugger in the 1955 draft, but Dugger’s “end” designation was ambiguous between receiver and tight end at the time and he never played any NFL snaps to settle the difference.
At worst, they would be the first pair of Buckeye line bookenders selected together in a draft in 71 years.
“We're the only program in the nation that will have two tight ends drafted next month,” Bailey said on April 2. “The expectation is to come here, be the best tight end in the country, be the best tight end room in the country, right? And then go on and play in the NFL. And that's really hard. Like really hard. I told the guys the other day, everyone just says, ‘OK, then we go to the NFL.’ There's only 140 NFL tight ends in the world. In the world. Like there's a couple hundred congressmen. There's thousands of Navy SEALs. What we're trying to get to is really, really hard. And that's why they chose Ohio State.”
Klare is widely projected as a third-round pick, with Kacmarek projected as a sixth- or seventh-rounder. If both realize their NFL dreams, they’ll get to revel in that new school history – and provide testament to the development of Bailey’s tight end room at Ohio State.
“I feel like I'm ready for it,” Klare said at the NFL Scouting Combine on Feb. 26. “I'm ready for the next opportunity. Ready to go compete in the NFL and have a great career.”
Klare and Kacmarek might have both been transfer portal acquisitions for Ohio State, but both entered and left under distinct circumstances.
Kacmarek made the jump from MAC competition at Ohio to Columbus ahead of his redshirt junior year in 2024. He made an immediate blocking impact that season, but an injury during Ohio State’s sixth game of that national championship campaign held him out of four contests. He finished the year with eight receptions for 86 yards, grading out at 68.8 as a run blocker and 68 as a pass blocker on Pro Football Focus.
“It definitely wasn't easy coming in with Quinshon Judkins, Will Howard, Seth McLaughlin, all those guys, coming from the MAC,” Kacmarek said. “Nothing against the MAC, but I didn't have a lot of (elite players) on my side. So it wasn't the easiest transition, but I had my family and I had coaches that believed in me. And we eventually got to where we are today through that process.”
In 2025, Kacmarek took his blocking to an absurd level. He landed at 71.1 as a run blocker and 72.2 as a pass blocker, better grades than starting right guard Tegra Tshabola and right tackle Phillip Daniels. He made a litany of key blocks in the biggest win of Ohio State’s season, its 27-9 victory at Michigan to snap the Buckeyes’ four-game losing streak in The Game. Here he is tossing star Wolverine defensive end Derrick Moore to the turf.
Will Kacmarek ragdolled Derrick Moore pic.twitter.com/GLhDmteKAn
— Buckeye HQ (@RealisticBuck) December 1, 2025
Kacmarek added 15 receptions for 168 yards and two touchdowns to his blocking production. The latest mock drafts collected by Eleven Warriors place Kacmarek at an average draft position of 222.3, which would place him in the sixth round. Two of the seven seven-round mocks had him going in the fifth round, one in the sixth, two in the seventh and two undrafted. The draft process is where Kacmarek tried to prove he can be a receiving threat, too, though teams are definitely talking about his blocking prowess in meetings.
“I love it and I think it's my playing style,” Kacmarek said of run blocking. “Not a lot of people like to do it, but I think I take pride in that role, and doing so can separate yourself. And I think it's a big part of why I'm here right now. And again, I just love doing it and doing the dirty work and I think it's fulfilling to do that, and knowing that you impose your will on another player all game.”
Klare arrived from Purdue in 2025 with much aplomb, where he racked up 51 receptions for 685 yards and four touchdowns in 2024, all team highs. For the Buckeyes, he put up solid numbers with two future first-round draft picks flanking him at receiver (Carnell Tate and Jeremiah Smith), picking up 43 receptions for 448 yards and two scores. Klare didn’t have as much impact in Ohio State’s biggest games, however, combining for just six receptions for 59 yards in the team’s four games against Texas, Michigan, Indiana and Miami. He had no catches against the Hurricanes.
Still, Klare has flashed plenty of attributes that could make him a threatening TE1 at the next level. His athleticism and ball skills land him at the projected 82nd pick in the third round of the draft, with 19 of the 22 mock drafts Eleven Warriors collected placing him as a day two selection.
“Getting in and out of cuts at the top of routes and separating at the top, making plays with the ball in my hands,” Klare said of his top attributes at Ohio State’s pro day on March 25. “And also being someone who can move around, play multiple positions and fill holes and block.”
Klare’s lone season at Ohio State prepared him for the NFL draft, he added. He enjoyed his time in Columbus, but felt he was ready to declare for the draft with one year of eligibility still remaining.
“It was awesome,” Klare said. “I went there to compete against the best every day. Whether that was going against Sonny Styles, Arvell Reese on inside drill, and then going down to one-on-ones against Caleb Downs. And I think every day I got better there. And I'm super grateful for my time there and the experience I had.”
Neither Klare nor Kacmarek voiced a preference for what team or what pick they are selected in the draft, though obviously, all players want to hear their name called as early as possible. As Klare put it, both are looking for “any opportunity.”
It’s a testament to what Bailey has built at Ohio State. And to the dedication of both tight ends.
“Coach Keenan Bailey, I think he's one of the best coaches I've had,” Kacmarek said at the combine. “He taught me how to channel it on and off the field and, again, just the way he coaches me, he knows how to get me to my full potential. And, again, off the field, you could go up to him with any problem. He's always in your best interest.”
Photo credit: Jeff Hanisch-Imagn Images (left) and Samantha Madar/Columbus Dispatch (right)
