NFL Draft
1/13/25
6 min read
Gunnar Helm 2025 NFL Draft: Scouting Report For Texas Longhorns TE
Height: 6050 (unofficial)
Weight: 250lbs (unofficial)
Year: Senior
Pro Comparison: Todd Heap
Scouting Overview
Texas Longhorns tight end Gunnar Helm is among the most complete tight end prospects eligible for the 2025 NFL Draft. This is a talent who has found impactful opportunities in the run-and-pass game, with and without the football.
He’s got ample length and an NFL build, boosting his projection for taking abuse as a middle-of-the-field pass catcher and holding and anchoring the line of scrimmage. He’s impressive at the catch point and showcases the utmost confidence in his hands to pluck the football — projecting him as a quarterback’s best friend in underneath targets and in the red area.
Helm should be afforded opportunities to play early in his career and can potentially maximize the impact of his 4-year window on a rookie contract.
2025 NFL Combine Results
TBD
Positives
- He has very good length and ball skills to boost his effectiveness at the catch point
- Undeterred middle-of-the-field target who runs crossing patterns, hitches, and wrap-ins into traffic with effectiveness and concentration
- Is a sufficient NFL-ready blocker to play in line as a traditional Y
Negatives
- Pad-level consistency in blocking opportunities can help boost functional strength
- Hand placement is erratic in blocking fits, leaving him exposed to potential flags at the next level
- Lacks an open field gear to really tear apart man coverage opportunities after the catch
Background
Helm is from Englewood, CO, and played high school football for Cherry Creek HS. There, he was a well-regarded tight end recruit who earned a 3-star rating (247 Sports) and received offers from several programs, including Alabama, Auburn, Arizona State, and Texas.
Helm was a multi-sport athlete who also played basketball; he was named All-State in Colorado before ultimately committing to the Longhorns as a member of the program’s 2021 recruiting class and quickly finding his way onto the field.
Helm played in 12 games as primarily a special teams contributor in 2021 as a freshman and got his first taste of the starting lineup as a sophomore. He started four games that season and another six games as a junior, earning Big 12 Honorable Mention honors for his play in 2023.
Helm exploded in the passing game for the Longhorns in 2024 and took major leaps in his play. He started 15 games for Texas and posted 58 receptions for 744 yards and seven scores. Helm was named Second Team All-SEC for his efforts and accepted an invitation to the 2025 Reese’s Senior Bowl as his college career came to a close.
Tale Of The Tape
Helm is an impressive talent with the kind of diversity that could ultimately keep him on the field for any offensive system at the NFL level. He offers NFL physicality and possesses a frame that can be effective as a middle-of-the-field pass catcher and as a blocker in the run and pass game.
Helm was predominantly a blocker prior to the 2024 season, in which he broke out with a variety of schemed targets and became a prominent member of the passing game. Given the leap in competition that comes with playing against NFL defenders, he may be better served having the opposite progression early in his pro career and being a receiving target first.
Helm has a knack for finding voids in the middle and utilizes his basketball background at the catch point. He offers plus length and confident hands to extend back for the football and force defenders to try to jar his body to knock the football loose unless they have a firm angle to undercut the throw. On vertical targets down the field, Helm has put more than one defender on a poster by elevating and attacking the ball at the highest point, finishing the reception through contact, and surviving the ground. It’s an impressive quality that will likely result in 50/50 ball opportunities once he establishes trust with his quarterback.
Helm is surprisingly slippery with the ball in his hands. He hurdles multiple defenders in 2024 and was utilized as a delayed screen option out of nub formations with boot action away to invite the pass rush. During these opportunities, he was reliable in securing inaccurate throws and still got his eyes upfield, feeling developing blocks to escort him upfield. Helm possesses surprising creativity and wiggle to generate added yardage after the catch. When push comes to shove, he’s capable of running you over and has a lot of mass to back it up.
The route distribution is impressive. He ran primarily out routes underneath via flats, pivots, or outs but also ran significant volume on shallow and deep crosses, hitches, seam routes, and in-breakers. Helm showcases the ability to use physicality to bump defenders off his frame and is unbothered by contact in the collision window.
As a blocker, Helm has things to clean up but has a strong foundation. He’s light on his feet and has enough hip looseness to hinge into anchors or, alternatively, flip his hips open at the snap to get down and press for leverage to cross face on inside shades.
He has a big wingspan and sufficient functional strength when playing in-line — he isn’t a road grader and won’t maul defenders with urgent leg drive, but he’s sticky nonetheless. Helm’s hands are the biggest question mark, as he is prone to wide strikes and does not actively work to reset himself. This leaves him vulnerable to holding penalties, and he needs added attention to prevent drive-killing mistakes.
Helm shows active feet and enough anchor in double-team opportunities. He is fluid and effective working off of those combination blocks to frame second-level defenders or peel off to wall off blitzing defenders from space. He needs to be more vigilant with his leverage as a taller body to keep as much of his functional strength at his disposal as possible, as he is a longer player at the position and can be prone to being overextended.
Overall, he is more of an angles blocker than a displacement blocker but shows good strain and effort for all assignments in-line, in split flow action, or cracking down to seal on toss action.
Ideal Scheme Fit, Role
Helm projects as a traditional Y tight end at the NFL level. He should be considered a more impactful receiving threat than a blocker, but he has the foundation to serve as both for his future NFL team.
Helm’s rookie season should be platooned with a veteran player as he gets assimilated to the weight and speed of the game, but this is a rookie contract starter who can be moved around the formation and charged with running a variety of middle-of-the-field routes.
Grade: 78.00/100.00, Second Round Value
Big Board Rank: TBD
Position Rank: TBD
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