NFL Analysis
2/18/25
6 min read
Moliki Matavao 2025 NFL Draft: Scouting Report For UCLA Bruins TE
Height: 6052 (verified)
Weight: 265lbs (verified)
Year: Senior
Pro Comparison: Adam Trautman
Scouting Overview
UCLA Bruins tight end Moliki Matavao is a likable player who enjoyed a breakout in the passing game in 2024. This former Oregon Duck found himself as a central piece of the Bruins' passing game in 2024. He illustrated a strong ability to attack and work zones in the middle of the field while also being charged with some schemed touches underneath before rumbling through the open field.
Despite his textbook frame for the position, Matavao requires polish as an in-line blocker, which relegates him into developmental talent territory. However, much of his run game work was simple split-flow action that did not require a lot of imagination or pose challenges for play processing from defenders.
2025 NFL Combine Results
| Position | Name | School | 40-Yard Dash | 10-Yard Split | Broad Jump | Vertical Jump | 3-Cone Drill | 20-Yard Shuttle | Bench Press |
| TE | Moliki Matavao | UCLA | 4.81 | 1.6 | 114 | 32.5 |
Positives
- Hulking build that is a prototypical frame to play as a traditional in-line player
- Possesses really strong hands to cradle the football at the catch point through contact
- Surprising separation ability in space through the intermediate areas of the field
Negatives
- Open-field creativity and open-field burst limit opportunities as a run-after-catch target
- Offers notable growth potential with consistency resetting the point of attack in the run game
- Limited usage in pass protection with less than 100 reps across four seasons & 1500+ snaps
Background
Matavao is from Henderson, NV, and played high school at Liberty HS. There, he was a standout as a supersized pass catcher and ranked as a 4-star tight end (247 Sports) as one of the highest-ranked tight end recruits in the country. Matavao was selected to participate in the All-American Bowl and the Polynesian Bowl as a prep player and received offers from programs like Alabama, Penn State, Georgia, and others before ultimately enrolling at Oregon.
With the Ducks, Matavao saw action in 14 games (2 starts) and was a limited piece of the passing game in 2021 as a true freshman. He collected six starts in 12 games as a sophomore, but his utilization continued to be limited, and as a result, Matavao entered the transfer portal after his sophomore year.
As a 3-star transfer (247 Sports), Matavao landed with the Bruins and appeared in all 13 games, starting an additional six. He was named Honorable Mention All-PAC 12 for his play. He enjoyed a breakout senior season with 41 receptions and 506 yards across 11 games. Matavao ended his collegiate career with an accepted invitation to participate in the 2025 Reese’s Senior Bowl.
Tale Of The Tape
Matavao's surprising blend of pass-catching ability and size makes him a compelling prospect for the 2025 NFL Draft in a loaded tight end class. He is a hulking presence who has excelled as a middle-of-the-field target over the past two seasons for the Bruins, although he lacks the kind of runaway juice that would make him a potential mismatch player in the passing game.
Matavao boasts strong hands and a massive catch radius as a receiver. As a receiver through traffic, his dense frame allows him to absorb all kinds of contact while surviving at the catch point. His hands are soft when receiving the football, and they allow him to cushion the ball as he’s attacked by defenders.
Matavao does well in adjusting his breaks, stems, and routes to gear down and find additional room and voids for his quarterback to make himself a friendly target for his quarterback.
As a route runner, Matavao has found success most frequently on crosses, hitches, and out patterns. The Bruins have stashed him at three strong and yielded easy access against zones, but he has also used his size to run sail routes that break into the intermediate area of the field as a longer-developing option—he shows great feel for these opportunities to find space.
He does lack the kind of explosiveness and juice that you would ideally find for a receiving tight end, however. He’s not dynamic when coming out of the blocks, and his ability to snap off route stems in order to cut at sharp angles should not be considered a strength.
Accordingly, he leans into his physicality at the top of routes to bump and body defenders to create a step for himself. Matavao does show a feel for doing this consistently, but more stiff and stout coverage defenders are likely to plaster him through the break in man coverage regardless.
As a blocker, Matavao feels underdeveloped despite his stature. He lacks the punch power to roll back the pads of defensive ends, and when he does latch his hands on solo blocks, he does not recruit from the ground with leg drive in a way that sustains momentum. He can be guilty of playing too high at the point of attack as well.
Matavao’s most effective reps as a blocker come with his split-flow action, not necessarily with his insert reps but rather with some of the bluff releases he hits to get outside toward the numbers as a lead blocker for the quarterback on some of the team’s quarterback run schemes. He’s slippery, bluffing past the end, and does well getting outside and turning upfield to pick off the first arriving color he finds.
Matavao has not been used frequently as a pass protector, and this field should generally be considered uncharted waters that will require foundational habits to be instilled.
All of these elements, plus a modest athletic profile despite his likable traits and instincts in space as a pass catcher, yield a developmental tight end with some unteachable qualities to work with.
Ideal Scheme Fit, Role
Matavao projects as a developmental in-line player as a traditional ‘Y’ tight end. He has a notable ceiling as a pass catcher but needs to raise the floor to maintain consistency in his work at the point of attack.
He feels like a sleeping giant who could awaken and be an impressive steal if he finds the punch power and leg drive to churn out the point of attack.
Grade: 71.00/100.00, Fifth Round Value
Big Board Rank: TBD
Position Rank: TBD
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