The Houston Texans made no bones about their interest in tight end options, and they could get an intriguing one in Max Klare.
The Texans currently have several players under contract at Klare’s position, but that has not deterred their interest in him ahead of the 2026 draft, which runs from April 23 (Round 1) through April 25 (Rounds 4-7).
He could help solidify what was a revolving door for the Texans last season.
Texans Show Interest in Buckeyes’ Max Klare Before Draft
GettyMax Klare of the Ohio State Buckeyes participates in a drill during the 2026 NFL Scouting Combine.
According to KPRC 2’s Aaron Wilson, the Texans have “met extensively” with Klare in recent weeks ahead of the draft. Per Wilson, Klare is “expected” to be the second tight end off the board in the draft.
“Klare is making a sound recovery from an ankle injury that prevented him from fully participating in testing,” Wilson wrote on April 17. “Klare is known as a versatile tight end who’s an explosive route runner with outstanding hands and a good blocker. He is explosive with a large catch radius and diversity of patterns and creating separation.”
Klare caught 43 passes for 448 yards and 2 touchdowns for the Buckeyes last season. He posted a 116-1,329-6 career line. News of the Texans’ interest was well-received.
Texans general manager Nick Caserio also suggested they could explore TE options.
“We got a lot of guys in some different categories,” Caserio said, per ESPN’s DJ Bien-Aime on April 13. “There’s some question marks if we’re just being real. But we think there’s some players there that potentially can help us.”
Texans tight ends combined for 106 receptions for 883 yards and 3 touchdowns on 130 targets this past regular season. Starter Dalton Schultz had an 82-777-3 line on 106 looks by himself.
Tight end might not be a big need for the Texans, but Klare would be a good one to add.
What Draft Evaluators Say About Max Klare
GettyMax Klare #86 of the Ohio State Buckeyes jumps over Bo Mascoe #3, Kaj Sanders #5, and Dariel Djabome #8 of the Rutgers Scarlet Knights as he carries the ball.
The Texans will have their own evaluations of Klare, but draft analysts have been noticeably intrigued by him.
“Klare has a low ceiling as a blocker and needs to continue adding refinement as a route runner, but his combination of athleticism, toughness and ball skills gives him a modern-day skill set,” The Athletic’s Dan Brugler wrote in “The Beast” pre-draft profile. “He projects as an F tight end, similar in ways to Dalton Kincaid.”
Klare is Brugler’s TE3 with a second or third-round grade.
The Ringer’s Todd McShay echoed his high floor, ceiling projection for Klare, whom he compared to Schultz, among others. McShay cited Klare’s “Route IQ, reliability, and YAC.”
“Those are the three traits that all overachieving tight ends possess coming out of the draft. Klare is very good in all three areas—and that’s why I see shades of Dalton Schultz (Texans), Cole Kmet (Bears), and [Jake] Ferguson (Cowboys) in his game. Klare should immediately contribute as a versatile no. 2 tight end,” McShay wrote.
“He has enough size and athleticism to emerge as a team’s TE1. He’s best suited for a play-action-heavy offense that features the tight end on a lot of delayed releases, crossers, middle-field spacing concepts, stick concepts, and so on.”
NFL.com’s Lance Zierlein echoed those sentiments, comparing Klare to Brenton Strange of the Jacksonville Jaguars.
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