Welcome back to Parsons’ Profiles, the NFL Draft countdown series where I examine the professional future of one Duck per day until the 2025 NFL Draft begins on April 24. Yesterday, I looked at some professional fits for defensive end Jordan Burch. Today, I’ll look at where tight end Terrance Ferguson could fit into this year’s deep tight end class.
Ferguson stood 6’5, weighed 230 pounds and was ranked 247Sports’ No. 10 tight end prospect when he graduated from Heritage High School in Littleton, Colorado as part of the class of 2021. He received 28 collegiate offers, including one from the nearby Colorado Buffaloes, but chose to commit to Oregon in June 2020.
Ferguson appeared in 52 games across four seasons with the Ducks, starting 37 of them. He led Oregon tight ends in receptions, receiving yards and receiving touchdowns in each of those four years.
As a junior in 2023, Ferguson tallied 42 catches for 414 yards and six touchdowns, which earned him first-team All-Pac-12 honors. In 2024, he tied a program record – single-season catches by a tight end – with 43 receptions, which resulted in 591 yards (second-most in program history), three touchdowns and third-team All-Big-Ten honors.
Ferguson left Oregon as the school’s all time positional leader in receptions (136) and receiving touchdowns (16), while his 1,537 receiving yards rank just below Ed Dickson’s 1,557.
However, receiving stats don’t tell the whole story. Ferguson struggled as a blocker throughout his tenure in Eugene. He averaged a very poor Pro Football Focus (PFF) pass block grade of just 54.1 and his averaged run block grade of 60.5 wasn’t much better.
Ferguson’s limitations as a blocking tight end clearly hurt his draft stock, as Pro Football Network’s Jacob Infante rated him a fifth-round prospect in January. However, things changed at the 2025 NFL Scouting Combine.
First, Ferguson measured at an ideal 6’5, 247 pounds. Then, he ran a 4.63-second 40-yard dash and recorded a 39-inch vertical jump, both of which led all tight ends. He also tied for the fastest 10-yard split (1.55 seconds) and finished third with a 10’2 broad jump.
I graded Ferguson as Oregon’s biggest winner from the combine, but I wasn’t the only one to notice his success. In March, Fox Sports’ Joel Klatt ranked Ferguson the No. 4 tight end in this year’s class.
“I think in the NFL, (Ferguson) could be more of a flex guy. Like an H tight end, a moving tight end,” Klatt said on The Joel Klatt Show. “That’s a role I could see him filling, because he’s a quality player and certainly a guy that could have some success at the NFL level.”
No. 4 is high praise in this year’s stacked tight end class. Penn State’s Tyler Warren is a shoe-in first round pick, and Michigan’s Coulston Loveland is likely to join him. Other talented ends include Louisiana State University’s Mason Taylor, Bowling Green State University’s Harold Fannin Jr. and the University of Miami’s Elijah Arroyo.
All of these tight ends have solid professional potential and are worthy Day Two selections. It’s possible an underrated tight end or two falls into the fourth round, but I doubt that’ll happen to Ferguson. His four years of collegiate production and fantastic combine showing clearly turned some professional heads.
Ferguson has met with four teams for Top-30 visits: the Denver Broncos, the Cleveland Browns, the Carolina Panthers and the Tennessee Titans.
The Broncos made a splash signing at tight end this offseason when they signed Evan Engram to a two-year, $23 million contract. However, Engram will be 31 later this year, and head coach Sean Payton has been searching for versatile, athletic players with whom he can build around second-year passer Bo Nix.
The Browns seem to be entering an offensive rebuild as they try to recover from the disaster that was the Deshaun Watson acquisition. Regardless of what happens in Cleveland at quarterback, Ferguson would fit in well on a Browns squad which has a solid offensive line but few threatening skill position players.
The Panthers seem to have finally connected with 2023 first-overall pick Bryce Young, but they still need to build a team around him. They’re expected by many to target a defender in round one, but they’d be wise to pick up a safety blanket like Ferguson, who was a consistent option for Young-sized Ducks passer Dillon Gabriel in 2024.
The Titans are expected to draft Miami quarterback Cam Ward with the first overall pick, but they’ll also need to bolster his supporting cast. Leading tight end Chig Okonkwo is entering the final year of his rookie deal, and Tennessee has little in the way of depth.
Ferguson’s size and athleticism make him a fit for these and many other teams, though a relative lack of in-line blocking ability will hamper his stock with others. I expect Ferguson to be drafted in the third round, and I’d be pretty surprised to see him any higher or lower.
A team drafting him in round two will expect major contributions right away, while a fourth-round selection might mean we see Ferguson receive only rotational use. I don’t expect Ferguson to be an immediate star, but I do expect his athletic ability to make him a contributing factor for Sundays to come.
Tomorrow, Parsons’ Profiles will discuss a Duck who’s been hailed a future first-round pick since before he first stepped foot on campus.
