The tight end position continues to see increased importance in college football, and the John Mackey Award is the ultimate prize for the best players in the game.
It seems like the tight ends have been getting more and more love over the years, whether that’s because of the outsized personalities we’ve seen play the position or because the pass-friendly nature of today’s game allows them more opportunities to create highlights.
Since 2000, the John Mackey Award has been given to the best collegiate tight end in the country, boasting a list of recipients that includes Dallas Clark, Hunter Henry, Kyle Pitts and Brock Bowers.
After Vanderbilt’s Eli Stowers took home the Mackey Trophy a year ago, the 2026 race is certainly up in the air. Iowa’s DJ Vonnahme and LSU’s TreyDez Green are two surefire candidates to win the award, not to mention Texas Tech’s Terrance Carter or Oregon’s Jamari Johnson. Not to mention Cal’s Dorian Thomas, who transferred from New Mexico after his breakout 2025 campaign.
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Top Contenders To Win The Mackey Award in 2026
Here are the top five Mackey Award candidates for the upcoming 2026 season.
DJ Vonnahme, Iowa
Iowa has proven to be Tight End U over the years, producing elite talent at the position decade after decade. Dallas Clark won the Hawkeyes’ first Mackey Award in 2003 and TJ Hockenson followed suit in 2018, not to mention stars like George Kittle and Sam LaPorta, who had great careers in Des Moines but never got to lift the trophy. DJ Vonnahme has a great chance to become the third if he can build off the good finish he had to his 2025 campaign. Vonnahme posted 29 catches, 434 yards and 4 touchdowns on the season, but nearly all of that production came after he was given a bigger role in Iowa’s final five games. If he can produce at that rate the entire season, he’ll be a leading candidate for the Mackey.
TreyDez Green, LSU
Pound for pound, I don’t think anyone is going to argue the fact that TreyDez Green is the best tight end in the country entering the 2026 season. Green posted 33 receptions and 433 receiving yards for the Tigers last season, and his 7 touchdowns only trailed Oregon’s first round NFL draft pick Kenyon Sadiq for the most by any tight end nationally. With coach Lane Kiffin bringing his pass happy system and Arizona State transfer quarterback Sam Leavitt with him to Baton Rouge, it would only be fair to expect Green to eclipse those already gaudy numbers this season. And at 6-foot-7 and 240 pounds, that would certainly give Green quite the case to be a first round draft pick.
Sam Leavitt to Trey’Dez Green.
Get used to it #LSU Fans…and non-LSU Fans👀 pic.twitter.com/yX4eZWpEPZ
— Tingle & Co (@Tingle__Co) August 10, 2026
Terrance Carter, Texas Tech
Among the returning tight ends, none can say they were as productive across the board as Texas Tech’s Terrance Carter last season. Carter ranked fourth among all tight ends with 56 catches and fifth with 624 receiving yards, which was one of the driving forces behind the Red Raiders’ Big 12 championship run and their trip to the College Football Playoff. The outlook for Carter’s Mackey case would have been even better if it were still Brenan Sorsby throwing him the ball as opposed to Will Hammond, but tight ends like him have a knack for making their quarterback look good. If Carter propels the Red Raiders toward another repeat bid and puts up similar or better numbers than he did a year ago, it’s going to be hard for Mackey voters not to consider him.
Let’s go, JJ 🦆
Jamari Johnson is on the watch list for the John Mackey Award, presented to the nation’s best tight end. #GoDucks x @TheMackeyAward pic.twitter.com/wXbFaG1Y1z
— Oregon Football (@oregonfootball) August 5, 2026
Jamari Johnson, Oregon
Aside from TreyDez Green, there isn’t a tight end in the country that has Jamari Johnson’s upside. Even despite the fact that he spent the first two seasons of his career at Oregon playing second fiddle to Kenyon Sadiq, Johnson still managed to post 32 receptions for 510 yards and 3 touchdowns as a sophomore last season. It’s not crazy to wonder if Johnson could be even more productive than Sadiq was as the Duck’s No. 1 tight end, and it’s certainly not crazy to expect a jump in production to such a degree that it would make him the overwhelming favorite to win the award. With future NFL starter Dante Moore throwing him the ball, the possibilities are endless in Eugene.
Dorian Thomas, Cal
The only returning tight end who racked up more receptions than Terrance Carter was New Mexico’s Dorian Thomas, who transferred to Cal this offseason to get a taste of Power Four football after dominating the Mountain West. Thomas tallied 56 receptions for 560 yards with 4 touchdowns for the Lobos in 2025, helping lead them to a 9-4 season in their first season under coach Jason Eck. Thomas will surely be a centerpiece of new Cal coach Tosh Lupoi’s maiden voyage in Berkeley, and he’ll be in the conversation for the Mackey Award all season long if he’s able to improve upon the production he had in Albuquerque even just slightly.
