Browns Select Cincinnati Tight End Joe Royer 170th Overall
More weapons on the offense as the Browns add their potential TE2 in the fifth round.
The Browns went back to adding more offense and this time it was Cincinnati tight end Joe Royer with the 170th overall pick — acquired from Denver — adding a receiver with an Ohio roots.
Royer’s journey to this moment has been anything but straightforward. A former consensus four-star recruit and top-10 player in Ohio, Royer originally signed with Ohio State out of Cincinnati Elder, where he redshirted in 2020 and caught just four passes over the next three seasons before transferring to Cincinnati. It was there that everything changed. Under the guidance of tight ends coach Jordan Stepp, Royer found his footing again, crediting the coach with “helping save his football career” after he “lost the love of the game for a while.” His journey was made even more remarkable by the fact that he persevered through the devastating loss of his mother during his time at Ohio State.
The production at Cincinnati was immediate and impressive. He stepped right into a starting role and posted 50 receptions for 521 yards and three touchdowns in 2024, followed by 29 receptions for 416 yards and four touchdowns in his final season. Over his full college career, Royer totaled 83 receptions for 961 yards and seven touchdowns.
At 6-foot-5 and 247 pounds, Royer brings a prototypical frame to Cleveland’s tight end room. I don’t love that he did not test athletically through the process but at this value spot we trust the tape and throw out more of the missing data. He’s north of 24 after a long college career so he will be expect to impact the offense in a limited role and special teams right away. He is more of a receiving-focused tight end who brings above-average athleticism and excellent hands, projecting as a TE2 with the flexibility to align in receiver roles.
He posses adequate instincts in the intermediate passing game — his body control and ability to adjust to off-target throws show rare fluidity for a tight end of his size, and he creates space on intermediate routes with subtle acceleration and head fakes that consistently displace linebackers.
Royer needs to add functional strength as a blocker, improve his hand location, and play with a stronger base and better leverage at the point of attack. But the ceiling is enticing enough that despite having opportunities to enter the 2025 NFL Draft with invitations to the Shrine Bowl and Senior Bowl, Royer elected to return for his final season with the goal of being the first tight end selected in the 2026 NFL Draft.
For a Browns offense that already features star tight end Harold Fannin Jr., adding Royer as a complementary receiving weapon at pick 170 represents strong late-round value — even if they missed on a few names earlier in the draft.
Browns Film Breakdown will have full breakdown of this pick in the coming week.
Go Bearcats!