The Opening Drive 4/14: Sam Roush Can Provide Ideal Tight End Pairing for the Browns

If they want the best mix of skill-sets at the position, the Stanford-product is the answer.

Apr 14, 2026

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STANFORD, CALIFORNIA - NOVEMBER 22: Sam Roush #86 of the Stanford Cardinal runs with the ball after catching a pass against the California Golden Bears in the first quarter at Stanford Stadium on November 22, 2025 in Stanford, California. (Photo by Thearon W. Henderson/Getty Images)

Sam Roush doesn’t arrive at the 2026 NFL Draft with the pedigree of a Brock Bowers or the recruiting hype of an Oscar Delp. What he brings instead is four years of quiet, steady production at Stanford, a combine performance that genuinely turned heads, and a bloodline that suggests football is very much in his DNA — two uncles, Merlin and Orrin Olsen, and his grandfather, Phil Olsen, all played in the NFL.

The foundation is legitimate. Over his four-year career at Stanford, Roush appeared in 48 games and totaled 119 receptions for 1,201 yards and four touchdowns. His output grew each season — 28-288-0 in 2023, 40-334-2 in 2024, and a career-best 49-545-2 in his senior year. Those are not explosive numbers, but context matters. Stanford’s offense has been running on fumes for years with shaky quarterback play, and Roush was still the most consistent receiving option they had. The production curve — steady improvement in each of three starting seasons — is exactly what you want to see from a developmental tight end.

Then Indianapolis happened. Prior to the Combine, the film painted the picture of a well-coached, ascending tight end in a run-heavy Stanford offense — reliable across the board, but without a truly standout trait. The testing flipped that narrative. At 267 pounds, Roush posted a 38.5-inch vertical and a 10-foot-6 broad jump, rare territory for a man his size, and his three-cone time stacked up with elite movement tight ends. His 87 athleticism score ranked near the top of the position group and sent me back into watching more of his tape knowing those metrics. His combination of a 6-foot-6, 267-pound frame, a 4.7 forty, and game speed that shows up on film makes him one of the more well-rounded and intriguing tight ends in this class. (#86 Below)

See below for more specific scouting notes.

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