When James Franklin was hired at Virginia Tech after being fired at Penn State last October, one question Hokies fans had was who, if any, former Nittany Lions were going to follow Franklin from State College to Blacksburg.
As it turns out, about a dozen of them did. Maybe the two biggest names were quarterback Ethan Grunkemeyer and tight end Luke Reynolds. Both are NFL prospects, and Reynolds is quickly surging up the draft board. In fact, The Athletic has him projected as a first-round pick in their latest mock, with him going to a Super Bowl contender.
The Athletic has Virginia Tech tight end projected as a first-round draft pick to the Patriots
Nick Baumgardner of The Athletic dropped his latest first-round mock draft, and he has Reynolds going 24th overall in the opening round to the New England Patriots. If we're being honest, that would be a perfect landing spot for Reynolds with an organization that is coming off a Super Bowl appearance and is turning into a yearly contender under Mike Vrabel.
The NFL season is only a month old, but for five winless teams, it’s not too early to start looking toward the 2027 NFL Draft 👀@nickbaumgardner looks at how Round 1 might shake out based on how teams are trending now.https://t.co/YxzfkrXzF8 pic.twitter.com/3m8hIHtvio
— The Athletic (@TheAthletic) October 7, 2026
Also, the Patriots' tight end room is getting up there in age, but offensive coordinator Josh McDaniels is someone who uses the tight end a lot in his offense. Drake Maye is a signal caller who gets a rhythm with his tight ends and loves throwing to them.
Reynolds has been great for Grunkemeyer and Franklin this season with some timely catches. Already this season, Reynolds has 431 receiving yards on 41 catches and four touchdowns. He has two 100-yard receiving games already, but he hasn't had a touchdown catch in the last three games.
Regardless, he is a tight end who is going to be playing a lot of football on Sundays in the future, and maybe this time next year. The 6-foot-4 Reynolds, who is from Westford, Mass., would likely be living out a dream play for New England. Wherever he ends up, an NFL team will be getting a very good pass-catching tight end.
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