New England Patriots Top 30 Visit: TCU TE Jared Wiley

Every NFL franchise is allowed to invite up to 30 draft prospects to visit their facilities and meet with the members of the organization before the NFL Draft. These selections range from first-round targets to players who might be available as undrafted free agents. As news about the New England Patriots Top 30 visits surface, Patriots Football Now will highlight each of the visitors. Today’s feature is TCU tight end Jared Wiley.

College Career

Jared Wiley was a three-star prospect in 247 Sports composite rankings coming out of Temple High School in Temple, Tex. He ranked as the No. 689 overall player, No. 30 tight end, and No. 87 player from Texas in the Class of 2019.

Wiley committed to Texas. He spent three seasons with the Longhorns before transferring to TCU after the 2021 season.

With Texas, Wiley appeared in 32 games over three seasons. However, he was never heavily involved in the passing game. He caught 19 passes for 248 yards and three touchdowns across those 32 games.

Wiley joined the Horned Frogs before the 2022 season and immediately witnessed an uptick in his offensive output. He caught 24 passes for 245 yards and four touchdowns. He helped TCU advance to the National Championship Game, where they ultimately fell to Georgia.

The 2023 season saw continued improvement from Wiley. His offensive numbers improved to 47 receptions for 520 yards and eight touchdowns. Wiley was also a team captain. He earned first-team All-Big 12 honors at tight end, after being a member of the second-team in 2022. Wiley was named to the Big-12 All-Academic first-team the past three seasons.

TD number ✌️ for @TCUFootball's @Jaredwiley23 🔥 pic.twitter.com/hzOTwjUDgy

— FOX College Football (@CFBONFOX) September 23, 2023

NFL Draft

Jared Wiley received invitations to the Reese’s Senior Bowl and NFL Scouting Combine.

Wiley measured 6-foot-6 and weighed in at 249 pounds at the combine. He ran the 40-yard dash in 4.62 seconds. He proved himself both the size and athleticism to compete at the NFL level.

In 2023, Wiley only had one drop despite his 47 receptions. Combining good hands with size, athleticism, and intelligence makes Wiley an intriguing prospect for any team. Wiley received only a 68.0 from Pro Football Focus in 2023 despite his solid offensive output. This was negatively affected by a run-blocking grade of 48.0. In 2022, Wiley had a run-block grade of 64.2, so it is the one area in which he is trending in the wrong direction.

The New England Patriots have three tight ends under contract for 2024: Hunter Henry, Austin Hooper, and La’Michael Pettway. However, the team is interested in bringing more depth to the unit. Jared Wiley is a solid tight end prospect. He has good measurables and production. He has the size and strength to become a solid blocker but did not display that last season. With the loss of Pharaoh Brown, New England might be looking for a tight end to do more blocking than what Wiley offers. Or do they see enough intangibles and intelligence in Wiley to believe he can work on his blocking and be effective at the NFL level? That answer will be known soon enough.