Decker DeGraaf hasn’t been playing for the Washington Huskies for very long, but it’s clear that the tight end is very talented and a potential difference maker for Jedd Fisch’s offense. As he’s heading into his sophomore season on Montlake, DeGraaf is getting some pretty noteworthy offseason attention right now.
While it seemed plausible that DeGraaf flies under the radar for a lot of folks even with noting that his receiving stats last season were really impressive (tight ends still don’t get the attention they often deserve), it’s clear that Brad Shepard over at Bleacher Report was pretty impressed with the Huskies’ tight end’s performances last season.
DeGraaf was grouped among Shepard’s list of the top sophomores at each position heading into the 2025 season. And while DeGraaf wasn’t the top pick for tight end, according to Shepard, there’s a good chance that he still makes a noteworthy difference in Washington’s offense this coming season.
As Shepard notes, “Washington's Decker DeGraaf (15 catches, 233 yards, three touchdowns) had the best year” among his contemporaries.
Washington Huskies tight end Decker DeGraaf receiving some offseason praise ahead of 2025 college football season
There’s certainly a good chance that DeGraaf will play a huge role in Washington’s offense again this season. That said, Shepard seemed to think that Penn State’s Luke Reynolds “will have a bigger impact” during the 2025 season.
Which, I don’t know, that’s certainly possible. Penn State’s offense really seems to utilize tight ends well and we saw the way that Washington’s system seemingly prioritized getting the ball out to wide receivers last season. But maybe that changes this year as the offense moves closer to what Fisch generally seems to want to run?
I guess we’ll see soon enough.
Still, it’s cool to see DeGraaf getting this sort of attention. He was a notable part of the Huskies’ success during his freshman season and it’ll be fun to see how he and Demond Williams Jr. connect on a more regular basis this coming season.