Welcome back for another edition of Rookie Draft Prospect Faceoff, where I compare the resumes of two 2025 rookie prospects to determine who we should be taking first in our Dynasty rookie drafts. In today’s edition, we’re taking a look at the tight end position, with Elijah Arroyo going head-to-head against Mason Taylor. We still need a couple pieces of the puzzle left to complete the picture, with the NFL Combine and NFL Draft yet to occur. So, these rankings may change once RAS scores, landing spot, and draft capital are determined, but for now, I’ll be giving you everything you need to know about these two prospects’ games to keep you one step ahead of your competition. We’ll keep the same format as we had in prior articles, diving into player analytics first, followed by film grade.
Analytics
Arroyo is a four-year guy out of Miami, posting his only productive season in 2024 as a redshirt junior. Arroyo finished the season with 47 targets, 35 receptions, 590 yards, and seven touchdowns. The lack of production in prior seasons can be attributed to Arroyo suffering a major knee injury, which sidelined him for most of the 2022 and 2023 seasons. While Arroyo put up some respectable raw numbers in 2024 for a tight end, he was far from the focal point in this Hurricane offense, finishing fifth on the team in receptions, fourth in receiving yards, and third in receiving touchdowns.
Mason Taylor is an early-declare and played an integral part in this LSU offense all three years of his career. As a true freshman in 2022, Taylor posted 38 receptions and over 400 yards. He took a small step back production-wise in 2023 (the final season for Malik Nabers and Brian Thomas Jr.) but bounced back in 2024 with some career-bests. Taylor amassed 79 targets, 55 receptions, 546 yards, and two receiving touchdowns this year, typically operating as the third receiving option behind Aaron Anderson and Kyren Lacy.
Below are some of advanced metrics from 2024 to show how these guys compared against one another from an efficiency standpoint:
*Numbers were pulled from PFF website*
| TPRR | YPRR | YAC/REC | CT Rate | CTC% | DRP% | |
| Elijah Arroyo | 13.5% | 1.70 | 9.1 | 10.6% | 20.0% | 2.8% |
| Mason Taylor | 17.8% | 1.23 | 4.6 | 20.2% | 50.0% | 1.8% |
Key:
- TPRR: targets per route run
- YPRR: yards per route run
- YAC/REC: yards after catch per reception
- CT Rate: Contested target rate
- CTC%: Contest-catch percentage
- DRP%: drop percentage
Neither tight end really pops from an analytical standpoint. Most of these numbers are fine, but nothing special. The one number that stands out is Arroyo’s 9.1 YAC/REC. This is an elite mark, although it can be skewed with a couple long receptions when the production is limited like this. Still, it’s worth noting Arroyo’s ADOT was 11.0 this past season, so it’s not like he was just getting the ball at the line of scrimmage and asked to create after the catch. He was consistently running routes in the second and third levels and was dangerous with the ball in his hands.
Film
Starting with Arroyo, I have seen numerous film guys state Arroyo looks like a wide receiver playing tight end out there. I don’t really see it; he’s not very quick or explosive off the line and doesn’t move like a WR to me. Arroyo does have the size and athleticism to play in-line or in the slot and loves to initiate contact. While Arroyo isn’t a great separator in the short areas, he does have build-up speed and is a vertical threat once he gets to top speed. Arroyo has extremely reliable hands as well.
For Mason Taylor, I see a natural athlete and a smooth route-runner on the field. He’s not a great separator and doesn’t have elite burst or explosion to his game, but he’s a savvy route manipulator and is proficient in contested-catch situations. Taylor displays excellent ball tracking skills and body control and had some of the softest hands in college football this year. Obviously, we know Taylor comes from the bloodlines to succeed, being the son of Hall-of-Fame Defensive End, Jason Taylor. I think Mason has the versatility and athleticism to be used in multiple ways for an NFL franchise. He’s not going to be a league-winner in dynasty, but I can see him turning into a reliable every-week starter.
And the Winner is…
Looking at consensus big boards on NFL Mock Draft Database, Arroyo is listed as the 64th best prospect, while Taylor is listed at 76th overall. It seems the general consensus is that Arroyo is the more impressive talent and has the higher ceiling, but I’m going to go the other way. I think that, not only does Mason Taylor have a safer floor, but he also has a higher ceiling. The injury concerns are the biggest thing for me with Arroyo. I’m afraid of what NFL teams will find with his medicals, and that this may cause his NFL Draft stock to plummet. He looked fine this season, but if Arroyo re-injures his knee in the future, it may be game over. Obviously, we can’t try to project/predict future injuries for individual players; they are much more random than we like to admit. But durability does need to be taken into consideration here. On top of this, Taylor produced at an earlier age, more consistently, and alongside some top college talent over the years (Kyren Lacy, Kayshon Boutte, Jack Bech, Malik Nabers, Brian Thomas). I may change my tune post-NFL Draft, but for now, give me Mason Taylor.
Thank you for taking the time to read this article, and I hope you got some valuable information you can use for your fantasy team! If you’d like additional insight into Dynasty Football news and analysis, please follow me on Twitter at @jim_DFF. Until next time, keep grinding out there, DFF family! #DFFArmy #AlwaysBeBuilding
