Luke Musgrave, TE Oregon State: 2023 NFL Draft Profile

Musgrave was a three-star recruit from Bend Senior High School in Bend, Ore. in the class of 2019

Oregon State tight end Luke Musgrave is scheduled to compete at the Senior Bowl later this month. The former three-star recruit is one of the most athletically gifted tight ends in this class and projects as a top 100 selection in the 2023 NFL Draft. His performance in Mobile, Ala. could raise his draft stock significantly.

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Luke Musgrave, TE Oregon State: 2023 NFL Draft Profile

Classification: Fourth year junior tight end from Bend, Ore.

Background: Musgrave was a three-star recruit from Bend Senior High School in Bend, Ore. in the class of 2019. He was the No. 764 recruit according to 247Sports and No. 801 for On3.com. Musgrave was an unranked three-star recruit for Rivals. Musgrave was an unranked three-star recruit for ESPN with a 73 grade out of 100. He started for two varsity seasons in high school, playing tight end, wide receiver, and defensive end. Musgrave earned team MVP honors and was a First-Team All-League selection at both tight end and defensive end. As a high school senior, he produced 31 receptions for 563 yards and recorded 42 tackles on defense. Musgrave lettered for three seasons in lacrosse and earned First-Team All-League selections as a sophomore and junior. He participated in track and competed in ski racing, winning championships in giant slalom and super giant slalom alpine ski races. Musgrave committed to Oregon State over offers from Cal, Oregon, and Utah State. He has a brother named Colt. His father, Doug Musgrave, played quarterback at Oregon in 1991 and 1992. Luke’s uncle Bill Musgrave played quarterback at Oregon from 1987-1990 before being selected by the Dallas Cowboys in the fourth round of the 1991 NFL Draft. He spent several years in the NFL, playing for multiple teams. Bill went on to have a long coaching career that included offensive coordinator roles with the Carolina Panthers, Virginia Cavaliers, Jacksonville Jaguars, Minnesota Vikings, Oakland Raiders, and most recently the Denver Broncos.

2022 Production: 2 games, 11 receptions, 169 yards, 1 touchdown

2021 Production: 13 games, 22 receptions, 304 yards, 1 touchdown

2020 Production: 7 games, 12 receptions, 142 yards

2019 Production: 12 games, 2 receptions, 18 yards

Injuries & Off-Field: Suffered a season-ending injury after two games in 2022

Awards: 2020 Pac-12 Academic Honor Roll

Pros: Special teams experience on the kick return, kick coverage, punt return, and field goal units, blocked punt returned for a touchdown in 2021, experience playing in-line and in the slot, appears to have above average arm length and wingspan, massive mitts to corral the football, room to add mass to his frame, quick off the line, long strides to cover ground quickly, tracks the ball well, speed to threaten defenses down the seam, speed to challenge linebackers in man-to-man, displays some lateral bounce in his routes, size and frame to box defenders out for the football, good body control along the sideline, flips his hips with little resistance, diverse route tree, excellent at selling his block and then leaking out on a route, strength to seal defenders inside or out on run plays, fires out of his stance low with proper leverage as a blocker, more than enough power to displace defensive backs, maintains good speed into and out of cuts

Cons: Seven drops combined in 2020 and 2021, limited experience in pass pro, hasn’t thrived in contested catch situations, doesn’t play bully ball at the catch point, lack of production and injuries, needs to break more tackles and increase contact balance, muscular but lean, instances of body catches, re-routed by contact early in his route, routes are more rounded than sharp, allows defenders into his chest as a blocker, struggles to sustain blocks, questionable anchor, hands deploy late as a blocker, torqued and discarded by defenders when blocking, defenders beat him across his face, hand placement is low and wide, doesn’t displace linemen and inconsistent displacing linebackers, struggles to mirror second level defenders in the open field when lead blocking, instances of his pad level getting too high, doesn’t generate consistent separation against defensive backs

Overview: Musgrave is unofficially listed at 6'6", 250 lbs. He has extensive special teams experience on the kick return, kick coverage, punt return, and field goal units and even returned a blocked punt for a touchdown in 2021. The Oregon State product primarily lines up in-line and in the slot. Musgrave appears to have above-average arm length, a large wingspan, and massive mitts to corral the football. There’s room on his frame to add muscle mass. Musgrave is quick off the line and uses his long strides to cover ground quickly. His speed threatens defenses down the seam and challenges linebackers in man-to-man. The former three-star recruit maintains good speed into and out of cuts. He primarily generates yards after the catch with his speed instead of power. Musgrave has the size and frame to box defenders out for the football. He displays good body control along the sideline and tracks the ball well. The Oregon native runs a diverse route tree for a college tight end. He showcases some lateral bounce and fairly fluid hips while running routes. Musgrave is excellent at selling his block and then leaking out on a route. He possesses the strength to seal defenders inside or out on run plays. Musgrave fires out of his stance low and with proper leverage as a blocker. He packs more than enough power to displace defensive backs and give linebackers trouble. Musgrave appeared on Bruce Feldman’s 2022 Freaks List for The Athletic. Per Feldman, the tight end logged a 36.5-inch vertical jump and a 10'1 3/4" broad jump over the summer of 2022. He also ran a 4.51 40-yard dash and a 4.21 20-yard shuttle. All of those numbers would’ve ranked first among tight ends at the 2022 NFL Combine, except for the 10'1 3/4" broad jump, which would’ve ranked third. However, Musgrave isn’t immune to drops and has limited experience in pass protection. There are some body catches on his tape, and he hasn’t thrived in contested catch situations. The junior is muscular but lean, leading to him struggling to break tackles and being re-routed by contact early in his stem. He doesn’t play bully ball at the catch point yet. Musgrave’s routes are more rounded than sharp, and he doesn’t generate consistent separation against defensive backs. Teams might have reservations about his injuries and lack of production. Musgrave allows defenders into his chest as a blocker. He struggles to sustain blocks and has a questionable anchor. The Oregon State product’s hands deploy late as a blocker and tend to be low and wide. Musgrave doesn’t displace linemen and is inconsistent displacing linebackers. He struggles to mirror second level defenders in the open field when lead blocking and is occasionally beaten across his face. There are instances of his pad level getting too high.

Overall, Musgrave is a high-end linear athlete with excellent size, length, and quickness off the line, but he needs to fill out his frame, develop his play strength, and perfect his work as a blocker. Musgrave could start as a rookie, but his best projection comes as a TE2 early in his career who eventually becomes a TE1.

Role & Scheme Fit: Slot tight end with in-line versatility in an inside zone scheme

Round Projection: Late Second to Mid Third

Player Comparison: N/A

Submitted: 01-05-23