Max Klare

Where He's Expected to Land

Nova's number here isn't a stat-line projection, it's a draft-capital prior, and the site says so explicitly. The 76-point season budget spans a 4-to-170 range at the 10th-to-90th percentile, which is another way of saying nobody, including the model, actually knows what his rookie snap count looks like yet. Nova's likely-finish band is TE23–TE56, with a 6% shot at a tier-1 season and 13% at tier-2-or-better. Across formats the picture barely moves, Half-PPR (T6, -53.5 VORP) and Standard (T7, -42.8 VORP) tell the same story, because at the bottom of a TE board, PPR scoring doesn't have enough volume to work with yet.

Rookie Note: This Is a College Profile, Not an NFL History

Klare has zero NFL games played, so what follows is his college résumé, not a three-year pro trend, flagging that plainly per house policy on rookies.

The shape here matters more than the raw totals. Klare barely played as a Purdue freshman, then lost most of 2023 to a season-ending ankle injury in Week 6 after an 8-catch, 64-yard flash against Virginia Tech. 2024 was the breakout, 51 catches, 685 yards, Third-team All-Big Ten, which got him poached by Ohio State's transfer portal push in December 2024. His 2025 Buckeyes season was quieter on paper (43-448-2) but came in a run-heavy, talent-loaded offense, and it still earned him First-team All-Big Ten honors. Career totals: 116 catches, 1,329 yards, 11.5 per catch, across 33 games and two programs.

What Changed for Him This Offseason

Everything. Klare went from Ohio State Buckeye to Los Angeles Ram, selected with the 61st overall pick (second round) in the 2026 NFL Draft, the clearest signal here is draft capital, not scheme fit or target competition, both of which are now question marks.

What Changed Around Him

This is the section that actually decides his 2026 season. The Rams didn't draft Klare into an empty room. Tyler Higbee remains the long-tenured incumbent, Colby Parkinson arrived as a notable free-agent addition who Turf Show Times has already flagged as "key" to Sean McVay's tight end usage, and Davis Allen and Tyler Davis are also on the 90-man. That's four other bodies at a position Nova already prices as replacement-level-or-worse for a rookie. Sean McVay's offense leans on multiple-tight-end sets and heavy play-action, which theoretically creates room for a fifth piece, but it also means snaps get sliced five ways before Klare proves he belongs in the top two.

What They're Saying

"Max coming into the mix has the ability to be a move blocker. He can play in-line and shows great run after the catch... I like the way that he moves grounded on the second and third levels to be able to stay connected and be able to press people in space," Rams head coach Sean McVay said of Klare, per TheRams.com's July 3, 2026 newcomer profile (remarks originally made after Day 2 of the draft). The same piece notes Klare's 562 yards after catch and 1.85 yards per route run over his final two college seasons ranked fourth-most among the top 20 tight ends on The Athletic's draft board, a real receiving-skill signal buried in a crowded room.

Sports Illustrated's Rams channel ran a piece on May 9, 2026 headlined "Most Concerning Question Mark Rams Face With Rookie Max Klare," flagging that his rookie-year role, not his talent, is the open question. Nova's -62.8 VORP already prices that skepticism in; the model isn't fighting the beat reporting here, it's agreeing with it.

The Buzz

Draft-media reaction has split along predictable lines, some analysts frame him as a legitimate move-the-chains receiving tight end worth a dynasty stash, others see a Day 2 pick who profiles as TE4 on his own depth chart in Year 1. Nobody in that conversation is pricing him as a 2026 redraft asset, which lines up with where Nova has him.

Swing Factors

• Higbee/Parkinson snap split (largest lever): every rep the incumbents don't take is a rep Klare can. If either misses time, his ceiling case activates fast.
• Route-running translation (+): the YAC and yards-per-route data McVay's staff already likes could push him past Davis and Allen on the depth chart by midseason.
• In-line blocking reps (−): McVay's scheme demands in-line detail from tight ends; a rookie learning curve there caps early trust regardless of receiving polish.
• Zero-NFL-snap variance (±): with no pro tape, Nova's range (4 to 170 points) is unusually wide for a reason, this is a pure projection, not a track record.

If Everything Goes Right / If Everything Goes Wrong

If everything goes right: Higbee's usual wear-and-tear or a slow Parkinson start opens two-tight-end reps by October, McVay's staff green-lights the receiving skill set they already praised on tape, and Klare closes near his 90th-percentile output, the ~170-point ceiling that would make him a streamable TE2 down the stretch. Nova prices that at 6%.

If everything goes wrong: the Higbee-Parkinson pairing holds, Klare logs special-teams snaps and spot duty, and he finishes near the ~4-point floor, a rookie season that never shows up on a box score. That's the more probable outcome by Nova's own math, and it's why the median sits at just 76 points.

Nova's Edge

There's no ADP to argue with, so the edge here isn't a divergence call, it's Nova refusing to round a Day 2 pick up into "sleeper" territory just because the receiving tape is good. Tier 6, replacement-level VORP, TE23–TE56 range: that's the model saying the tape doesn't matter until the depth chart clears, and the depth chart hasn't cleared.

The Bottom Line

Klare isn't a 2026 redraft pick outside of the deepest TE-premium leagues or two-tight-end formats, he's a priced-in speculative stash. In dynasty, he's a fine bench add given the draft capital and receiving profile; in seasonal leagues, he's a summer-camp watchlist name, not a roster spot. Track Rams camp tight end reps in August; if Klare is running with the twos ahead of Davis and Allen, revisit this before Week 1. If he's still buried in September, Nova's 6% tier-1 number will look generous, not conservative.