Joe

Royer

24 years old and coming off a five-year college career, Royer (6’5/247) spent three invisible seasons at Ohio State before transferring to Cincinnati and catching 50 balls in 2024. That number declined to 29 in 2025 despite appearing in one more game, though his yardage total fell “only” 105 yards from 521 to 416. Praised for his physicality at the catch point, Royer has a projectable skill-set as a blocker. A short-area threat who can do some damage on schemed looks, Royer will look to carve out a role as a rotational pass catcher who can hopefully improve his blocking to the point he can be on the field more often than not.

Royer announced that he was “staying home” as he’s a local prospect for the Buckeyes from Elder HS in Cincinnati. The two favorites here were Arizona State and Ohio State, but he had offers from several other high-profile schools as well. The folks at 247Sports are big fans of the 6-foot-5, 220-pound tight end, as they rank him third overall at the position, and second in the state of Ohio. The rich get richer.

While Royer doesn’t have extreme star power on his profile at this juncture, the 6-foot-5, 220-pounder out of Cincinnati impressed at the Under Armour All-America camp regional in Ohio earlier this spring. Nebraska and Michigan have both tossed him offers in the recent past. On the 247Sports composite board, Royer lands as the No. 1,000 prospect -- on the nose -- in the 2020 class. We’ll see if he can draw a little bit more rankings love when outlets put out their refreshed boards in the summer.