Tanner Arkin is a tight end and 2026 NFL Draft prospect who finished his collegiate career with the Illinois Fighting Illini after beginning it at Colorado State. Born in Kenosha, Wisconsin and raised in Fort Collins, Colorado, Arkin attended Rocky Mountain High School and was a two-star recruit in the 2020 class who committed to Colorado State. He redshirted his first year behind Trey McBride and contributed in a reserve role in 2021 before transferring to Illinois after the 2022 season. He made his Illini debut in 2023, appearing in all 13 games with three starts and scoring his first collegiate touchdown against Wisconsin. Named a team captain ahead of his junior season, he became a full-time starter in 2024 and enjoyed the most productive year of his career to that point, starting all 13 games, catching 16 passes for 111 yards and three scores, and earning national attention for a memorable 36-yard fake-punt rush against Michigan. He returned as team captain for his senior season in 2025, starting all 13 games at tight end, adding 13 receptions, and finishing his Illinois career with 29 starts, the second-most by a tight end in program history. He was named to the John Mackey Award Watch List and graduated in May 2025 with a degree in Kinesiology.
Standing 6-foot-4 and 245 pounds, Arkin is known primarily as one of the most physical and technically sound blocking tight ends in the 2026 class, praised by his position coach as a player who absorbs coaching without complaint and plays through contact with extraordinary toughness, which coaches have described by saying he does not feel pain. He brings the footwork and understanding of blocking angles developed under head coach Bret Bielema's run-heavy system, reliable hands in the short and intermediate areas when called upon as a receiver, and the leadership qualities that made him a two-year team captain. NFL evaluators project him as a developmental blocking tight end and complementary receiver at the next level, where his combination of physicality, positional experience at multiple levels, and track record in a NFL-caliber run-game system position him as a Day 3 selection with the tools to develop into a reliable two-way contributor and trusted veteran presence on any roster.
