Video: OC Tim Lester talks Iowa football’s quarterback room
Iowa football offensive coordinator Tim Lester meets with the media on April 23, 2025.
IOWA CITY — Iowa football tight end Luke Lachey has been selected in the seventh round of the 2025 NFL Draft by the Houston Texans. Lachey was the 255th overall pick.
Here is a look at Lachey’s path to this moment.
What Luke Lachey brings to the Texans
A four-star prospect in the 2020 high school recruiting class, Lachey’s career at Iowa is a bit perplexing in the sense that his statistics probably don’t accurately represent his talent. Though Lachey finished his Iowa career with less than 900 receiving yards, the tight end still has legitimate potential at the NFL level.
As a redshirt freshman and sophomore, Lachey was featured in a secondary role at tight end to Sam LaPorta, who later became a 2nd-round pick in the 2022 NFL Draft. Lachey’s most productive season at Iowa came as a redshirt sophomore when he recorded 28 catches for 398 yards and four touchdowns.
LaPorta’s departure set Lachey up for what seemed like a prominent role in 2023. Lachey did get off to a good start, but an injury in Iowa’s third game put an end to his season.
Lachey elected to return to Iowa for the 2024 season and entered the campaign considered among the best tight ends in the Big Ten. But Iowa’s passing game sputtered again. Lachey finished the season with 28 catches for just 231 yards, a far cry from what a player of his caliber is capable of.
The timing of Lachey’s Iowa career was somewhat unfortunate. Shortly after becoming the number one option at tight end, he suffered the season-ending injury. And when healthy, Lachey was a casualty of Iowa’s underperforming quarterback play, which has plagued the Hawkeyes in recent years. Neither was really a fault of his own.
That is part of why it feels like Lachey could be a high-value pick. Listed at 6-foot-6 and 251 pounds, Lachey has the physical tools to be a productive pass catcher in the NFL.
“I feel like my best football’s ahead of me,” Lachey said in March. “I feel really confident in that.”
Lachey also comes from a program that some consider “Tight End U.” The Hawkeye program has a reputation for churning out successful tight ends, including LaPorta, George Kittle and T.J. Hockenson. Lachey will try to become the next former Hawkeye tight end to thrive at the professional level.
Luke Lachey scouting report
Lance Zierlein of NFL.com wrote the following evaluation of Lachey:
Overview
Combination tight end capable of lining up in-line or as a move tight end. While Lachey can do both, he lacks the core strength and consistency of a typical “Y” tight end and has average quickness to escape man coverage on the next level. He has experience operating underneath and as an intermediate target, using proper leverage in his routes and good body control, along with strong hands, when contested. He has NFL size but needs to prove he can more consistently sustain as a run blocker in order to become a trustworthy, three-down player in the league. Unless that happens, he’s likely to be fighting for a role as a TE3 or TE4.
StrengthsPossesses adequate build and length.Gives quality effort as a positional blocker in zone.Has ability to activate hands quickly as a pass catcher.Able to dig out low throws or pluck it at the high point.Does a nice job of bodying defenders on contested catches.Uses the entirety of catch radius to bring in off-frame throws.WeaknessesFeet are a little heavy getting upfield and into his breaks.Fails to find separation burst at the top of the route.Needs to become more physical inside his routes.Below-average core power and grip strength to sustain blocks.Not built for one-on-one pass-pro duties.Luke Lachey highlights
Height and weightHeight: 6’ 6’’Weight: 251 lbsLuke Lachey stats at Iowa2022 season: 28 catches for 398 yards and four touchdowns2024 season: 28 catches for 231 yardsCareer: 74 catches for 893 yards and four touchdowns
Follow Tyler Tachman on X @Tyler_T15, contact via email at ttachman@gannett.com