After one season with Ohio State, tight end Max Klare is off to the NFL after being selected with the No. 61 overall pick in the second round of the 2026 NFL draft.
He is the fifth Buckeye selected in day two of the draft, and the sixth Ohio State player taken overall.
Klare started his college career at Purdue, joining the Boilermakers in the recruiting class of 2022 as a three-star prospect who was ranked the No. 70 tight end in the country.
He played in just seven games in his first two seasons in West Lafayette, Ind., catching a total of 22 passes for 196 yards, all in his second year.
Then, he broke out in 2024, catching 51 passes in 12 games with Purdue for 685 yards and four touchdowns, earning third-team All-Big Ten honors. He entered the transfer portal after that season and landed with the Buckeyes.
He shared time with Will Kacmarek, but was also a large part of why the Buckeyes offense used so many heavy formations last season. Klare had a slight drop-off in production from his previous year, with 43 catches for 448 yards and two scores in 14 games.
However, Klare says that he believes he became a much more complete tight end with Ohio State last season.
Now Klare joins the Rams under head coach Sean McVay, where he joins a depth chart that contains Colby Parkinson, Tyler Higbee and Terrance Ferguson the tight end position.
