Filling big shoes at tight end, Notre Dame eyes a healthy Flanagan and Washington's development to power their offense and overcome key departures.
Notre Dame will have some big shoes to fill out tight end, and while the room has talent there are a lot of questions at the position. How well the depth chart develops this offseason will have a major impact on the offense. Notre Dame chose to not take a tight end in the portal, so there is clearly confidence in the talent and numbers at the position, but now that talent must be developed.
Let's continue our depth chart projection series with a look at the tight ends.
PROJECTED TE DEPTH CHART
RETURNING PRODUCTION
Ty Washington: 2025 - 5 rec, 34 yards, 6.8 YPC, 1 TD / 2024 - 2 rec, 25 yards, 12.5 YPC, 1 TD / 2023 - 11 rec, 170 yards, 15.5 YPC, 2 TD / 2022 - 1 rec, 17 yards, 17.0 YPC, 1 TD
Cooper Flanagan: 2024 - 4 rec, 55 yards, 13.8 YPC, 2 TD / 2023 - 1 rec, 19 yards, 19.0 YPC, 1 TD
Jack Larsen: 2025 - 3 rec, 30 yards, 10.0 YPC, 0 TD
WHAT WAS LOST
Notre Dame will likely continue its tradition of sending tight ends to the NFL after Eli Raridon had a quality final season with the Irish. Raridon caught 32 passes for 482 yards (15.1 YPC) as a senior and was a legit pass game weapon for the Irish. He caught all eight of the targets beyond 20 yards and showed improved consistency as a run blocker.
FLANAGAN BACK IN ACTION
A big reason for the optimism at the position is the anticipated return of Cooper Flanagan. A key rotation tight end in 2023 and 2024, Flanagan was on track to become a key part of a strong 1-2 punch with Raridon in 2025, but an Achilles injury in the playoffs cost him all but one game last season. At the very least Notre Dame needs Flanagan to return as a strong blocker in the run game, where he adds good size and power to the position.
Flanagan has caught just four passes in his career, but three of those catches have gone for touchdowns. There's little doubt that a healthy Flanagan will be a good run game performer, but he'll need to prove he can be an every down tight end that can make plays in the pass game. Flanagan has some tools as a pass catcher, including strong hands and a really nice catch radius, but he's a different kind of athlete than Raridon. Whereas 25-percent of Raridon's catches were on throws that traveled at least 20 yards down the field, I would expect a higher amount of Flanagan's work to be under 20 yards.
If he can return to health and enhance his game the way it was expected to in 2025, the Irish will have a big, physical, proven player at the top of the depth chart.
CAN WASHINGTON DO MORE
Grad transfer Ty Washington emerged as Notre Dame's second tight end last season, earning 244 snaps last season. Most of his pass game production came during backup time, but as part of the 12 personnel grouping he was tasked primarily with being an edge blocker. Washington will get a chance to compete this spring for the starting tight end spot. For that to happen he'll need to block more consistently, especially if he can block weekly like we saw against Arkansas. Washington has some athletic skills that should allow him to be more productive in the pass game, and this upcoming battle for the tight end spot will give him a chance to show if he has the pass game chops to be "the guy" in the offense.
At the very least I expect Washington to continue the role he had last season. If he can take his game to another level during his first spring with Notre Dame, he could be a bit of a surprise player in the offense.
LARSEN ENTERS A CRUCIAL OFFSEASON
Redshirt sophomore Jack Larsen enters a very important offseason. He's not a veteran, so he should be rounding into his top form this offseason. He'll have to battle with two older players (Flanagan, Washington), but he also has three very talented younger players competing with him for a spot in the top three of the depth chart. Larsen has impressive ball skills, and an argument could be made he has the best pass hands at the position. Now, Larsen will need to show he has the ability to get open that is needed to take advantage of those strong hands, and that he can handle the run game well enough to earn a role in the tight end rotation.
If Larsen can make a jump this spring he'll have a chance to earn a role, but if his game doesn't take a pretty good sized jump he'll run the risk of getting passed up by the three younger tight ends.
FLANIGAN READY FOR A JUMP
Had Notre Dame earned a playoff spot there is little doubt that then true freshman James Flanigan was going to play a more significant role in the offense. Flanigan was impressive in the run game against Pittsburgh and Stanford, earning 36 reps in those two games. Notre Dame limited him to just four games to ensure a redshirt season, but he won't have those restrictions going into 2026. At this point I'll be quite surprised if Flanigan isn't a key part of the tight end rotation, at the very least as a strong point of attack run blocker.
His talent and the production he already showed makes him not being a part of the rotation highly likely, so the question is where will he be in the rotation. Will he simply serve as the No. 2 or No. 3 tight end, who specializes in run blocking, or will he battle for the No. 1 spot. I believe Flanigan will have a chance to earn the No. 1 spot, and whether or not he earns that role will be determined by how well he performs in the pass game. Flanigan has good vertical ability and strong hands, but he'll need to show the route running ability to get the separation demanded to be an impact player in the pass game.
If Flanigan does that he'll be extremely hard to keep off the field. If he can't, his role in 2026 will be focused more on what he can do in the run game.
ROOKIES ADD BIG TIME TALENT
Notre Dame landed the nation's best tight end haul in the 2027 class, and that group has Irish faithful - and coaches - excited about what they add. A case could be made that the addition of Ian Premer and Preston Fryzel played a key role in Notre Dame deciding not to add a veteran tight end from the portal. Fryzel is already on campus, but the odds are he'll need a year of physical development before he's competing for a key role in the offense. The athleticism and pass catching skills are impressive, but Fryzel arrived to Notre Dame at just 208 pounds.
Premer won't arrive until the summer, but he's expected to have a chance to make an immediate impact. Premer is an elite athlete with outstanding size, pass catching skills and playmaking ability. He'll need to learn the offense quickly and continue adding strength, but with his unique skills it could be very, very hard to keep him off the field. The thought of a future duo of Flanigan and Premer, and their complimentary skills to each other, is quite exciting.
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