The junior's Week 10 breakthrough against elite competition suggests he can fill the production void left by Sam Roush—if his hot streak carries over
Stanford football is undergoing plenty of changes, bringing in Tavita Pritchard as what appears to be the long-term solution on the sidelines, along with a coaching staff that's filled with NFL experience.
On the field there have been some changes as well, with Davis Warren set to take over under center, and one of the Cardinal's key weapons in recent seasons, Sam Roush, being selected by the Chicago Bears in the NFL Draft.
Junior tight end Benji Blackburn is penciled in to take that spot in the offense, and it's easy to see why. Standing 6-foot-6, 260 pounds, Blackburn matches Roush's size (plus an inch). While he hasn't seen a ton of targets just yet, he's played 24 games in his first two years, including seven starts.
In that span, Blackburn has racked up 11 catches for 127 yards and one touchdown, most of which came in 2025.
He also seemed to turn a corner last season around Week 10, when his PFF grades started turning green. As you can see, against Pittsburgh, North Carolina, Cal, and Notre Dame, his ratings were each well above where they had been for much of the season.
Benji Blackburn's PFF+, 2025We're obviously dealing with limited snap counts, sitting between 11 and 28 in that span, but this is one of those areas where if he can do this for close to 50-60 snaps a game, the Cardinal may have a breakout on their hands.
It's especially impressive when compared to the grades that Roush received from those same games. The obvious counterpoint here is that Roush had a much larger sample size, and he was also the focal point, making his assignment more difficult.
Roush's biggest skill was his pass blocking across all four seasons at Stanford, and Blackburn, in his sample, has been on par or better.
The relationship between Warren and Blackburn may end up being one of the keys to the season. Blackburn will be critical to keeping Warren upright, especially given that in his one season starting, Warren's 5.7 yards per attempt ranked near the bottom of the country.
If he's checking down yet again this season, there could be plenty of targets for Blackburn. His hands are solid—an 80.1 drop grade compared to Roush's peak of 77.7 in 2024—and could anchor Stanford's passing game.
Following the departures of both of Stanford's top pass-catchers from 2025 in CJ Williams (749 yards) and Roush (545), there will be opportunities for wide-outs like Caden High, Nico Brown, and Bryce Farrell to carry the load. There should also be a spot for Blackburn to carve out a role for himself.
How big of a role he ends up with will be determined by whether that hot streak at the end of 2025 is real or a mirage, and if he can keep that same level of production over a starter's workload.
