Turf Show Times
The Los Angeles Rams have invested heavily in the tight end position in the last few seasons. Between Colby Parkinson, Tyler Higbee, second-year playmaker Terrance Ferguson and Davis Allen, rookie Max Klare is next in line to earn ample playing time in the Rams’ TE-heavy offense.
Klare is L.A.’s second straight tight end selected in the NFL draft, going No. 61 overall in April. This comes after Ferguson was taken 46th overall in last year’s draft.
Klare is going to have his work cut out for him if he aims to stand out in this loaded grouping. He’ll certainly have an uphill climb. However, his versatile skills as a receiving TE — not to mention surviving the Purdue Boilermakers — could potentially make him stand out in the crowd.
Klare attended St. Xavier in Cincinnati, Ohio, and committed to the Purdue Boilermakers out of high school as a three-star recruit. He chose the Boilermakers over schools like Duke, Eastern Michigan, Georgia Tech and the nearby Cincinnati Bearcats.
Through his first two years at Purdue, nothing of note happened for the young tight end. He played in just two games during his freshman campaign in 2022. Then, the following year, he was on his way to potentially breaking out before suffering a season-ending injury in a 44-19 win over Illinois.
Despite the injury, Klare was a dependable target in short-yardage situations. Purdue quarterback Hudson Card sung his praises to Sam King of the Lafayette Journal & Courier, a sign of something special to come in Year 3:
“He’s one of the best tight ends that I’ve been around. He’s a great player. He can block and he also runs some of the best routes that I’ve been around. He makes my life easy and he’s going to do some special things.”
Klare had the best season of his collegiate career in 2024, leading the team with 51 receptions for 685 yards and four touchdowns, which was the sixth-highest receiving yardage total by a TE in program history. According to Purdue Athletics, he finished eighth in the FBS in receiving yards by a tight end and was the ninth different Big Ten TE since 2000 to record at least 680 receiving yards.
He returned from injury with a vengeance against FCS Indiana State in the season opener with a five-catch, 71-yard output. Later in the season, Klare also recorded a career-high 133 yards against the Fighting Illini. For his efforts, Klare was named third-team All-Big Ten.
He would’ve likely gotten more respect from the voters had Purdue not performed so poorly that season. The Boilermakers finished 1-11 during his final season, including 0-9 in the Big Ten, lowlighted by 66-7 and 66-0 losses to in-state foes Notre Dame and Indiana, respectively.
It was time for a change, and Klare opted to transfer to defending national champion Ohio State ahead of the 2025 season. While in Columbus, Klare worked to improve his blocking. Being...
