Arizona prepared TE Tanner McLachlan for 'next journey through the NFL'

Moments before running the 40-yard dash at the NFL Scouting Combine in Indianapolis, the feeling finally sunk in for Tanner McLachlan.

That “every NFL team has their eyes on me and there’s nowhere to hide” feeling many players surely get when they prepare to display their physical talents in front of NFL coaches, scouts and front-office executives — and whoever is watching the NFL Combine nationally on NFL Network.

“I remember getting on the field before my 40 and I was like, ‘Man I’m really here. We’re really doing this right now,’” said McLachlan, the former Arizona Wildcats tight end.

McLachlan ran the 40-yard dash in 4.61 seconds, the third-fastest time for tight ends at the draft combine this year. He also posted a 35-inch vertical jump and nine-foot, nine-inch long jump. The 6-5, 244-pound McLachlan received a 75 grade by NFL’s “Next Gen Stats,” which is the seventh-best grade for tight ends at the combine.

“It was such a blessing to be one of the few (players from Arizona) invited there. All of us felt that blessing,” McLachlan said. “It was a week with a lot of stress, but it was a good stress because we’re fulfilling our dreams. It was really cool. Lots of medical stuff, interviewed with teams and I had a good time. ... I was blessed enough to be around a bunch of great tight ends and to go out there at the combine and show what I have to these NFL teams was very fun.”

McLachlan said he has “pretty much (informally) talked to every team” during the draft process and “everything has all gone pretty well.”

“Everyone is going to have their own opinion on me, but I think it’s gone pretty well so far,” he said.

His interviews with teams have been, um, big brother-ish.

“They went back and found out my dad was a bishop, like, years ago. That was interesting,” McLachlan said. “I was on the phone the other day and was like, ‘Wow, they really dug into my history.’ That was that moment for me.”

Arizona’s Pro Day on Thursday won’t be broadcasted to the world and likely won’t have scouts asking odd — and incredibly personal — questions, but McLachlan, along with 14 other ex-Wildcats, including potential first-round left tackle Jordan Morgan, wide receiver Jacob Cowing and running back Michael Wiley, will have a chance to work out in front of a plethora of NFL scouts. For McLachlan, Morgan, Wiley and Cowing, who all participated in the NFL Draft Combine, it will be another chance to increase their draft stock.

McLachlan has come a long way from being that “skinny, 190-pound basketball player” at American Leadership Academy in Queen Creek after living in Alberta, Canada, for most of his life. Preparing for the NFL was a pipe dream not too long for McLachlan, who had one scholarship offer out of high school to Southern Utah, before he transferred to Arizona in 2022.

“I had that one offer and always had that chip on my shoulder, because I knew I was good enough to play big-time football but no one else did, so I just kept working and working. ... I was gonna go all-in or hang it up,” McLachlan said. “I didn’t expect it to go as well as it did, but it was the biggest blessing. It just goes back to my hard working and trusting the process, trusting the coaches.”

Between his two-year stint at Southern Utah and first season at Arizona, McLachlan didn’t have the medical staff handy to lean on to guide him through an ACL injury, so he learned how to rehabilitate his knee through YouTube videos.

McLachlan ascended Arizona’s depth chart and became a two-year starter and the most productive tight end since the best to ever play the position at Arizona, Rob Gronkowski. McLachlan’s 79 career receptions passed “Gronk” for the most ever by an Arizona tight end, and McLachlan concluded his UA career with 984 yards and six touchdowns.

Former Arizona head coach and ex-NFL journeyman Jedd Fisch modeled the UA football program after an NFL franchise, from the facilities to the play-calling, which “made me a better player,” McLachlan said.

“It prepared me for my next journey through the NFL,” McLachlan said. “I wouldn’t change it at all. It was a great approach. Running the pro-style offense, I loved it. I don’t know why you would do anything different. At the end of the day, you can say you love college ball, but every guy in college ball is trying to get to the NFL. To have something like implemented in, I don’t know why you would go a different direction. I love playing for this program, for this team, because of it.”

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Learning Fisch’s complex, NFL-style offense “was definitely a challenge,” he said.

“But as I grew in the offense and grew in the scheme, my knowledge grew,” McLachlan added. “It became easier and easier and I know that’s going to help me be more prepared when I go into NFL meeting rooms and see how well I know these offenses.”

Over the years, McLachlan studied NFL tight ends, including Los Angeles Rams’ Tyler Higbee because “what they ask him to do in the offense is very similar to what I did at Arizona,” McLachlan said. He also emulates three-time Super Bowl winner Travis Kelce and San Francisco 49ers star George Kittle.

“It’s amazing. He runs routes like a receiver, he’s fluid, he knows where to be and he’s the quarterback’s best friend,” McLachlan said of Kelce. “Then on the other side with George Kittle, he’s a technician and knows how to get open using his leverage, his speed and really just working the route. Watching guys like that is great. I really try and mimic my game after them and I hope to be as successful as them one day.”

In his analysis of McLachlan on NFL.com, NFL Draft analyst Lance Zierlein wrote, “He plays with the spirit of an in-line tight end and flashes what it takes to execute blocks, but he’s missing the mass and play strength for one to confidently project him as a pro blocker at this point.”

“While McLachlan has short arms and average speed, he still finds ways to go get the football outside his frame and does whatever it takes to add yards after catch,” Zierlein said. “There are boxes that go unchecked, but his ‘whatever it takes’ mentality is the kind of intangible that often turns prospects into pros.”

While McLachlan has “the utmost confidence in my hands and catching the ball and I always find a way to get open,” his run-blocking is his most prominent weakness as a pro prospect. McLachlan had a 54.6 run-blocking grade by Pro Football Focus this past season.

“If you turn on the film, a lot of people would say the same thing — and that’s the feedback I’ve been getting,” McLachlan said. “Converting from wide receiver to tight end, it is what it is, and I think I’m relatively new to the position but on the same token, it shows I have a lot of growth still to be made. I’m an older guy in this draft class, but my ceiling is very high and I have a lot of football left in me.”

McLachlan, who is a projected Day 3 to undrafted prospect, said his focus for Pro Day is “just give them confidence and allow them to double-down on what they think of me.”

“They have their own opinions on me, so when they come out to our Pro Day, they’re going to see me run some routes again and be an athlete. That’s what I hope to do,” McLachlan said. “Just get out on the field, look smooth, look natural and look the part, really.”

McLachlan grew up a Pittsburgh Steelers fan. Next month, he could have a new favorite team.

“Whatever team takes me is going to be my favorite team anyway,” McLachlan said.

“I’ll be happy wherever I go.”