Bottom Line
21st-percentile model grade meets a Day 3 landing spot behind Pat Freiermuth and Darnell Washington — Nowakowski projects as a TE2/FB hybrid with negligible dynasty value. Avoid in single-TE leagues; deep-league dart at the very end of rookie drafts only.
Team Fit & Opportunity
Pittsburgh used pick 169 on a profile that screams TE3/core-special-teamer. Freiermuth is entrenched as the receiving option, and Washington — even with a questionable tag — owns the inline blocking snaps. The 40 vacated targets aren't going to a fifth-rounder behind that room; they flow to DK Metcalf, Pittman, and Freiermuth. Realistic year-1 role: 200-300 special teams snaps, occasional 13-personnel package as an H-back/fullback. Some draft outlets are literally listing him as TE/FB, which tells you everything.
Talent Profile
The numbers paint a fringe-roster TE: 11th-percentile production, 18th-percentile explosiveness, and a 6.6 RAS at 6'2"/250 with a 4.66 forty and 33.5" vert. The 41st-percentile athleticism sub-score and 50th-percentile WAA hint at a functional in-line piece, but the 25th-percentile route versatility and 28th-percentile YPRR-over-expected confirm there's no untapped pass-game upside hiding in the profile. He's TE16 of 20 in this class for a reason — built like a fullback, moves like a fullback, will likely be deployed like one.
Strengths
- Special teams readiness: 250-pound frame and 50th-percentile WAA suggest immediate core-four value, the actual path to staying on Pittsburgh's 53.
- Positional flexibility: Multiple draft outlets tagged him TE/FB, and Pittsburgh has historically rostered an H-back type — a real role exists at 0.5% offensive snap share.
- Age-appropriate developmental runway: 22 with average athleticism scores leaves room for a year-3 inline blocking jump if Washington walks in 2027.
Concerns
- Receiving production never showed up: 11th-percentile production and 18th-percentile explosiveness at the college level — there's no statistical fingerprint of a pass-catcher.
- Buried on the depth chart: Freiermuth and Washington both ahead, and Pittsburgh just spent a pick 169 — this isn't a "they love him" situation, it's a roster-filler selection.
- The FB designation is a tell: When draft media starts listing you as TE/FB before you've taken an NFL snap, dynasty upside is functionally zero.
Historical Comp Read
Cade Otton (92% similarity) is the optimistic ceiling — and Otton needed Tampa's TE room to collapse to become a streamer, peaking as a TE15-20. The more honest comps are Charlie Woerner, Drew Sample, and Luke Farrell: NFL roster-stickers who combined for negligible fantasy production across their careers. The cluster signal is clear — this archetype produces blocking tight ends, not pass-catchers. Otton is the 90th-percentile outcome, not the median.
Outlook
Year-1: TE3 on the roster, zero fantasy relevance, maybe two or three garbage-time targets. Three-year arc tops out as a Drew Sample-style TE2 who occasionally vultures a goal-line score in 12-personnel. Catalyst: Washington departs in 2027 free agency AND Freiermuth misses time — even then he's a streamer at best. Risk: he's a fullback by year 2 and never sniffs a fantasy lineup. In dynasty terms: not draftable in 1QB formats, deep-league TE-premium flier only.