Game log · Week-by-week
2026 season · 3 games
| Wk | Opp | REC | YDS | AVG | TD | LONG | Note |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Wk 1 | W 37-27vs Hawai'i | 5 | 49 | 9.8 | 0 | 16 | Season-high 52 yds |
| Wk 1 | L 6-45vs Miami | 7 | 52 | 7.4 | 0 | 15 | Season-high 52 yds |
| Wk 3 | L 7-35@ Duke | 2 | 28 | 14.0 | 0 | 19 | |
| Total | 14 | 129 | 10.4 | 0 | 19 |
#88
Benjamin Blackburn
Rosters churn everywhere, but Benjamin Blackburn keeps showing up for Stanford — a fixed point in a moving depth chart.
6′6″ · 260 lb · Miami, FL
How he plays
Shows up in the passing game from any alignment.
Catch rate: 62nd percentile.
The full scouting readThe numbers
129
receiving yards · 2026 · through week 3
3 games into 2026 so far -- Best game: 7 rec, 52 yds, vs Miami
His career numbers, season by seasonThe story
Junior tight end for Stanford. 2026: 3 games with a box-score line.
- Signed as a 3-star recruit to Stanford in 2024.
Benjamin Blackburn
Filling the Shoesas of 2026-09-22
Benjamin Blackburn is a cornerstone for Stanford — measured against the line he joined.
129REC YDS14REC0REC TD
Read the story so far
AI-generated narrative · may contain errors · not journalism · updated 2026-09-22
His career
2024
- Signed with Stanford3-star out of Miami Columbus
Career arc
HS
Recruit
★★★
CFB
College
Stanford
NFL
NFL Draft
—
Coaching lineage · 2024–2026
3 coaches2024
Troy Taylor
Stanford
2025era →
Frank Reich
Stanford
2026era →
Tavita Pritchard
Stanford
Played under 3 different head coaches: Troy Taylor, Frank Reich, and Tavita Pritchard. Multi-era developmental context.
Career stats
Game log
Game by game
Benjamin Blackburn's 2026 production
Point color shows the opponent's defensive strength that week (red = weaker defense, blue = stronger) — dashed line is this player's own season average.
Signature game
SIGNATURE GAME · Week 1 · 2026
W 37–27
vs Hawai'i
5 rec · 49 yds
With D. Warren — 310 yds · 1 TD · 0 INT · QBR 79.7 · 16 rush yds (5 car) · A. Flintoft — 43.2 yards per punt · 6 punts · 2 inside the 20
Signature plays
Signature plays · top plays by |EPA|
The plays that mattered most
- Week 1 · Miami · 3&6 · Q3 · EPA +2.54(00:59) No Huddle-Shotgun #8 D.Warren pass complete short middle to #88 B.Blackburn caught at STA45, for 13 yards to the STA47, End Of Play, 1ST DOWN
- Week 3 · Duke · 2&10 · Q4 · EPA +2.18(06:46) No Huddle-Shotgun #8 D.Warren pass complete short right to #88 B.Blackburn caught at DUKE45, for 19 yards to the DUKE32 (#9 C.Ojarikre; #6 L.Griffin III), 1ST DOWN
- Week 1 · Hawai'i · 1&10 · Q4 · EPA +1.41(03:57) No Huddle-Shotgun #8 D.Warren pass complete short middle to #88 B.Blackburn caught at STAN45, for 16 yards to the HAW46 (#2 K.Moore), 1ST DOWN
- Week 3 · Duke · 2&8 · Q1 · EPA +1.14(10:46) No Huddle-Shotgun #8 D.Warren pass complete short middle to #88 B.Blackburn caught at STAN26, for 9 yards to the STAN31 (#7 N.Morris Jr.), 1ST DOWN
- Week 1 · Miami · 2&10 · Q1 · EPA +0.74(10:02) #8 D.Warren pass complete short left to #88 B.Blackburn caught at MIA09, for 15 yards to the MIA08 (#1 M.Toure), 1ST DOWN
- Week 1 · Hawai'i · 3&13 · Q1 · EPA +0.71(06:01) No Huddle-Shotgun #8 D.Warren pass complete short middle to #88 B.Blackburn caught at STAN46, for 11 yards to the STAN46 (#2 K.Moore)
- Week 1 · Hawai'i · 1&10 · Q4 · EPA +0.64(03:30) No Huddle-Shotgun #8 D.Warren pass complete short middle to #88 B.Blackburn caught at HAW35, for 13 yards to the HAW33 (#2 K.Moore), 1ST DOWN
- Week 1 · Miami · 2&9 · Q4 · EPA +0.60(14:59) Shotgun #8 D.Warren pass complete short right to #88 B.Blackburn caught at MIA47, for 7 yards to the MIA45 (#30 K.Wiley, Jr.)
- Week 1 · Miami · 2&10 · Q1 · EPA -0.39(11:02) No Huddle-Shotgun #8 D.Warren pass complete short left to #88 B.Blackburn caught at STA49, for 3 yards to the STA50 (#3 B.Fitzgerald)
- Week 1 · Miami · 1&10 · Q2 · EPA +0.33(07:49) Shotgun #8 D.Warren pass complete short middle to #88 B.Blackburn caught at STA30, for 6 yards to the STA31 (#1 M.Toure)
2026 snapshot
Since week 1: +28 receiving yards, +2 catches.
Season context · Team result + system
2024Stanford3-9HC: Troy Taylor · Run-leaning
2025Stanford4-8HC: Frank Reich · Balanced
2026Stanford1-2HC: Tavita Pritchard · Pass-leaning
Where this profile ranks vs the TE cohort
Box-score + play-by-play EPA percentiles
Concern: explosive rate (4th percentile).
Real play-by-play efficiency
Box-score rates (5)
Season trend
EPA / target— first qualifying season
Explosive rate— first qualifying season
Catch rate— first qualifying season
TD rate— first qualifying season
Yards / catch— first qualifying season
Percentiles versus same-position peers with enough snaps this season. Most bars are box-score rates; EPA / success-rate bars are computed from real play-by-play (offense only — no defensive EPA model exists yet).
Receiving profile
Receiver profile · Targets, catch rate, and throw depth
How often he's targeted, and how well it works
14 of 14 receptions matched to play-by-play
20 of 20 targets charted for true throw depth
Targets
2018% of team targetsCatch rate
70%14 of 20 targetsBehind LOS · Negative air yds
5% of targets (1)
100%catch rate
Air -3.0 · YAC 6.0 avg
Short · 0–9 air yds
60% of targets (12)
75%catch rate
Air 4.0 · YAC 3.9 avg
Middle · 10–19 air yds
35% of targets (7)
57%catch rate
Air 12.3 · YAC 0.0 avg
70% catch rate on 20 targets · 18% of the team's targets.
Splits & context
Splits · Per-game
2026 season · 3 games
Home vs Road
| REC/g | YDS/g | YPR | TD/g | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Home2g | 6.0 | 50.5 | 8.6 | 0.0 |
| Road1g | 2.0 | 28.0 | 14.0 | 0.0 |
First half vs Second half
| REC/g | YDS/g | YPR | TD/g | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Weeks 1-73g | 4.7 | 43.0 | 10.4 | 0.0 |
Supporting cast · Scheme
Staff and system around the player
Head Coach
Tavita Pritchard
Pass share
57.4%
112 pass / 83 run
Plays / game
65.0
3 games
Team sack rate
4.0%
126 dropbacks · PBP
Scheme: Pass-leaning.
Awards
Player standing · 2026
Backup
On the two-deep and pushing for snaps.
Roster2-deepStarterRecognizedEliteApex
How he plays
Play style
Shows up in the passing game from any alignment.
CFB Index positional classification
Starter
The No. 1,008 recruit in the country is starting at tight end in the ACC as a junior.
DNA match
Player DNA
Complete TE
No single go-to route — the receiving numbers show up inline and split out alike.
TE
His 2026 production profile sits closest to Caleb Smith’s 2014 season.
Matches Caleb on
Height
Total EPA (college ability)
TD rate
Differs from Caleb on
Reception volume (higher)
EPA / play (adj) (higher)
Through 1 college season, his career arc tracks closest to Garrett Miller’s path through Purdue.
82%match
Matches Garrett on
Weight
Yards per reception
Recruiting rating
Differs from Garrett on
Height (higher)
As a junior, his production profile tracks closest to Ben Ratzlaff's junior season at Western Kentucky (2021).
94%match
Matches Ben on
TD rate
Total EPA (college ability)
EPA / play (adj)
Player DNA
Players who play like Benjamin Blackburn
The tight end room · Stanford
- #88Benjamin Blackburn109 receiving yards · 2025
- #84Chico Holt36 receiving yards · 2025
- #87Aiden Black1 game · 2025
- #81Marcus Monroeno box-score line yet
- #83Reiman Zebertno box-score line yet
1 more on the roster · Stanford team page
Stats from CFBD · ESPN · fan discourse. Every figure computed from source tables — not invented. Methodology