KJ Duff
KJ Duff led the entire country in contested catches. At 6-6, he's a jump-ball most defensive backs simply can't reach -- and a projected first-round pick who chose to stay at Rutgers as its undisputed No. 1.
Buzz vs Tape
Fans hotter than the country
His own fans read him warmer than the wider college football conversation does — a gap of 24.3 points in belief.
Sheffield has certainly lived up to his hype so far. Great receiver. Hoping he can keep it going to improve his draft stock because he certainly knows how to run routes. KJ Duff is going to be a 1-3 round pick in another year or two as…
— Expensive-Step-6551
Also worth knowing:
The story
At 6-6 and 225 pounds, Duff is a matchup problem by construction, and 2025 made it official: 60 catches, 1,084 yards, seven touchdowns, second-team All-Big Ten, and a nation-leading 22 contested catches -- the receiver who wins the throw nobody else can. PFF slots him inside its top 20 on the 2027 draft board, the kind of grade that usually leaves school. He stayed. The forward stakes are personal and programmatic: he's a single big year from the Rutgers receiving record and a strong season from cementing first-round status. For a receiver who already owns the contested-catch crown, 2026 is about adding the rest -- and being the player a Big Ten defense has to account for on every snap.
Career Arc
Trophy Case · Confirmed honors
What the selectors said
ALL-CONFERENCE
All-Conf mention (2025)
All-Big Ten
2025 snapshot
Season context · Team result + system
Splits & context
Supporting Cast · Scheme
Staff and system around the player
Head Coach
Greg Schiano
Awards
Player Standing · 17 rungs
Tier 3 · RecognizedR09 · All-Conference HM / 2nd team
All-Conference HM / 2nd team. Conference recognition has started.
Recognition
Production
Trophy Case · Confirmed honors
What the selectors said
ALL-CONFERENCE
All-Conf mention (2025)
All-Big Ten
Career stats
Signature game
SIGNATURE GAME · Week 3 · 2025
W 60–10
vs Norfolk State
6 rec · 119 yds
Dominant 50-point win at home against Norfolk State.
How he plays
Play style
Duff wins where size wins -- above the rim and through contact. The defining number is the one he led the nation in: 22 contested catches, the climb-the-ladder, box-out trait of a true jump-ball receiver at 6-6, 225. Our play-by-play frames the rest honestly: a good (61st-percentile) yards-per-catch and explosive rate, with a more modest catch rate (41st percentile) -- the natural cost of a target who lives on the hardest, most contested throws rather than the easy ones. He's not a separation-by-quickness slot; he's the back-shoulder, red-zone, win-the-50-50 weapon. For a quarterback, he's the answer to "what do I do on third-and-long" -- throw it up and let the big man go get it.
Our classifier reads him the same way: beats you over the top.
2026 Outlook
Rutgers
2026 Depth chart
Projected starter
Wide receiver · Rutgers
Returning around him
- 67% of 2024 offensive production back (Solid continuity)
- 1 Rutgers player drafted to NFL
- Transfer portal: +0 net (15 in / 15 out)
2026 Award watch
No preseason watch lists yet (most drop June 15 – July 15)
Rutgers · Last season: 5-7 · Talent rank #53 · 2026 recruiting class #36
Perception vs tape
At 6-6 and 225 pounds, Duff is a matchup problem by construction, and 2025 made it official: 60 catches, 1,084 yards, seven touchdowns, second-team All-Big Ten, and a nation-leading 22 contested catches -- the receiver who wins the throw nobody else can. PFF slots him inside its top 20 on the 2027 draft board, the kind of grade that usually leaves school.
Read the story →DNA match
Player DNA
Deep Threat
Stretches the field vertically. Every snap is a potential big play.
His 2025 production profile sits closest to Duce Robinson’s 2025 season.
Matches Duce on
Differs from Duce on
Through 2 college seasons, his career arc tracks closest to T.J. Simmons’s path through West Virginia.
T.J. Simmons
Matches T.J. on
As a sophomore, his production profile tracks closest to Colston Loveland's sophomore season at Michigan (2023).
Matches Colston on
Differs from Colston on
Player DNA
Players who play like KJ Duff
Development
Development Trajectory · receiving yards
2024–2025+150%
Up 150% from first season to most-recent.
Background
2025 Honorable Mention All-America (Phil Steele) 2025 Second Team All-Big Ten (Coaches, Media, Associated Press, Phil Steele) 2025 All-ECAC Offense 2025 Biletnikoff Award Watch List 2025 Academic All-Big Ten 2026 (Junior): Named Preseason All-America (fourth team) and All-Big Ten (second team) by...