FRISCO, TEXAS — Luke Lachey is a builder. He builds relationships. He builds LEGOs. And right now, he is building the blocks for an NFL career.
In high school, Lachey (6053, 245) played three or four different sports at any given time. On the football team, he played wide receiver, cornerback, and kick returner. When colleges came calling, he was recruited as a tight end.
Given that he was looking at a future as a tight end, Iowa, also known as “Tight End U,” seemed like the right move. So Lachey followed the steps of Dallas Clark, George Kittle, and Noah Fant. His father, Jim Lachey, had played offensive tackle for Ohio State but gave his son full freedom to choose his own path.
From his early years in Iowa, Lachey worked to be a complete tight end. As his coaches tell his position group:
“If you can’t block, you can’t play. Coming from Iowa, we are a very run-heavy team. And I love to block. And that’s the first thing that you gotta be able to do. If you’re a tight end, they’re probably not gonna put you on the field very much if you can’t block. So that’s kind of what I take pride in. And then just trying to go out there and be available for the quarterback. I try to open up and catch every ball that comes my way.”
A successful 2022 season had Lachey earning early draft buzz, even though he was sharing the field with fellow tight end Sam LaPorta. The Detroit Lions drafted LaPorta in the spring of 2023, and Lachey was primed for a big year. He led the team in receiving yards in the first two games of the season, but his campaign was derailed by an ankle fracture near the end of the first quarter in the third game. To Lachey’s credit, he completed the catch. He then tried to drag himself to the sideline.
By all accounts, there was never a moment of self-pity. Lachey was immediately focused on getting well and staying involved with his teammates:
“I didn’t really wanna miss anything. I was at our practice on Monday and Tuesday. I had surgery on that Tuesday, and then I wanted to be at practice the next day, too, but it just wasn’t feasible. But just being present and around the whole team was super helpful. I have a great support system with my parents and my girlfriend.”
That doesn’t mean the recovery process was easy. The lack of activity was challenging for an athlete who had always been involved in sports. His roommate, fellow tight end Steven Stilianos, gave him a LEGO Harry Potter set, which kept his hands busy. But reading kept his mind occupied. Lachey credits The Energy Bus for the mental recovery from his injury. He explains that it was tough to deal with, mainly because he didn’t want to hold his team back. However, he learned a lot about himself and found ways to help the team off the field.
Lachey made his return for the 2024 season. While it may not have been the season he wanted from a pure stats standpoint, he understands that catching passes may not always be the best way he can help his team. He knows the importance of being physical and aggressive in the run game, and he is a willing blocker to create lanes for his running back:
When given the chance to be a part of the passing attack, Lachey also has expectations for his play:
“I want to be smooth and be able to get open, so I wanna create that separation. So yeah, there’s certainly a different approach there [from run blocking]. I’m just trying to do whatever I can whenever they ask, and I’m just trying to get in the right spots.”
Safe to say Lachey was in the right spot here:
Like other draft candidates, Lachey has the NFL in his heritage. Not only did his father play football at the college level, but he was also drafted in the first round of the NFL draft. He won a Super Bowl with Washington, earning First Team All-Pro three times and three Pro Bowl selections. Despite his father’s success, Luke seems comfortable forging his own path.
When asked if his father adds any advice on blocking, Luke says their relationship is less about Xs and Ox and more about father and son:
“We talk about that stuff a little bit here and there. You know, he gives me some key pointers every once in a while, but we moreso just have a father-son relationship, and we’re close in that sense.”
Since 1997, Jim Lachey has been a radio broadcaster for the Ohio State Buckeyes. He was willing to break his streak of 357 consecutive games covered to attend Luke’s final college home game. Instead, the head coach for Ohio State made sure Luke’s father could make both commitments.
“For my senior night, we played on a Friday night. [My dad] was gonna come, and he was gonna miss the next [Ohio State] game. A few days before that, they were at the radio show with Ryan Day, and he had heard that he wasn’t gonna make the game. And Ryan Day walked off for a couple of minutes and came back and said Jim, if you want, I’m gonna send my private jet and fly you back for the game. I really want you to be there. We were super grateful for that. My mom might not have been as happy as he was, but it’s not something you can really turn down when an offer like that is made.”
In Frisco at the Shrine Bowl practices, Lachey has shown his value to his quarterback. During a two-minute drill with less than a minute left on the clock, he moved the team into the red zone:
Luke Lachey continues to contribute in any way he is asked this week at the Shrine Bowl, both blocking and catching passes. And as he stacks good days of practice, his draft stock is climbing. Lachey has proven that he is back and ready to build off a solid base.
