When it comes to his body and being in NFL condition, Alabama TE CJ Dippre is well ahead of the curve for players who are just about to enter the NFL. At 6047, 256 pounds, he has the size to be an all-around tight end as the position continues to evolve with the NFL swinging back toward physical, run-first offenses. For that, Dippre can thank his father.
“My dad was a powerlifter, he played football at UConn, so when I go home that’s what we kind of do as bonding. We got to the gym. That’s kind of our thing,” Dippre told me at the 2025 NFL Scouting Combine. “We had the iron church, we had a full weight room in the basement…I’ve been lifting for a long time, like before high school. I remember I got really big into it I wanna say my eighth-grade year.”
It’s safe to say his frame is pretty close to maxed out. Pound for pound, he is extremely strong. Not very many tight ends opted to do the bench press at the combine, but Dippre obviously wanted to show off that strength. He put up an astounding 32 reps, six more than the next closest tight end.
Growing up, Dippre matured early, and he was always one of those players parents would jokingly ask to see his birth certificate while competing in high school sports. Because of that, Dippre naturally gravitated toward spending time with the older kids in school.
“When I was in seventh grade, I was still bigger than a lot of the seniors and stuff like that, so you kind of just gotta endure that role. I always tried to hang out with older people, I kind of grew into that role,” he said. “I played quarterback all throughout high school. I got recruited as a quarterback, tight end, defensive end, and stuff like that.”
He decided tight end was his best route to success in the NFL, so he stuck with the position.
He spent two years at Maryland before transferring to Alabama. He caught 65 passes for 782 yards and three TDs throughout his career, but his tape consistently showed an impact blocker in the run game.
“Most people know about how good I am in the blocking game,” Dippre said. “I’m a good in-line tight end, hand down, good blocking from the slot and stuff like that. It’s a man’s game down there. But I think I do have really good routes, can make people get off me. I can get away from a man defender really easily. I’m a bigger body, so I didn’t have the most opportunities, but I did what I could do with my opportunities.”
Dippre thinks his potential in the passing game is largely untapped. I am sure his combine workout has many thinking he could be right. Dippre ran a very solid 4.69-second 40-yard dash. That was the second-fastest time of any TE who participated. He also had a 34.5-inch vertical.
At his size and with the speed and strength he has, Dippre showed some ability to generate yards after the catch while at Alabama.
As the tight end position continues to evolve, that has Dippre pretty excited.
“The tight end position is evolving so much in the NFL, like last year you see a lot of tight ends taking snaps under center or you see a lot more three-tight end sets or a lot more two-tight end sets,” he said. “I feel like I’m coming into it at the right time where the position is evolving.”
The Steelers are one of those teams that use a lot of two- and three-tight end sets, and they definitely value players who can contribute in both the running and passing game.
Dippre grew up in Pennsylvania and was raised a Steelers fan. When I asked which tight ends he watches, he said Pat Freiermuth is one of his favorites, but he also takes things from watching Travis Kelce and George Kittle.
Dippre confirmed to me that he had an informal meeting with the Steelers at the Senior Bowl in Mobile, but didn’t have much contact with them at the combine.
Check out our full scouting report below.
