Washington Huskies tight end Decker DeGraaf was one of 37 players in the country named to the 2026 preseason John Mackey Award watch list on Wednesday.
DeGraaf, a 6-foot-4 and 245-pound true junior, was also on the list ahead of the 2025 season, when he doubled his catch total from his freshman year and proved to be a dependable weapon for Demond Williams Jr. behind Denzel Boston and Dezmen Roebuck.
Advertisement
The former four-star recruit out of Glendora High School finished third on the team in receptions (32) and receiving yards (360) while being tied with running back Jonah Coleman for third with a pair of touchdown catches.
The other four UW players to catch one touchdown catch in 2025—Quentin Moore, Omari Evans, Audric Harris and Raiden Vines-Bright—aren’t with the program, meaning someone will have to increase their production in 2026, and DeGraaf is poised to be that player.
“I definitely want to be a big part of this offense,” DeGraaf said on Tuesday. “Definitely going into year three with Demond, we’ve built a lot of chemistry. He’s looking for me, I’m looking for him. We have a really good offense. I think we have a lot of guys—me, Dez, Rashid, Christian Moss, a lot of the young guys. I think a lot of them are going to step up and make a big impact this year.”
Advertisement
DeGraaf admittedly knows the offense Jedd Fisch runs at UW doesn’t have him in the split-out, Travis Kelce-esque style that would allow him to have the large production numbers one would think he’d have. However, as good of a pass-catching tight end the junior is, he’s equally suitable as a blocker to pave the way on the outside to spring any one of the Huskies‘ running backs for a big gain.
“Presented annually to the most outstanding tight end in college football, the John Mackey Award honors the legacy of Pro Football Hall of Famer John Mackey, whose excellence, leadership, character, and impact on the game continue to inspire generations of student-athletes. Established in 2000 by the Nassau County SportsCommission, the award remains one of college football’s premier individual honors for the tight end position,” the award wrote in a press release Wednesday afternoon.
Only one UW tight end has received the award: Austin Seferian-Jenkins, who won it in 2013 after posting a 36-catch, 460-yard receiving season along with a career-high 8 touchdowns over 12 games.
This article originally appeared on Huskies Wire: Washington Football TE Named to 2026 Mackey Award Watch List
