Colby Parkinson

Career StatsB

Year	Team	GP	Rec	Yards	TD
Career		86	130	1,320	13
2025		15	43	408	8
2024		17	30	294	1
2023		17

Current Contract

Contract Value Index (CVI)

Colby Parkinson's value math nets a C+ Contract Value Index — placing the deal in a clear band relative to the league median at tight end. His 2025 season produced 408 receiving yards across 15 games, and evaluators have highlighted his emergence as a legitimate red zone weapon, which aligns with his steady B performance grade and justifies a mid-tier contract valuation. The $7.5M annual salary on a three-year deal sits in that awkward middle zone for the position — solid enough to reflect a starting-caliber contributor, but not so premium that it locks in long-term security if organizational momentum shifts. At 27 years old with six seasons of NFL experience, Parkinson occupies the typical peak-earning window for a veteran at his position, yet the Rams' second-round investment in tight end Max Klare in the 2025 draft has introduced genuine financial pressure; if Klare develops quickly, the organization faces a difficult cap decision that does not favor the incumbent. The CVI grade reflects that tension: respectable production in a well-structured deal, but increasingly constrained by organizational uncertainty and the looming positional competition that now defines his 2026 outlook. His immediate value — both on-field and cap-wise — hinges entirely on whether the team views him as a continuing starter or a transition casualty, a narrative dichotomy that the offseason program and training camp will rapidly clarify.

Contracts in the Same Value Band

Other same-position deals the Contract Value Index also places in the C band — a quick read on where Colby's contract sits relative to comparable money.

Performance Analysis

Colby Parkinson is a sixth-year veteran tight end who has carved out a reliable role with the Los Angeles Rams after being drafted in the fourth round by Seattle. Earning a B grade this season, Parkinson represents a steady mid-tier starter whose value lies in dependability rather than dominance. His trajectory is clearly improving after back-to-back C- seasons in 2023 and 2024. Parkinson's most impressive current-season mark is his touchdown production, clocking in at 0.53 receiving TDs per game — elite territory that surpasses the NFL benchmark of 0.47. His 27.2 receiving yards per game also outpaces the league average of 10.67, signaling genuine week-to-week impact as a red-zone weapon. The one concern is yards-per-reception at 9.49, which barely edges the NFL average of 9.19 and falls well short of the elite threshold of 15.89, suggesting limited big-play ability after the catch. Parkinson profiles similarly to a younger Jared Cook — a competent receiving tight end who thrives in structured roles near the goal line but lacks the separation and yards-after-contact to become a true offensive centerpiece. His B grade in 2025 following consecutive C- campaigns signals meaningful growth, and at just 27, his development window remains open. If he can push his yards-per-reception closer to the 12-13 range, Parkinson could cement himself as one of the more underrated tight ends in the NFC West.

How Colby Compares at the Position

Colby Parkinson ranks 37th of 164 graded tight ends by performance. That slots Colby between Tyler Higbee (B) just ahead and Brenton Strange (B) just behind.

Current Sentiment

The public narrative surrounding Colby Parkinson heading into 2026 has settled into a state of cautious skepticism, and a D- sentiment grade reflects just how tenuous his standing feels right now among fans and media alike. The central driver of that perception is the Rams' second-round investment in tight end Max Klare in the 2025 NFL Draft — a move analysts have overwhelmingly framed as a direct organizational signal that Los Angeles is actively planning a positional transition, regardless of what Parkinson brings to the table. That narrative tension is complicated by the fact that his on-field production has not been the problem; his 2025 season produced 408 receiving yards across 15 games, and evaluators have pointed to his emergence as a legitimate red zone weapon as evidence of genuine value — yet even a career-best year has not quieted the noise around his roster security, and a steady D performance grade suggests the production, while credible, hasn't been enough to change the conversation. His $7.5M AAV sits at the heart of the cap-casualty framing that keeps circulating in coverage — if Klare accelerates his development under Sean McVay, the financial arithmetic does not favor the veteran, and that storyline has taken on a life of its own in the offseason discourse. The Rams' recent roster activity, a wave of undrafted and late-round signings across multiple position groups, does little to shift the spotlight off Parkinson, whose situation remains the most narratively charged on the depth chart. At 27 years old with six seasons behind him, he enters training camp as a player who has done enough to deserve a fair competition but exists in an environment where the organizational momentum is clearly trending away from him.