What the Pittsburgh Steelers are getting in Indiana tight end Riley Nowakowski

Riley Nowakowski – TE/FB – 6’2”, 243 lbs

One of the most telling things about Nowakowski is how his role changed at Indiana from his time at Wisconsin, something he’s spoken openly about in 2025. Nowakowski joined the Hoosiers out of the transfer portal ahead of the 2025 season and filled the overlooked yet vital tight end role in Curt Cignetti and Mike Shanahan’s offense. When he arrived in Bloomington, many saw him as just a run blocker given that was his role with the Badgers. That proved to be incredibly untrue as Nowakowski proved to be an every down tight end, hauling in 32 receptions for 387 yards with two touchdowns in 2025. The Hoosier offense had quite a bit of fun with Nowakowski’s previously underutilized capabilities as a receiver, scheming him open here and there and letting him pick up additional yards after the catch with his powerful running style. When Indiana was in a do-or-die scenario at Penn State (which some Steelers fans may not remember fondly, sorry), Shanahan called a deep pass to Nowakowski to get the Hoosiers into Nittany Lion territory and ultimately set up the game winning play. That was the amount of trust Indiana had in Nowakowski, something the staff pitched to him in the offseason as part of his recruitment. And yes, he brought run blocking to the table. Indiana was able to rely on Nowakowski in the run game to help both and Kaelon Black eclipse 1,000 rushing yards during the 2025 season. If Indiana needed a tight end to fill a role, it was Nowakowski. He did a bit of everything and did each thing at a high level, without even mentioning his presence as a leader in the locker room. He fits tremendously with the culture Pittsburgh has built over its existence as a franchise.