Nick Vannett (born March 6, 1993) is an American football tight end for the New Orleans Saints of the National Football League (NFL). He played college football at Ohio State. He has also been a member of the Seattle Seahawks, Pittsburgh Steelers, and Denver Broncos. Vannett attended Westerville Central High School in Westerville, Ohio, where he graduated in 2011. Vannett played high school football for the Warhawks football team. Vannett achieved all-metro, all-OCC, and all-district selections in recognition of his contributions on the field. Vannett had 47 receptions for 606 yards and eight touchdowns in his senior season. He also played baseball in his youth but did not pursue the sport into college. Vannett committed to Ohio State on June 30, 2010 and signed his letter of intent on February 2, 2011 Vannett redshirted his first year at Ohio State but played in the next four seasons playing in 53 games totaling 55 receptions, 585 receiving yards, and six receiving touchdowns. Prior to his senior season, Vannett was ranked as the best tight end prospect by ESPN NFL Draft analyst Todd McShay. On December 8, 2015, it was reported that Vannett had accepted his invitation to play in the 2016 Senior Bowl. The week leading up to the Senior Bowl, Vannett impressed many scouts and analysts during practice with many surprised by his blocking skills and receiving ability. He was described as a physically imposing receiver with strong hands and ability to concentrate on contested catches. On January 30, 2016, Vannett caught three passes for 58-yards as a part of Dallas Cowboys' head coach Jason Garrett's North team who lost 16–27 to the South. Vannett was one of 15 tight ends who received an invitation to the NFL Combine and one of 14 players from Ohio state. A back injury, prevented him from completing all of the combine drills, including the 40-yard dash, 20-yard dash, and 10-yard dash. His performance was described by scouts as mediocre as he finished eighth in the bench press and seventh in the vertical. His best performances were in the short shuttle, where he tied for second, and tied South Carolina State's Temarrick Hemingway for first in the 60-yard shuttle. On March 11, 2016, Vannett attended Ohio State's Pro Day, along with Cardale Jones, Pat Elflein, Eli Apple, Marshon Lattimore, Braxton Miller, Michael Thomas, Joey Bosa, Vonn Bell, Darron Lee, Taylor Decker, Ezekiel Elliott, Joshua Perry, Jalin Marshall, Adolphus Washington, and Tyvis Powell. Along with positional drills, Vannett performed the 40-yard dash, 20-yard dash, 20-yard dash, vertical jump (29½"), and broad jump (9'5"). He performed well for the collection of over 122 team representatives and scouts, that included head coaches Mike Mularkey (Titans), Mike Zimmer (Vikings, Mike Tomlin (Steelers), Sean Payton (Saints), and Marvin Lewis (Bengals). At the conclusion of the pre-draft process, Vannett was projected to be a third or fourth round pick by the majority of NFL draft experts and analysts. He was ranked the second best tight end prospect in the draft by Sports Illustrated, the third best tight end prospect by NFLDraftScout.com, and was ranked the fourth best tight end by NFL analyst Mike Mayock.