diff --git a/core/config/mtp.go b/core/config/mtp.go
index 8f9b5fffb..36b77146e 100644
--- a/core/config/mtp.go
+++ b/core/config/mtp.go
@@ -30,11 +30,26 @@ func MTPSpecOptions() []string {
 	return out
 }
 
-// HasEmbeddedMTPHead reports whether the parsed GGUF declares a Multi-Token
-// Prediction head. Detection reads `<arch>.nextn_predict_layers`, which is
-// what `gguf_writer.add_nextn_predict_layers(n)` emits in upstream's
+// isDraftOnlyAssistantArch reports whether an architecture names a standalone
+// MTP *draft* model rather than a self-speculating trunk. Upstream's Gemma4 MTP
+// (ggml-org/llama.cpp#23398) registers the head as a separate `gemma4-assistant`
+// architecture whose GGUF still carries `nextn_predict_layers`, but which cannot
+// run alone: it requires a paired target context (`ctx_other`). Such archs must
+// not trigger the embedded-head self-speculation defaults. The `-assistant`
+// suffix is upstream's naming convention for these draft-only checkpoints.
+func isDraftOnlyAssistantArch(arch string) bool {
+	return strings.HasSuffix(arch, "-assistant")
+}
+
+// HasEmbeddedMTPHead reports whether the parsed GGUF declares a self-speculating
+// Multi-Token Prediction head. Detection reads `<arch>.nextn_predict_layers`,
+// which is what `gguf_writer.add_nextn_predict_layers(n)` emits in upstream's
 // `conversion/qwen.py` MTP mixin. A positive layer count means the head is
 // present in the same GGUF as the trunk.
+//
+// Draft-only assistant architectures (e.g. Gemma4's `gemma4-assistant`) carry
+// the same key but are separate draft checkpoints meant to be paired with a
+// target model, so they are deliberately excluded here.
 func HasEmbeddedMTPHead(f *gguf.GGUFFile) (uint32, bool) {
 	if f == nil {
 		return 0, false
@@ -43,6 +58,9 @@ func HasEmbeddedMTPHead(f *gguf.GGUFFile) (uint32, bool) {
 	if arch == "" {
 		return 0, false
 	}
+	if isDraftOnlyAssistantArch(arch) {
+		return 0, false
+	}
 	v, ok := f.Header.MetadataKV.Get(arch + ".nextn_predict_layers")
 	if !ok {
 		return 0, false
diff --git a/core/config/mtp_test.go b/core/config/mtp_test.go
index 283ae550b..c21d9f733 100644
--- a/core/config/mtp_test.go
+++ b/core/config/mtp_test.go
@@ -3,10 +3,33 @@ package config_test
 import (
 	. "github.com/mudler/LocalAI/core/config"
 
+	gguf "github.com/gpustack/gguf-parser-go"
 	. "github.com/onsi/ginkgo/v2"
 	. "github.com/onsi/gomega"
 )
 
+// ggufWithArch fabricates a minimal in-memory GGUF carrying the given
+// `general.architecture` and a positive `<arch>.nextn_predict_layers` count,
+// so HasEmbeddedMTPHead can be exercised without a real model file.
+func ggufWithArch(arch string, nextn uint32) *gguf.GGUFFile {
+	return &gguf.GGUFFile{
+		Header: gguf.GGUFHeader{
+			MetadataKV: gguf.GGUFMetadataKVs{
+				{
+					Key:       "general.architecture",
+					ValueType: gguf.GGUFMetadataValueTypeString,
+					Value:     arch,
+				},
+				{
+					Key:       arch + ".nextn_predict_layers",
+					ValueType: gguf.GGUFMetadataValueTypeUint32,
+					Value:     nextn,
+				},
+			},
+		},
+	}
+}
+
 var _ = Describe("MTP auto-defaults", func() {
 	Context("MTPSpecOptions", func() {
 		It("returns the upstream-recommended speculative tuple", func() {
@@ -82,5 +105,20 @@ var _ = Describe("MTP auto-defaults", func() {
 			Expect(ok).To(BeFalse())
 			Expect(n).To(BeZero())
 		})
+
+		It("detects a same-GGUF embedded head (DeepSeek/Qwen style)", func() {
+			n, ok := HasEmbeddedMTPHead(ggufWithArch("qwen3moe", 1))
+			Expect(ok).To(BeTrue())
+			Expect(n).To(Equal(uint32(1)))
+		})
+
+		It("ignores a gemma4-assistant draft-only model", func() {
+			// The assistant GGUF carries nextn_predict_layers but is a separate
+			// draft model that requires a paired target (ctx_other); it cannot
+			// self-speculate, so it must not trigger the embedded-head defaults.
+			n, ok := HasEmbeddedMTPHead(ggufWithArch("gemma4-assistant", 48))
+			Expect(ok).To(BeFalse())
+			Expect(n).To(BeZero())
+		})
 	})
 })