Fantasy Football Draft Rankings: 2026 Tight End Tiers (UPDATED)

This is an updated version of the Tight End Tiers article that ran earlier this month. Training camp, injuries and the draft market changed fantasy outlooks the last few weeks. So, we're back with an updated list of Tight End Tiers to guide users in late-summer drafts. 

Rankings are cool and all, but as any fellow fantasy nerd knows: Tier-based drafting is really where it's at. This is because, get this, sometimes us alleged fantasy experts can be wrong, so it's best to embrace this horrifying reality by grouping similarly ranked players into tiers instead of pretending like we're going to get every single individual ranking correct.

Cool? Cool: What follows are my preseason TE tiers along with some quick fun facts as well as one bigger picture question for each individual tier. 

As always: It's a great day to be great.

Reminder: You can check out all of Ian's rankings and content with a premium RotoWire subscription. Use code "Ian35" for 35% off.

Check out my updated QB, RB and WR tiers:

Quarterback Tiers Update
Running Back Tiers Update
Wide Receiver Tiers Update

Tier 1: THE TE1

• TE1 Brock Bowers: One season removed from probably the single best rookie season the position has ever seen. Even last year's injury-riddled relative disaster produced PPR TE2 production on a per-game basis! New head coach Klint Kubiak called Bowers, "A football robot from heaven." That seems good!

Key question: Should you prioritize Brock Bowers in Round 2 of your fantasy draft?

Well, the man is currently the only tight end to average 15-plus PPR points per game for his career, ever! Biased small-sample-size propaganda aside, Bowers spent his first season putting up massive numbers catching passes from Gardner Minshew, Aidan O'Connell and Desmond Ridder (nightmare blunt rotation) before following things with more top-tier per-game goodness despite dealing with various knee injuries along the way.

This sure looks like one of the league's better football players to me!

Now, Bowers will (again) have to adjust to life with a different QB and play-caller, but that's no reason to refrain from being awfully optimistic about a big-time season. This offensive environment as a whole *could* actually be fairly fantasy-friendly -- especially compared to what Bowers was dealing with last season:

• The QB room shouldn't be confused as a juggernaut unit, but Kirk Cousins helped Kyle Pitts do VERY cool things down the stretch of last season, and Fernando Mendoza was picked No. 1 overall for a reason.
• New head coach Klint Kubiak managed to get the most out of Derek Carr and Sam Darnold during the last two seasons. He was also happy to make Jaxon Smith-Njigba the engine of the entire offense, something that is firmly on the table for Bowers considering our next point.
• This is arguably the league's single-most shallow WR room. I'd probably say Miami is worse, but yeah: Tre Tucker, Jalen Nailor and Jack Bech profile as CLEAR complementary options behind Bowers, who trails only Trey McBride (140 vs. 135) in projected targets ahead of this season.

My rationale for preferring Bowers to McBride comes down to: 1) The belief that while both are great football players, the former stud is better, 2) There's less overall target competition on the table for Bowers, and 3) I have far more faith in the Kubiak-Cousins/Mendoza ticket than LaFleur-Brissett/Beck. 

Accordingly, I have been happy to go after Bowers in Round 2 of fantasy drafts of pretty much all shapes and sizes. In fact, my go-to draft strategy this season is "Super Bowers" -- we get a stud RB in Round 1, Bowers in Round 2 and then spend the next 4-5 rounds taking stud receivers until that position dries up, at which point we'll find our QB and load up the RB room with handcuffs and guys in murky committees.

For up-to-the-minute updates on injuries, news and everything going on around the NFL, head to RotoWire's NFL Fantasy Football News Today or follow @RotoWireNFL on X.

Tier 2: Overall TE1 Upside

• TE2 Colston Loveland: Racked up 48 targets during the Bears' final four games -- 21 more than Caleb Williams' next-most targeted receiver! Among rookies, Loveland's per-route yards and target efficiency were better than anyone not named Brock Bowers over the last decade. The bet on Loveland over McBride comes down to FAR superior trust in the Caleb Williams-Ben Johnson partnership producing a top-tier scoring offense. Loveland's cheaper Round 4 ADP is the icing on the cake.
• TE3 Trey McBride: His average of 17.1 PPR points per game the last two seasons ranks seventh among tight ends *and* wide receivers! That said, it'd be a lot easier to buy into McBride's Round 3 price tag if he was guaranteed to get 17 games from Jacoby Brissett -- don't be surprised if Gardner Minshew and/or Carson Beck are taking snaps during the fantasy playoffs. It's this latter expectation that has me worried enough to drop McBride to third here.
• TE4 Tyler Warren: One of just six rookie tight ends to post top-12 PPR per-game numbers the last decade, and the returns likely would have been even better if he wasn't forced to play with a literal Grandpa down the stretch of 2025. Don't be surprised if Warren leads this offense in targets -- he largely ate in the same sort of underneath and intermediate areas of the field as the departed Michael Pittman.

Key question: What tight ends are projected to lead their offense in targets?

RotoWire projections have the following five tight ends in line to work as their respective passing game's No. 1 options:

• Cardinals TE Trey McBride (140)
• Raiders TE Brock Bowers (135)
• Bears TE Colston Loveland (119)
• Colts TE Tyler Warren (119)
• Browns TE Harold Fannin (116)

Loveland's inclusion feels especially pertinent considering he's the only one attached to an offense that we feel overly good about ahead of 2026. Consider: Vegas preseason implied scoring ranks have the Cardinals (31st), Raiders (28th), Browns (30th) and Colts (16th) as bad to average offenses, while the Bears rank 10th!

It's not a given that Loveland manages to separate from Luther Burden and Rome Odunze enough to post top-3 numbers over the entire season. Maybe Caleb Williams struggles to make a Year 3 leap. But man, the stretch run of 2025 sure was fun, and more of the same in 2026 could lead to some VERY interesting convos in the dynasty streets considering Loveland's long-term setup sure looks like it's superior compared to the rest of the league's top options at the position.

Stay informed with fantasy football news and track usage roles with the NFL depth charts.

Tier 3: We are Fans, but have at Least *One* Concern

• TE5 Kyle Pitts: 11-166-3 eruption in Week 15 was a helluva drug, and a Jay-Z level encore is in play considering the play-caller (David Njoku and Harold Fannin have four top-8 seasons since 2022) and QB (Tua got a LOT out of Jonnu Smith and Darren Waller). But man: The splits with and without Drake London are pretty damning.
• TE6 Harold Fannin: Led all tight ends in tackles avoided (29) last season. The man is a BEAST with the football in his hands. The full list of rookie tight ends to catch at least 70 passes for 700 yards and at least five touchdowns is pretty damn sweet: Fannin, Brock Bowers, Sam LaPorta and three-time All-Pro Keith Jackson. Ravens tight ends led the NFL in touchdowns (by 9!) during Todd Monken's three seasons calling plays in Baltimore. Of course, the Cleveland QB situation leaves a LOT to be desired, and the team's new early-round WR competition could make repeating last year's target-hog ways more difficult.
• TE7 Tucker Kraft: First-team all-fun, Kraft managed to dodge, duck, dip, dive and dodge his way to TE2 production before suffering a torn ACL. Still, Kraft's low-aDOT role puts a lot of pressure on him to make the absolute most out of his opportunities to keep up the elite fantasy production.
• TE8 Sam LaPorta: Has posted TE3, TE9 and TE7 finishes in PPR points per game during his first three seasons, and now gets the same play-caller (Drew Petzing) who force-fed Trey McBride the football. Of course, there's a bit more target competition on the table in Detroit than in Arizona, and I don't love the fact that LaPorta is coming back from back surgery.

Key question: Do top-scoring fantasy tight ends typically have a high or low average target depth?

This question is particularly relevant for Tucker Kraft, Harold Fannin and Sam LaPorta, who were regularly featured far closer to the line of scrimmage than some of their high-scoring counterparts last season.

Of course, this role didn't exactly prevent each from putting up rather great numbers last season, but what about for the best of the best? Have the top-3 fantasy tight ends typically been used more downfield in the past?

Answer: Usually, yes! In fact, 2019 George Kittle (6.1) is the only top-3 scoring tight end in the last decade with an average target depth less than 6.5 yards. Now, we saw McBride and Bowers get there with 6.5 and 6.6 average target depths in 2024, and Travis Kelce has two top-scoring seasons with less than seven, but still: We've generally seen BIG seasons from the position feature all sorts of fantasy-friendly volume with at least some level of downfield role.

This doesn't mean we should fade this bucket of tight ends, but I do question if any involved party has a clear enough path to a massive boom season to warrant a click inside the first six-to-seven rounds of any given draft. This is why knowing your fantasy provider's ADP can be so important: I don't love the idea of taking Tucker Kraft on Sleeper (TE6, pick 67.8) this season, but over on ESPN (TE11, 108.1)? Sign me up!

Tier 4: Top-5 Upside After You Consume a Kona Big Wave or 3

• TE9 Dalton Kincaid: Never surpassed a 55 percent snap rate at any point last season, but still managed to finish right around where he's being drafted thanks to easily being the league's most efficient player at the position on a per-route basis. Hell, even including wide receivers, only Jaxon Smith-Njigba and Puka Nacua averaged more yards per route run than Kincaid last year! It'd make sense if the Bills play Kincaid more often in 2026 if his knee is truly in a better spot (like Kincaid has said himself). This is a pretty damn great example of buying a tight end closer to their floor than ceiling.
• TE10 Isaiah Likely: A broken foot in August sabotaged his 2025 campaign, but when healthy: Likely has the sort of YAC ability to make the most out of any low-aDOT/screen targets thrown his way, and his penchant for getting open during the scramble drill could mesh pretty damn great with Jaxson Dart. Throw in the high-priced contract (one of only six tight ends making at least $40M) and utter lack of target competition at TE and WR alike, and it's easy to see why Likely is such a popular late-round pick this season.
• TE11 George Kittle: Week 1 availability is a concern coming off last season's torn Achilles, but there's been optimism throughout the offseason that the longtime stud tight end will be back sooner rather than later. 33 in October, it's possible Kittle's best years are in the rear-view mirror, but then again, we've never had a cheaper price tag to find out. Backup Jake Tonges supplied low-end TE1 production in Kittle's absence last season.
• TE12 Mark Andrews: Career-low marks in receiving yards (422) and yards per target (6) weren't ideal, but suddenly Andrews is the only show in town after Isaiah Likely (Giants) and Charlie Kolar (Chargers) took their talents elsewhere in free agency. Throw in promising underlying numbers in separation-based metrics from Fantasy Points (TE6) and ESPN (TE1!), and the soon-to-be 31-year-old is a quality bounce-back bet as the likely No. 2 target earner from Lamar Jackson.
• TE13 Travis Kelce: The reigning TE10 in PPR points per game actually improved his YAC in a meaningful way in 2025 following a consistent three-year slide. Of course, the difference in Kelce's average of 11.4 PPR points per game and the TE16 was just 1.1 fantasy points. He ran pretty hot with Rashee Rice (8 games played) and Xavier Worthy (14) both being out for chunks of last season. Tight ends do age better than other skill positions, but the recent history of high-end 36-year-old fantasy performers at the position is nearly non-existent.
• TE14 Jake Ferguson: On the one hand, Jake Ferguson's 82-600-8 receiving line was good enough to work as the TE11 in PPR points per game. On the other hand, he boasted bottom-5 efficiency and largely benefited from averaging 18.6 PPR points per game in four games without Lamb compared to just 9.4 with him. Still, we're talking about the undisputed No. 1 TE of most people's idea of a top-5 passing game in the NFL who has seen triple-digit targets in his last two fully healthy seasons. Probably shouldn't overthink things!
• TE15 Dallas Goedert: Credit to Goedert for scoring 13 touchdowns in 16 games (including playoffs) last season, though the 31-year-old veteran also averaged a career-low 9.9 yards per reception. In fact, eight of those 13 scores came from inside the 5-yard line, and a look at the film reveals that the level of difficulty wasn't exactly sky-high on many of them. That said: The absence of A.J. Brown does indeed provide a boost to Goedert -- he (again) projects as Jalen Hurts' primary red-zone target inside an offense that should be better overall.
• TE16 Juwan Johnson: Last year was essentially the perfect runout for Juwan, and all we got was a borderline TE1 finish. Credit to the 29-year-old veteran for making plenty out of his 102 targets, only Trey McBride and Kyle Pitts had more receiving yards among tight ends, but we saw his participation go from nearly every snap during September to consistently in the 60-75 percent range down the stretch. That said: No Jordyn Tyson (hamstring) means a BIG early-season role is on the table. Johnson is an ideal stash for rosters with Tucker Kraft or George Kittle.
• TE17 Chig Okonkwo: Okonkwo had an absurdly efficient rookie season in a part-time role and has continued to flash afterwards. The man is a legit YAC threat out there! It's a similar bet here as Likely: A fun player in a new, fairly wide-open offense with a young QB we like alongside a potential newfound every-down role given the solid free agency investment (3 years, $27 million).
• TE18 Terrance Ferguson: The best upside dart of this group, Ferguson might have only had 11 receptions last season, but they were a fun 11 receptions! Sean McVay has certainly had some nice things to say about him, though McVay tends to have nice things to say about most of his guys during the offseason. Still, the Rams' current lackluster pass-catcher depth chart behind Puka Nacua and Davante Adams could be an indication that Ferguson essentially works as the WR3 in this high-flying offense.

Key question: How often do late-round tight ends even work out in fantasy land?

Not all that often! Overall, there have been just 18 tight ends who managed to score 12-plus PPR points per game (minimum 8 games) AND were drafted as the TE10 or later in fantasy drafts. ADP is from ESPN leagues since 2017 (as far back as I can find).

The results: 

New offense, new me: 5 of the 18 tight ends (28%) were in a new situation, whether that be a veteran joining a new team (2024 Jonnu Smith, 2018 Eric Ebron), a talented rookie (2023 Sam LaPorta, 2024 Brock Bowers), or in one strange case: Darren Waller changing positions to tight end after his initial season with the Raiders.

High-scoring offense not required: The average scoring rank of the group's offense: 16. Median: 17.5. This lines up with previous research I've done that indicates high-end fantasy tight ends are far less reliant on being in a high-scoring offense than other positions.

Less competition, the better: Almost none of these guys had much WR pass-game competition to worry about. And if they did, it was usually just one high-end receiver. The only real exceptions were 2021 Gronk (Evans, Godwin, AB), 2019 Austin Hooper (Julio, Ridley), 2025 Dallas Goedert (AJB, DeVonta), 2024 Jonnu Smith (Tyreek, Waddle) and 2021 Dalton Schultz (CeeDee, Cooper).

No country for old men: The average age: 26.7. Median: 25. This is the age range where we usually see the most top-performing fantasy tight ends, independent of this study. 2024 Taysom Hill (34), 2021 Gronk (32), 2018 Jared Cook (31) and 2025 Goedert (30) were the only 30-plus-year-olds to qualify.

The outliers: The only four tight ends who weren't in a new offense AND had ample pass-game competition: 2019 Hooper, 2021 Schultz, 2021 Gronk and 2025 Goedert. The former three benefited from playing with immensely productive passing games led by longtime stud QBs, while the latter had some of the wildest fantasy-friendly goal-line usage that I've ever seen. I mean, look at this.

Removing the olds and dudes in very crowded passing games reveals my top-3 favorite late-round tight ends of 2026: Dalton Kincaid, Isaiah Likely and Chig Okonkwo. Each is generally being drafted in a range that feels about where they will be ranked should they be forced to operate in more of a 60 percent route role -- giving them some MAJOR upside should a full-time role come to fruition, something that does appear to be firmly on the table considering the rather steep investment that was made to acquire each in the first place.

Tier 5: Could be on the Cover of Week 2 Waiver Wire Articles

• TE19 Hunter Henry: It sure felt like 2025 went about as well as possible for Henry, and he still couldn't quite finish inside the position's top-12 options. Credit to the 31-year-old veteran for breaking the 700-yard mark for the first time in his career, but should we really feel good about a newfound ceiling with A.J. Brown and Romeo Doubs now in town? Henry is nothing more than a classic touchdown-dependent TE2 who will never, EVER instill a single ounce of fear into your opponent.
• TE20 Brenton Strange: The Jaguars suddenly have 36 million reasons to make sure they keep Mr. Strange plenty involved in the game plan. That's good for the 10th-highest contract value of any player at the position! Credit to the man for averaging 11.1 PPR points per game (TE12) in Weeks 12-18 last season, but it's tough to build too much of a bull case here without multiple Jaguars WRs missing serious time. Still, there's a path to a spike touchdown season here should the T-Law and Liam Coen take a leap in their second year together.
• TE21 AJ Barner: Fun fact: Barner was the NFL's best short-yardage *rusher* in terms of first down percentage on 3rd/4th down carries with three or fewer yards to go (87.5%). Only one of the Seahawks' tush push aficionado's rush attempts went for six points, but either way, hell yeah! Maybe Barner spikes in the touchdown department on a Seahawks team that could be forced to throw the ball more often, but the return of Elijah Arroyo could also make this more of a rotation.
• TE22 Greg Dulcich: Posted some borderline erotic per-route efficiency numbers last season and could vie for the team lead in targets inside this barren passing attack. Of course, nobody would be surprised if, 1) Malik Willis finishes with less than 3,000 passing yards, and 2) Dulcich is pigeonholed as more of a part-time player (like he has been for basically his entire career).
• TE23 Oronde Gadsden: Blew up fantasy football with 7-68-0, 7-164-1, 5-77-1 and 5-68-0 receiving lines in Weeks 6-9, and then averaged just 27 yards per game the rest of the way. The demonstrated ceiling keeps Gadsden from falling into the next tier, but should we really expect priority treatment after the Chargers went out of their way to add both Charlie Kolar and David Njoku? That said: If you're going to throw a late-round dart at a tight end, you might as well aim for the dude with the most upside -- and that sure looks like Gadsden.
• TE24 Darren Waller: The Panthers' No. 1 TE is being eased into action ... but is there potential here for him to perhaps be a poor man's T-Ferg AKA his own offense's No. 1 TE and No. 3 WR? Probably not ... but maybe?! Waller was good last year! Okay, I'll put the bottle down now.
• TE25 Dalton Schultz: Has posted TE11, TE28 and TE15 campaigns in PPR points per game during his three seasons with the Texans. Like with Hockenson, there's an argument that the low-ADP is a signal that Schultz is priced closer to his floor than ceiling, though it's tough to envision TOO high of heights for any pass-catcher not named Nico Collins in Houston. Please don't actively plan on starting anybody in this tier in Week 1 -- even if there's a fire.
• TE26 Kenyon Sadiq: The freaky athlete has a helluva hurdle and was a big-time threat after the catch at Oregon. While a whopping 34 percent of his career targets were screens, that actually leaves him in pretty damn great company among recent day-one and -two draft picks at the position. Throwing a late-round dart at the 16th overall pick is rational enough, but don't be surprised if Mason Taylor is annoyingly involved inside this fairly crowded, yet low-ceiling, Geno Smith-led passing game.

Key question: Are rookie tight ends booming more than usual in recent years?

A little bit! There have only been six rookie tight ends to post top-12 numbers in PPR points per game over the last decade, and four took place during the last three years.

• 2017 Evan Engram
• 2021 Kyle Pitts
• 2023 Sam LaPorta
• 2024 Brock Bowers
• 2025 Tyler Warren
• 2025 Harold Fannin

Of course, seemingly the only real contender for this ahead of 2026 appears to be Jets TE Kenyon Sadiq. The 21-year-old playmaker was drafted 16th overall for a reason, though it's fair to have concerns about a part-time role coming to fruition with rising second-year TE Mason Taylor perhaps viewed as a more traditional inline option. There also might not be too many extra targets in the underneath areas of the field due to the presence of fellow YAC-beasts Omar Cooper and Breece Hall. This is all before considering the possibility that this team kinda sucks! After all, the two main parties in charge of leading the offense are 36-year-old journeyman Geno Smith and new OC Frank Reich, who hasn't exactly earned the benefit of the doubt in recent years.

Then again, Sadiq is awfully cheap in fantasy land for someone who, again, just got drafted in the top half of the first round. While drafters should REALLY try to have a better option to start in the early parts of the season, I don't mind tacking Sadiq on as my TE2 on squads that waited until the double-digit rounds to address the position in the first place.

Tier 6: We Live on a Rock that Floats in Space. Maybe this Could Work!

• TE27 T.J. Hockenson: Finished as THE TE2 in 2023 before slipping to TE18 and TE27 during the last two seasons, though the former boom was HEAVILY aided by Justin Jefferson missing half the season. The fact that Hockenson finished last August as the TE5 in ADP and now should get some level of a QB upgrade does add some intrigue, but he's fairly easily projected as this offense's No. 4 pass-game option.
• TE28 Gunnar Helm: Like Dulcich, Helm had some quality per-route efficiency numbers if you move the minimum threshold low enough. Also like Dulcich, it's hard to paint too optimistic of a scenario here for the passing game as a whole, and Helm has even less overall target upside. Fine enough LATE-round TE3 on a best ball team or in a TE premium league? Sure, but otherwise, no need to get too wild here.
• TE29 Cade Otton: We saw some big-time upside from Otton back in 2024 when he peeled off 8-100-0, 9-81-2 and 8-77-1 receiving lines in three games with both Mike Evans and Chris Godwin sidelined, and then he went 21 long, cold games afterward before finding the end zone again. Otton will be on the waiver wire radar if multiple Buccaneers are out.
• TE30 Michael Mayer: The 24-year-old former 35th overall pick peaked with 5-50-1 and 9-89-0 performances in Week 6 and Week 17 last season, but it's not like he got much going otherwise even with Brock Bowers only playing 12 games. Still, this lackluster (to be nice) WR room sure looks like the sort of group that could coerce a play-caller to lean on multi-TE formations, and a superior overall offensive environment could help produce some pre-2026 Isaiah Likely-esque "handcuff" upside here. I continue to stash Mayer in dynasty land. Dozens of us still believe!
• TE31 Evan Engram: Never played even 60 percent of the offense's snaps in a game during his first year in Denver. While fantasy managers have been chasing the ghost of Jimmy Graham for a good decade at this point, Benjamin Watson (TE8) and Jared Cook (TE9) are the only other tight ends who have managed to post top-12 numbers at the position during Payton's 18 seasons as a head ball coach.

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