Chad Workman | Tue, Jun 23rd 2026, 7:12am EDT

7 Must-Have Quarterbacks & Tight Ends (2026 Fantasy Football)

As most fantasy football leagues start just one quarterback and a single tight end, these onesie positions are important to get right. In Superflex leagues and two-tight-end leagues, there’s an added emphasis on these positions.

No matter how you slice it, hitting on quarterback and tight end is a major boost to any fantasy roster. Below is my list of must-have players at both positions, considering their average draft position (ADP) and perceived value.

Must-Have Fantasy Football Quarterbacks & Tight Ends

Quarterbacks

Caleb Williams (QB – CHI) | ADP: 70 (QB6)

After a tumultuous rookie season that ended with a QB16 finish for Caleb Williams, we saw a leap forward in Year 2, resulting in a QB6 finish. Ben Johnson delivered the goods in his first season with the Bears as Chicago led the league in plays per game and finished fourth in yards per game.

The 2024 first overall draft pick improved by 3.8 fantasy points per game (PPG) in his second season with Johnson by his side. Although his completion rate dipped from 62.5% to 58.1%, Williams threw for 401 more yards and seven more touchdowns than in 2024, finishing with 3,942 yards and 27 touchdowns. He posted eight top-10 finishes, the third-most among quarterbacks.

Williams’ biggest improvement, however, came in his sack total. After leading the league with 68 sacks taken in 2024, Williams limited that total to 24 last season.

Sacks will always be a factor with Williams, who is a big-play hunter, but he finished second among quarterbacks in escape rate last season. Additionally, he’s averaged 433 rushing yards across his first two seasons and found paydirt three times on the ground last season.

With the second-most deep ball attempts (82) and the fifth-most money throws (15), Williams is a big-play machine. Combine that with his rushing upside, and Williams could realistically push for 4,000 passing yards and 500 rushing yards, a feat accomplished by just five quarterbacks in NFL history.

A second season in Johnson’s system, along with potential breakouts from Colston Loveland, Rome Odunze and Luther Burden III, elevates Williams’ ceiling to astronomical heights. Although his QB6 ADP is not a small investment, he’s going 36 picks later than Josh Allen and 13 picks behind Lamar Jackson, with the upside to hit the elite tier this season.

Justin Herbert (QB – LAC) | ADP: 81 (QB9)

If you watched the Chargers play at all last season, you likely recognized how difficult Justin Herbert’s job was. The Bolts were decimated by injuries, particularly along the offensive line, with Rashawn Slater missing the entire season and Joe Alt limited to six games.

Herbert took the third-most sacks last season (54), while suffering the second-most knockdowns (74) and the fifth-most hurries (55). Not only was he dealing with an injury-riddled offense around him, but Herbert himself suffered a broken hand in Week 13, an injury he played through for the remainder of the season.

With seemingly everything going wrong last season, Herbert managed to finish as the QB10 in PPG, marking his fourth top-10 finish in six seasons. He hit a career high of 498 rushing yards, proving his high ceiling as a runner.

After operating in John Harbaugh and Greg Roman’s offense the past few seasons, Herbert now teams up with Mike McDaniel, one of the brightest offensive minds in the game.

McDaniel facilitated a QB9 finish from Tua Tagovailoa in 2022, along with QB16 and QB13 finishes in 2023 and 2024, respectively. He is notorious for pre-snap motion and scheming players open for easy completions.

A healthy Omarion Hampton will help the offensive engine maintain a more consistent speed, while McDaniel will maximize Ladd McConkey, Quentin Johnston, Oronde Gadsden II and the rest of the pass-catchers.

With a 5,000-yard passing season already to his name and a near 500-yard rushing season, the ingredients are all in place for a monster season from Herbert. His QB9 ADP feels like a bargain.

Kyler Murray (QB – MIN) | ADP: 110 (QB17)

In the six seasons in which Kyler Murray has played at least eight games, he’s finished as a QB1 in PPG in every one of them, including two top-five finishes. He’s done so with a limited number of playmakers in the cupboard, but that cupboard is stocked full in Minnesota.

Not only do the Vikings feature one of the best receivers in the league in Justin Jefferson, but they’ll also roll out a strong supporting cast with Jordan Addison and Jauan Jennings providing reliable targets. Head coach Kevin O’Connell is the crowned jewel of Murray’s new surroundings, however, as one of the best quarterback whisperers in the league.

O’Connell aided Kirk Cousins to some of the best football of his career, including a QB7 finish in PPG in 2023. He helped revitalize Sam Darnold‘s career in 2024 with 4,319 passing yards, 35 touchdowns and a QB9 finish.

Murray, however, offers a different skill set in a much smaller frame. He may not have the pure arm talent of Darnold or the size and anticipation of Cousins, but he will offer far more mobility than O’Connell has ever worked with.

In 2024, his last full season as a starter, Murray ran for 572 yards and five touchdowns, posting the highest yards-per-carry (YPC) average among quarterbacks (7.3). Finishing as the QB3 in 2020, the former top pick rushed for 819 yards and 11 touchdowns.

If O’Connell can find the easy button for Murray and get the ball into Jefferson’s hands often, we will see a big season from the quarterback. Even if he struggles through the air, his rushing success will allow him to smash his QB17 ADP.

Tight Ends

Harold Fannin Jr. (TE – CLE) | ADP: 70 (TE6)

After a breakout rookie season in which Harold Fannin Jr. overtook David Njoku as the Browns’ top tight end, there’s some skepticism around a repeat performance following the team’s offseason additions. Fannin registered 107 targets on the season, tallying 72 grabs for 731 yards and six touchdowns, finishing as the TE6 overall and the TE7 in PPG.

Many are expecting a reduction in targets after the Browns drafted KC Concepcion and Denzel Boston. While that may be the case, it’s worth noting that Fannin finished 17th in snap share among tight ends while sharing the role with David Njoku.

Fannin’s highest snap shares of the season came in Weeks 12-16, playing at least 86% of snaps in each of those contests, while producing as the TE4 in PPG during this stretch with 12.7 PPG.

There’s no guarantee that the rookies will instantly command targets, and Fannin is unquestionably the top target in the offense. He drew the second-most targets per route run at tight end last season (25.5%).

While the Browns have questions at quarterback, I expect them to rely heavily on Fannin. New head coach Todd Monken’s track record would suggest he plans to rely on Fannin as well. As the Buccaneers’ offensive coordinator in 2018, Monken led OJ Howard to a TE5 finish in PPG and aided Mark Andrews to TE4 and TE7 finishes in 2023 and 2024, respectively.

Drafting Fannin as the sixth tight end off the board is not a small investment, but he’s being drafted at the end of the sixth round while the elite tier of tight ends goes in the second and third rounds. Not only does Fannin have a relatively safe floor as a mid-round TE1, but he also has the upside to join the elites at a much lighter cost.

Isaiah Likely (TE – NYG) | ADP: 107 (TE12)

After operating as a secondary tight end option behind Mark Andrews over the last four seasons, Isaiah Likely reunites with John Harbaugh in New York as the Giants’ starting tight end.

Harbaugh and company prioritized Likely in free agency with a three-year, $40 million contract, and you couldn’t ask for a better landing spot. The familiarity with Harbaugh is one thing, but the Giants offer a young, dynamic quarterback and a barren depth chart of pass-catchers beyond Malik Nabers, who is still working his way back from a torn ACL.

The opportunities for a breakout will be there for Likely, a first for the veteran tight end as he enters his fifth season. Despite often being tabbed as a sleeper, Likely’s highest snap share in a season came in 2024 (60.5%).

Last season, Likely was hampered by a foot injury, limping his way to a 57% snap share, and was limited to just 39.7% and 46.9% in his first two seasons. This number will climb dramatically this season. If Likely can maintain his efficiency, he’s in line for a huge season.

The foot injury likely nagged throughout last season and led to an underwhelming campaign, yet he still posted the 13th-best yards per target (8.3) and the 14th-best yards per reception (11.4), while generating the sixth-best target separation (2.27).

In 2024, his best season as a pro, Likely tallied the eighth-most fantasy points per target (2.13) and the ninth-best fantasy points per route run among tight ends (0.50).

In 2023, Likely’s 10.3 yards per target and 13.7 yards per reception were both second-highest among tight ends, supporting his consistent trend of high-end efficiency. A larger role and additional opportunities, colliding with that efficiency, is just what the doctor ordered for a breakout season.

Chig Okonkwo (TE – WSH) | ADP: 135 (TE16)

“There’s so much more I’m able to do,” said Chig Okonkwo on the Next Man Up podcast. “I can’t imagine what my numbers would look like if I were getting real targets from Week 1, if I were running real routes. I’m excited to show what Chig Okonkwo is supposed to look like on a football field for an entire season.”

It’s safe to say that Okonkwo is excited for his opportunity in the nation’s capital. Okonkwo posted many appealing metrics during his time in Tennessee, but if you look back at the film, many of his targets came as checkdowns or dump-off passes as the play extended, rather than schemed touches or downfield routes.

Despite the lack of innovation and poor quarterback play, Okonkwo eclipsed 450 yards in each of his four seasons with the Titans, including a career-best 560 yards last season. A menace with the ball in his hands, Okonkwo’s 6.2 YAC was the sixth-highest mark among tight ends last season. He’s an excellent tackle breaker with elite speed for the position.

The fifth-year pro will now slide into a Commanders offense where he expects to run a real route tree and is the early favorite to be Jayden Daniels‘ second option. In his age-34 and age-35 seasons, Zach Ertz finished as the TE9 in PPG in 2024 and TE18 in 2025 before suffering a season-ending injury.

In 2024, Ertz was fourth in red-zone target share while generating the sixth-most air yards among tight ends. He saw the third-most slot snaps and ran the sixth-most routes of all tight ends. In 2025, he saw the fourth-highest average depth of target (aDOT) and air yards share, along with the fourth-highest first read target share.

The Commanders have promoted David Blough to offensive coordinator. He’s highly respected and has been heavily involved over the past few seasons. He will certainly prioritize Okonkwo’s route tree and his utilization as a primary target, while making the most of Okonkwo’s run after the catch ability.

Terrance Ferguson (TE – LAR) | ADP: 206 (TE31)

The Rams are hoarding more tight ends than the owner in your TE-Premium dynasty league, snatching up all the backup tight ends. Still, Terrance Ferguson has the upside to emerge as a primary target in the offense.

Head coach Sean McVay is on record as saying that the Rams were willing to draft Ferguson in the first round of the 2025 NFL Draft and has consistently raved about him since.

Ferguson has elite ball skills in a 6-foot-5 frame and runs a 4.63 40-yard dash, which ranks in the 85th percentile at his position. Even with a 38.5% snap share last season, Ferguson saw the most deep targets among all tight ends with 14, providing a glimpse into how McVay wants to utilize the tight end’s unique skill set.

The passing game will be highly concentrated on Puka Nacua and Davante Adams, but the Rams are lacking a third option, which is where Ferguson comes in. Not only can he play out of the slot, but the Rams lined Ferguson up outside last year as well.

The addition of Max Klare, along with Tyler Higbee and Colby Parkinson returning, signals a shift to heavier personnel packages, which can be a positive for Ferguson as he looks to become the primary pass-catching tight end. It becomes much easier for a tight end to earn targets when many of his routes are coming with fewer wide receivers on the field in place of more tight ends.

The target competition is simply not as tough, and with Ferguson’s ability to line up as a receiver, there’s no reason he can’t become the third option in this elite passing attack.

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