It’s easy to identify the top tier of tight ends in fantasy football this season:
But what does the position look like after that top tier? Below are three tight ends you can draft in the later rounds who have the upside to finish in the top five at the position.
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Fantasy Football TE2s With Top-5 Potential
Harold Fannin Jr. (TE – CLE)
Despite Cleveland drafting two rookie wide receivers in the first two rounds of the 2026 NFL Draft, I still believe Harold Fannin Jr. will be a focal point of Todd Monken’s offense. If you look at Monken’s recent history as an offensive coordinator, one thing stands out: He knows how to feature his tight ends.
During his three seasons in Baltimore, Mark Andrews remained a major part of the offense:
- 2025: 16th among tight ends in fantasy points; 13th in touchdowns
- 2024: 5th among tight ends in fantasy points; 1st in touchdowns
- 2023: 15th among tight ends in fantasy points; 2nd in touchdowns
Before Baltimore, Monken spent three seasons at Georgia, where he coached Brock Bowers. In 2021 and 2022, Bowers posted at least 850+ receiving yards in each season and combined for 20 receiving touchdowns.
Now Monken gets another extremely talented weapon at the position in Fannin. He was arguably the best tight end prospect coming out of college two years ago, and we already saw flashes of that upside during his rookie season.
In 2025, Fannin finished fifth among tight ends in targets (107), trailing only Trey McBride, Kyle Pitts, Tyler Warren and Travis Kelce. He also finished eighth among tight ends in receptions (72) and touchdowns (six).
Pair Fannin’s talent and established target volume with an offensive coordinator who has consistently made the tight end position a major part of his passing attack, and the upside becomes pretty obvious.
AJ Barner (TE – SEA)
With Klint Kubiak in Las Vegas, there is some uncertainty surrounding what Seattle’s offense will look like in 2026. You have to think the Seahawks could take a small step back, but new offensive coordinator Brian Fleury has already said he wants to continue running Kubiak’s scheme. That should be encouraging for Barner.
Fleury comes from San Francisco after spending years learning under one of the best offensive football minds in Kyle Shanahan. He also has experience working with one of the NFL’s premier tight ends in George Kittle, as his tight ends coach, which can only benefit Barner’s development and usage.
Barner put together an impressive 2025 season, finishing third on the Seahawks with 58 targets, just three shy of Cooper Kupp for second on the team.
But the number that really catches my attention is his usage near the goal line. Barner’s six receiving touchdowns were second on the team behind Jaxon Smith-Njigba, and he actually led Seattle with 13 red-zone targets. The next closest player had only five. That is a massive gap.
Barner may not be a 100+ target, high-volume tight end like Brock Bowers or Trey McBride, but he might not need to be one. If Fleury continues to feature Barner in the red zone while expanding his role between the 20s, the touchdown upside alone gives him a legitimate chance to outperform his average draft position (ADP).
Dalton Schultz (TE – HOU)
Dalton Schultz is probably one of the last players you think of when talking about Houston’s playmakers, but that should probably change heading into 2026. Schultz quietly had a very underrated 2025 season, finishing with 82 receptions for 777 yards on 106 targets. His 82 catches tied for third among tight ends, trailing only Trey McBride and Kyle Pitts.
Despite all that volume, Schultz finished just outside the top 10 in PPR scoring, and a lot of that had to do with his lack of touchdowns. He scored only three times despite seeing 11 red-zone targets.
With Jayden Higgins out for the season with a torn ACL, there are suddenly more targets up for grabs in Houston, especially in scoring situations.
If Schultz can maintain anything close to last year’s volume while turning those three touchdowns into five or six, he could easily finish as a TE1.
There’s a path to a top-five finish if everything breaks right, and the best part is the cost. You can target Schultz in the final few rounds of drafts, giving you plenty of upside without having to spend premium draft capital.
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