No position splits draft-day philosophy quite like tight end. Some fantasy football drafters pay up early for a true difference-maker, banking a weekly scoring edge that most of the league simply doesn’t have access to. Others punt the position entirely, streaming matchups from a deep, flat pool of committee and low-end TE1 options. Both approaches can win a league. Here’s the case for each, built from our actual 2026 tight end rankings.
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2026 Fantasy Football Draft Advice: Elite TE or Wait-at-TE?
The Case for Paying Up: Tier 1
The argument for drafting elite at tight end starts and ends with weekly scoring advantage. When one position on your roster consistently outproduces the field, you’re effectively playing with a numbers advantage every single week. No other position offers that at as reliable a rate as the true elite tight ends. Here’s the top tier our experts believe is worth the draft-day investment.
Brock Bowers (LV) — RK1
Toss Brock Bowers‘ 2025 season in the trash. All of it. In the trash. He sustained a PCL injury in Week 1 that he attempted to play through all year. He eventually landed on season-ending IR before Week 17 after gutting through 12 games last season. Despite playing on one leg for the entire season, Bowers still ranked 13th in yards per route run and first downs per route run last season (per Fantasy Points Data). To understand Bowers’ 2026 upside and talent, we need to rewind to 2024 when he was the TE3 in fantasy points per game. During that season, he was seventh in target per route run rate, sixth in yards per route run, third in receiving yards per game, second in first read share, and seventh in first downs per route run (per Fantasy Points Data). 2026 Brock Bowers could be 2025 Trey McBride and be the runaway TE1 for fantasy, with little target competition existing on the Raiders’ depth chart to challenge him.
Trey McBride (ARI) — RK2
Trey McBride was a league-winning pick last year as the TE1 in fantasy points per game (the closest tight end was 3.9 fantasy points per game behind McBride). He was a volume monster in what was a pass-happy Arizona offense. With Jacoby Brissett under center (Weeks 6-18) last year, Arizona was first in neutral passing rate and second in snaps while trailing by seven or more points (per Fantasy Points Data). The Cardinals were throwing a ton while playing catch-up weekly. McBride ran 156 more routes last year than any other tight end. This fact and McBride’s talent fueled plenty of fantasy teams to championships last season. Among 59 qualifying tight ends, McBride was first in target share (25.4%), receiving yards per game (72.9), red zone targets (32), and first-read share (33.8%). Among the same sample size of tight ends, McBride was also tenth in yards per route run and 15th in first downs per route run. Arizona will likely be trailing in many games this season again, so we should expect Arizona to be chucking the ball again. In Mike LaFleur’s two seasons with the Jets as offensive coordinator, he ranked ninth and fourth in negative script passing rate. McBride could repeat this season as the TE1 overall.
Colston Loveland (CHI) — RK3
Sure, Colston Loveland disappointed last season if you only look at his overall stats as the TE15 in fantasy points per game, but that was because he was languishing in a part-time role for most of the season. It wasn’t until after Week 15 that Loveland was consistently featured as a full-time member of the offense. In Weeks 16-20, he exploded as the Bears’ WR1 with a 25.6% target share, 81.6 receiving yards per game, 2.49 yards per route run, a 34% first-read share, 0.116 first downs per route run, and 17.2 PPR points per game (per Fantasy Points Data). If Loveland had produced like that over the course of the entire season, he would have given Trey McBride a run for his money as the TE1 in fantasy. Last year, those numbers, among all tight ends with at least 20 targets, would have ranked first, first, fourth, first, fourth, and second. If you compare those numbers against Trey McBride‘s 2025 season and Brock Bowers‘ 2024 campaign, Loveland would have beaten both players in every single category except for fantasy points per game with McBride’s 2025 season. Loveland could easily pick up right where he left off this season and compete with Brock Bowers and Trey McBride for the TE1 crown. With D.J. Moore gone, Loveland has only Rome Odunze and Luther Burden to compete with for the top spot in the target pecking order in Chicago.
Tyler Warren (IND) — RK4
Tyler Warren had a fantastic rookie season as the TE10 in fantasy points per game, but there was plenty of meat left on the bone that should have fantasy gamers excited going into 2026. Warren was the TE4 in expected fantasy points per game last year. Let’s begin the convo there. He should naturally see some regression this season even before we discuss the fact that the Colts moved on from Michael Pittman Jr. this offseason. Warren also ranked fifth in red zone targets and eighth in end zone targets last year among tight ends, and he only had four receiving touchdowns to show for it. Warren was excellent last year on a per-route basis. Among 59 qualifying tight ends, he was sixth in target share, ninth in receiving yards per game, 18th in yards per route run and first downs per route run, and sixth in first-read-read share (per Fantasy Points Data). His target share and first-read share should increase this season with Pittman Jr. gone, and his per-route productivity should also improve if Daniel Jones can stay healthy for the entire season and be at least a shadow of his healthy self. Warren is a top-five tight end this season that could sniff top-three status if everything goes according to plan.
The Case for Waiting: The Streaming TE Pool
The counterargument is just as strong: tight end depth drops off a cliff after the top handful of names, which means the difference between a tight end taken in Round 10 and one taken in Round 15 is often marginal. Rather than reach early, wait-at-TE drafters use those early picks on running back and wide receiver depth, then stream matchups from this pool all season.
Juwan Johnson (NO) — RK16
Juwan Johnson quietly put together the best season of his career in 2025, finishing with 77 catches, 889 yards and three touchdowns. That added up to a TE10 finish in half-point PPR scoring despite the relatively low TD count. The arrival of rookie WR Jordan Tyson, the eighth overall pick in this year’s draft, could cut into Johnson’s target total. But Tyson had injury problems in college, and veteran Saints WR Chris Olave has had health issues as well. An injury to either would likely boost Johnson’s target totals. The fast pace favored by Saints head coach and playcaller Kellen Moore is another thing working in Johnson’s favor.
Hunter Henry (NE) — RK19
With 60 catches for 768 yards and seven touchdowns last season, Hunter Henry finished TE7 in half-point PPR fantasy scoring and TE12 in fantasy points per game among TEs who played at least five games. That was a career high in yardage for Henry, and his 8.8 yards per target represented his best mark in that category since 2017. Henry seems to have good rapport with young Patriots QB Drake Maye, and the 31-year-old tight end hasn’t shown signs of slowing down. But New England’s potential addition of WR A.J. Brown could put at least a slight dent in Henry’s target share.
Dalton Schultz (HOU) — RK21
Dalton Schultz had 82 catches for 777 yards and three touchdowns in 2025 to finish TE11 in half-point PPR fantasy scoring. The modest TD total limited his fantasy impact, but Schultz finished tied with Jake Ferguson for third among tight ends in receptions behind only Trey McBride and Kyle Pitts. Schultz finished sixth among TEs in receiving yards. The Texans have an established star at wide receiver with Nico Collins, and Jayden Higgins, Jaylin Noel and (if healthy) Tank Dell round out a pretty good WR corps. With robust target competition, Schultz might be hard-pressed to match the career-high 106 targets he saw last season. And since Houston has one of the best defenses in the league, the Texans aren’t likely to be a pass-heavy team in 2026. It’s best to consider Schultz a midrange TE2 for fantasy, even though he was more than that last season.
AJ Barner (SEA) — RK22
A.J. Barner got significantly more involved in the Seattle offense in his second NFL season after a quiet rookie year. Barner’s snap share increased from 45% in 2024 to 72% in 2025. He had 52 catches for 519 yards and six touchdowns last season after putting up 30-245-4 as a rookie. Barner also had 10 rushing attempts for 14 yards and a touchdown last year, and he had four catches for 54 yards and a touchdown in the Super Bowl. Barner had a 14.9% target share last season for a Seattle offense that had the fourth-fewest pass attempts in the league. The Seahawks didn’t add any pass catchers of note in the offseason, so if they either throw more frequently in 2026 or Barner carves out a bigger target share, Barner could take another step forward. Jaxon Smith-Njigba had an absurd 35.8% target share for the Seahawks last year, so it’s entirely possible that Barner’s target share could rise while JSN’s comes down. Consider Barner a midrange to low-end TE2 for 2026 fantasy drafts.
Gunnar Helm (TEN) — RK24
Second-year man Gunnar Helm sits atop the Titans’ depth chart at tight end now that veteran Chig Okonkwo has moved on to Washington via free agency. A fourth-round pick out of the University Of Texas, Helm turned in a solid if unspectacular rookie season, catching 44 passes for 357 yards and two touchdown in an offense that struggled for much of the season. Helm caught 80% of his targets and averaged a respectable 1.45 yards per route run. Titans QB Cam Ward had a rough rookie season overall but played much better late in the season. If Ward can continue to make strides, Helm could become a fantasy-viable TE option in 2026.
Pat Freiermuth (PIT) — RK26
Pat Freiermuth was the Steelers’ best pass-catching tight end last season, but that didn’t mean much, as Freiermuth finished with 41 catches for 486 yards and four touchdowns. He finished TE24 in half-point PPR fantasy scoring. The Steelers’ offensive coordinator last season, Arthur Smith, rotated his tight ends, and Freiermuth had a career-low 51% snap share last year. Freiermuth has topped 60 catches in three of his five NFL seasons, and he’s squarely in his prime at age 27. If new Steelers head coach Mike McCathy and new offensive coordinator Brian Angelichio make Freiermuth a bigger part of the Pittsburgh offense than he was under Smith last year, the veteran tight end could surprise.
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