RESOLVING THE LEDGER
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Fantasy analysts, myself included, have fallen into the trap of saying "this is the year of the tight end" when we get a quality group of players at the position. Well, if you said it in 2025, you were right. And it could get even better this season. Last year, 15 tight ends averaged at least eight half-PPR points per game. That was up from 10 in 2024, and we had 15 tight ends combined average at least eight half-PPR points in 2022 and 2023. There were also 10 tight ends who hit that average in 2021. Part of the increased production in 2025 was a standout rookie class, which included Harold Fannin Jr., Tyler Warren and Colston Loveland. The old guard of George Kittle, Travis Kelce, Dallas Goedert and Hunter Henry were still successful. And we saw Trey McBride dominate the position, while Tucker Kraft, Brock Bowers and Kyle Pitts all had quality campaigns. Most of those tight ends should be productive again in 2026, and we have high expectations for Sam LaPorta and Isaiah Likely, among others. Fantasy managers should have fun drafting tight ends this season, but you should have a plan to attack the position. And that's where tiers come into play. These are tight end tiers you can follow on Draft Day, and they are a better guide than just going down a rank list. I'll tell you the round range for these tight ends, as well as some stats of note, and this blueprint should help you dominate your league.
Rounds 2 and 3 Brock Bowers Trey McBride Even though McBride was the No. 1 Fantasy tight end last season, I like Bowers in the top spot this year. I expect him to lead the position in targets, and he should finish as the best Fantasy tight end in 2026. He is worth drafting as early as the middle of Round 2. Bowers had an amazing rookie campaign in 2024 with 112 catches for 1,194 yards and five touchdowns on 153 targets. But injuries -- he suffered a knee injury in Week 1 that lingered all season -- poor quarterback play and a struggling offense limited his production in 2025 to 64 catches for 680 yards and seven touchdowns on 86 targets in 12 games. If Bowers stays healthy, he could be a candidate for Fantasy MVP this year. McBride averaged 14.4 half-PPR points per game last season, and the next closest tight end was Kraft at 12.1. McBride led the position in targets (169), catches (126) and yards (1,239), and he tied Goedert for the touchdown lead with 11. It was a magical season, but I'm expecting some regression this year. The Cardinals' run game should improve dramatically with the addition of Jeremiyah Love and Tyler Allgeier, along with James Conner being healthy. And Marvin Harrison Jr. will hopefully stay healthy all season, along with an improved Michael Wilson. McBride should still be awesome, but I would draft him after Bowers in early Round 3.
Rounds 3-4 Colston Loveland Tyler Warren Loveland has the chance to be a star, and I would draft him as early as Round 3. I would prefer to draft him in Round 4, but that might not be realistic given his upside. Loveland got off to a slow start as a rookie due to injury and inconsistent play. But from Week 12 on, including the playoffs, he scored at least 10 half-PPR points in five of his final nine games. And in his final four outings, Loveland averaged 16.0 half-PPR points per game. It helped that he was the featured act in the passing game over that span with at least 10 targets per game in all four contests, and he averaged seven catches and 94.5 yards per game, with two touchdowns. Loveland should be dominant this season. Warren was spectacular when Daniel Jones (Achilles) was healthy through the first 10 weeks of the season. He scored at least 10.5 half-PPR points in six of 10 games, and we hope he can pick up from that point in 2026 now that it appears Jones will be ready for Week 1. Warren should also benefit with Michael Pittman being gone (he had 111 targets in 2025) and no significant replacement added, and I would draft Warren as early as Round 4.
Rounds 5-8 Sam LaPorta Tucker Kraft Kyle Pitts Isaiah Likely Harold Fannin Jr. LaPorta was a star in 2023 when he averaged 11.0 half-PPR points per game as a rookie. He struggled in 2024 at 8.6 half-PPR points per game, and he dealt with a back injury in 2025 when he finished with 9.1 half-PPR points per game in just nine contests. He's healthy now, and LaPorta has top-five upside with Drew Petzing as the new offensive coordinator in Detroit. Petzing loves using his tight ends, and he was just the coordinator in Arizona for the past four seasons with McBride. LaPorta is worth drafting as early as Round 5. Kraft was on his way toward having a massive season in 2025 before he suffered a torn ACL in Week 9. Through his first seven games of the year, Kraft scored at least 11 half-PPR points four times, and he could see a boost in production if healthy since Romeo Doubs and Dontayvion Wicks are no longer in Green Bay. We expect Kraft to play in Week 1, and he's worth drafting no later than Round 7. Pitts rebounded in 2025 after three down seasons in a row when he averaged a career-best 9.2 half-PPR points per game. He should continue to play at a high level with Kevin Stefanski as the new head coach in Atlanta, and Stefanski has a great track record with tight ends (see David Njoku and Fannin as examples). The Falcons should have concentrated targets for Drake London, Pitts and Bijan Robinson, and Pitts had 118 targets in 2025, which was second among all tight ends. That number could improve this season thanks to Stefanski, and Pitts is worth drafting as early as Round 6. We've been waiting for the chance to see Likely in a featured role, and he finally gets that this season after leaving Baltimore for the Giants. In his four-year career with the Ravens, Likely has nine games with at least six targets. He scored at least 9.5 half-PPR points in eight of them and averaged 13.4 half-PPR points over that span. We'll see what happens with Malik Nabers (knee) early in the season, but Likely sh...
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