Drafting a tight end is basically the most stressful fifteen minutes of any fantasy season. You’re either chasing the ghost of 2021 Travis Kelce or you're sifting through the waiver wire trash heap in Week 6 praying for a three-yard touchdown catch from a guy whose name you can't pronounce.
Honestly? Most people blow their draft because they think the position is "deep" now. It’s not. It’s just top-heavy with a bunch of young guys who have high ceilings but shaky floors. If you aren't looking at the NFL fantasy football tight end rankings through the lens of target share and red zone gravity, you're basically just throwing darts at a wall in a dark room.
The 2025 season just wrapped up, and it shifted the landscape. Hard. We saw the true ascension of the "Big Three" and the potential end of an era in Kansas City. Let’s get into who actually matters for the 2026 cycle.
Why Trey McBride is the Uncontested King
If you didn’t have Trey McBride last year, you probably spent every Sunday afternoon being angry at your TV. He didn't just play well; he broke the single-season receptions record for a tight end, hauling in 126 catches.
That is absolute insanity.
He finished with 1,239 yards and 11 touchdowns. Basically, he was a WR1 with a TE designation. The most interesting part of his 2025 campaign was how he thrived regardless of who was under center. When Kyler Murray went down and Jacoby Brissett stepped in, McBride’s volume actually went up. He saw a 27.4% target share. For context, that’s better than what most elite wide receivers get.
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Going into 2026, he is the consensus TE1. There is no debate. He’s 26 years old, in his physical prime, and the Cardinals' offense is essentially built to funnel him the ball in the seams. If you have the 1.01 at the position, you take Trey and you don't look back.
The "Post-Hype" Bounce and the Rookie Surge
Drafting for "potential" is how you lose leagues, but drafting for "proven metrics" is how you win them.
Brock Bowers is a Cheat Code
Brock Bowers had a weird 2025. He dealt with a nagging knee issue that eventually cost him the last few weeks of the season, but when he was on the field? Dude was electric. He averaged over five receptions and nearly 57 yards per game.
The Raiders moved on to Geno Smith, and despite the "Geno doesn't target tight ends" narrative, Bowers still found his way to 7 touchdowns in 12 games. He’s the best receiver on that team, period. If he stays healthy for 17 games in 2026, he’s the only guy with the raw athleticism to challenge McBride for the top spot.
The Kyle Pitts Resurrection
It actually happened. We finally stopped calling Kyle Pitts a "bust" and started calling him a "top-tier asset" again. He didn't hit 1,000 yards—falling just short at 928 yards—but he looked like the rookie version of himself. He led the Falcons in receiving yards and accounted for a quarter of their total passing production.
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He’s the TE2 in many early 2026 rankings for a reason: the talent finally met the usage.
The New Blood: Tyler Warren and Colston Loveland
Keep these names on your radar. Tyler Warren had a massive 2025 for the Colts, finishing with 817 yards. He’s become a favorite of Anthony Richardson in the red zone. Then there’s Colston Loveland in Chicago, who emerged as a reliable "handcuff-proof" option. These are the guys you target in the middle rounds if you miss out on the elite tier.
Is the Travis Kelce Era Actually Over?
It feels sacrilegious to even type that. But we have to look at the numbers.
Kelce finished 2025 with 76 catches for 851 yards and 5 touchdowns. In any other universe, that’s a great season. In "Kelce-land," it’s a decline. He’s 36. He spent the end of the year talking on New Heights about how his body feels like a "mangy animal" finding a way to survive.
He hasn't officially retired yet, but even if he stays, he’s no longer the "draft him in the first round" lock. He’s currently sliding into the TE15-TE20 range in early 2026 dynasty mocks. That’s a massive fall from grace, but it's the reality of Father Time.
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Pro Tip: Don't draft Kelce based on his name. If you take him, do it in the double-digit rounds as a high-upside flier, not as your foundational piece.
Understanding the 2026 Tiers
The gap between the top and the bottom is widening again. You've basically got three distinct buckets of players to choose from.
- The Elite Tier: McBride, Bowers, and Pitts. These are the guys you spend a second or third-round pick on. They offer "positional scarcity" value.
- The "Good Enough" Tier: George Kittle, Sam LaPorta, and Dalton Kincaid. LaPorta had a rough 2025 with a back injury and a dip in touchdowns, but his talent is undeniable. Kittle is still the king of efficiency, but the Niners' offense has so many mouths to feed it's hard to rely on him every week.
- The Waiver Wire Roulette: Mark Andrews, T.J. Hockenson, and Jake Ferguson. Andrews is slowly losing his role to Isaiah Likely in Baltimore. Hockenson is coming off a quiet year. Ferguson is a volume play who lives and dies by Dak Prescott’s mood.
The NFL Fantasy Football Tight End Rankings Breakdown
| Tier | Players | Why They’re Here |
|---|---|---|
| Tier 1: The Gods | Trey McBride | Record-breaking volume; clear #1. |
| Tier 1.5: The Elite | Brock Bowers, Kyle Pitts | Elite talent; high TD upside. |
| Tier 2: Solid Starters | Tyler Warren, Sam LaPorta, George Kittle | Reliable, but some injury/usage concerns. |
| Tier 3: The Mid-Range | Dalton Kincaid, Tucker Kraft, Jake Ferguson | High floors, low ceilings. |
| Tier 4: The Old Guard | Travis Kelce, Mark Andrews | Massive names, declining production. |
What You Should Actually Do
Stop waiting until the last round to pick a tight end. That strategy worked in 2023 when the position was a mess, but in 2026, the elite guys are providing a literal 10-point-per-game advantage over the field.
If you can't get McBride or Bowers, your goal is to find the guy who is the second read on his team. Don't draft the third or fourth option in a "good" offense (like Sam LaPorta in Detroit right now). Draft the first or second option in a "decent" offense (like Tyler Warren or Kyle Pitts).
Next Steps for Your Draft Prep:
- Monitor the Travis Kelce retirement news throughout February; if he retires, Noah Gray becomes a massive deep-sleeper.
- Check the Lions' injury report regarding Sam LaPorta's back; if he's 100% by training camp, he’s a value buy.
- Prioritize target share over touchdowns. Touchdowns are fluky; 10 targets a game is a bankable asset.