This is the first time in quite awhile where you can comfortably wait on the tight end position until the later rounds and come out feeling confident about your tight end selection. Check out my tight end tiers to see who you should be drafting this season!
Tier 1 - The Best
Trey McBride
There is only one player in the top tier. I'm not a huge fan of going tight end in the first two rounds, but he is such an advantage at the position and he is in a league of his own. I've seen some folks rank Brock Bowers ahead of McBride in their draft rankings and I think that is absolutely bonkers. He finished as TE1 last year, scoring over 100 more fantasy points than the runner-up, Kyle Pitts. Of course, touchdown regression will be a factor, but he had 169 targets. 169!!! Let me give you the top 5 target leaders from last season: 1) Chase (185), 2) St. Brown (172), 3) McBride (169), 4) Nacua (166), and 5) JSN (163). That's great company to be in.
Sure, Arizona will be a bottom-5 team this year; but being that bad also means they will be playing from behind often and passing the ball. Do you know who they'll be throwing to? Because I do.
Tier 2 - The Next Best
Brock Bowers
Colston Loveland
Tyler Warren
Kyle Pitts
Tier 3 - Tried & True
George Kittle
Sam LaPorta
Tucker Kraft
Dallas Goedert
Jake Ferguson
Before tearing his ACL last season, Tucker Kraft compiled 32 receptions on 44 targets for 489 yards and 6 touchdowns. If he didn’t get hurt and you extrapolated his performance across a full season, he would have ended up with somewhere between 225-250 fantasy points, finishing as TE2 behind McBride. One may be quick to assume touchdown regression here but I wouldn’t be too hasty - Romeo Doubs and Dontayvion Wicks are no longer on the roster which opens up even more opportunities for Kraft in the red zone.
Tier 4 - High-End Starters
Harold Fannin Jr.
Dalton Kincaid
Dalton Schultz
Juwan Johnson
Isaiah Likely
Tier 5 - The Veterans
Mark Andrews
Travis Kelce
TJ Hockenson
Hunter Henry
Tier 6 - The High-Upside Dart Throws
Terrance Ferguson
Kenyon Sadiq
Greg Dulcich
Tier 7 - The Streamers
Chig Okonkwo
Cade Otton
Brenton Strange
Evan Engram
AJ Barner
Pat Freiermuth
Darren Waller
David Njoku
Want to act on this?
Use Draft Value Scores to update your roster based on this week’s analysis.
Open Draft Value ScoresComments (2)
- Matt FryerAugust 26, 2026
It feels like that Tucker Kraft blurb was written just for me. I needed that reassurance 😂
- ChristianAugust 27, 2026
Haha, I'm glad it gave you reassurance, he's going to smash this year especially at his ADP!