Fantasy football rankings 2026: Tight end tiers and draft strategy

Welcome to the final round of fantasy football tiers for the 2026 preseason. This is my final opportunity to pontificate about my theories of value before everything is destroyed by the Elijah Arroyo TE1 breakout season. No plan survives first contact with the enemy, and no tiers survive Week 1 of the NFL season.

Tight end feels a bit like quarterback this year in that it's shockingly deep. Rather than the hellscape no-man's-land of yesteryear, the 7th-15th ranked guys are shockingly playable and the draft investment for them is much lighter than some riskier, higher-upside ideas. But there is also a big difference from QB in that the gap between the tippy-top and the bottom group is wide, with a cavernous gulch separating Trey McBride from Mark Andrews — a much larger gap, I think, than between Josh Allen and Justin Herbert.

It may indeed be worth investing a second- or third-round pick in the top tier, though it will depend on who else is available. For one final time: tiers help us group players together when targeting specific guys may not be realistic. Use these tiers in concert with the other three sets for an ideal draft guide, pointing and clicking at players and positions as needed! All rankings for full PPR scoring and half-PPR work too. Without further ado, everyone's favorite fantasy football purgatory: tight ends.

Tier 1: The unimpeachable duo

Not breaking any news here apart from perhaps ranking McBride above Bowers, but these two really are a cut above everyone else in terms of production and usage. In full PPR, these two project for way more targets, catches and overall usage than any of their contemporaries. McBride was absurd last season, and I would not flinch at spending a late second-round pick on him. Bowers had some injury problems last year, but when healthy is an absolute menace to society.

These two are basically big wide receivers that command the target volume of a true number one; Gronk-esque catch hogs that should really be treated more like a WR1/2 pick rather than a TE — they are the only two players of that position I'm willing to pick within the first four rounds, and if for whatever reason they are still around in round four? Grab.

Tier 2: Where did all my friends go?

Hey look, it's Colston Loveland all by himself in Tier 2. I hemmed and hawed about where to put Loveland for a while and if he should actually be at the top of the next tier (which would then become this tier), but I decided to separate him out because I believe the hype. Loveland had a very promising role in an explosive offense last year and became a preferred target of Caleb Williams down the stretch last season. It really is all lining up for the first-round pick in year two.

But is it so obvious that the value isn't there anymore? Well, in the mid-40s, that's a lot of risk, especially since I'm prioritizing two running backs and two wide receivers with my first four picks. If Loveland is kicking around in round six or a good spot in round five? I can get behind it. I would not reach into the third round for Loveland, though, and would be uncomfortable with this fourth round price point.

Tier 3: Oh, here they are

We appear to have found the rest of the "TE1s" that I would trust as far as I could throw a piano. "Trust" is a strong word when it comes to Kyle Pitts and someone on the Browns, but I think Fannin Jr.'s talent is transcendent enough to deal with the worst QB situation imaginable. This group is full of guys I can deal with taking in the seventh round, but would not be itching to grab them earlier.

A note on Warren: he's being priced much closer to Loveland in ADP, but I'm not sold. I loved him at Penn State, but he was nothing towards the end of last season — yes, that was with old man Phillip Rivers slinging the rock, but Daniel Jones off the Achilles tear is anything but a sure thing. The talent is there like it is for the rest of these guys, I'm just bumping Warren down a tier.

Tier 4: The trio of risk

Now we're really in the thick of it. Tucker Kraft is probably my single favorite pick of the draft if you can somehow snag him in the 9th or 10th round, since he was awesome before his injury last season. I haven't a clue if he'll be that guy again after the ACL tear, but I'm in. Kittle is attempting to come back from an Achilles tear in record time, and the lack of target competition in San Francisco might be enough for me to take that risk.

Then there's Kelce, who I had no idea how to rank. I think at a 9th/10th round price, you could do a lot worse, but he also might be a part-time player this season given his age. He's definitely not the physical tank he was a few years ago, and this feels like the definition of a retirement tour. Still ... he's always a threat to score touchdowns with Mahomes trusting him like a son. Or father. Father is probably better, he's older.

Tier 5: Not exciting but totally workable

Like with quarterbacks, this is my tier of choice. Sure, we're probably looking at 8-10 points per game for the entire season; there is minimal upside; there is not a lot of excitement. But we're talking about 10th, 11th and 12th-round picks here — I'm not asking you to spend a kidney on this. And the odds that one of these guys is IDENTICAL to, like, Tyler Warren come season end? Sizeable enough to try.

Take two of them, see what happens. Goedert is the least interesting yet weirdly my favorite of the bunch; in Philadelphia, I see targets up for grabs. Likely is a complete unknown in New York, and Mark Andrews is now without Likely in Baltimore. The only guy I'm really fading here is Kincaid — every single year he gets overrated for being on the Bills, and every year the production just doesn't deliver. Let the person who drafted Josh Allen reach for Kincaid for the stack in round seven. Not my crazy, not my problem.

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