NFL Fantasy 2026

TE Fantasy Rankings 2026 — Draft Tiers, Projections & ADP

Tight end is the most top-heavy position in fantasy: a handful of every-week difference-makers, then a wasteland of touchdown-dependent dart throws. That shape makes value over replacement (VOR) spike for the elite tier — a top TE beats the streaming pool by more than most 'higher-scoring' players at other positions beat theirs — and collapse fast right after it. The classic draft decision follows directly from the table below: pay up for one of the few elites while their tier lasts, or punt the position entirely and stream matchups off the wire.

Scoring:PPR Half-PPR Standard

Biggest ADP values at TE

Players our board ranks meaningfully higher than the market drafts them — the gap between VOR-based rank and public ADP is where draft value lives.

Travis Kelce — market ADP ~#132 overall, our board #48 (+84 picks of value)
George Kittle — market ADP ~#112 overall, our board #37 (+75 picks of value)
Juwan Johnson — market ADP ~#158 overall, our board #90 (+68 picks of value)

Tier breaks (T2, T3, …) mark real drop-offs in projected value — players inside a tier are close; between tiers the gap is big enough to change your pick.

#	Player	Team	Proj pts	VOR	TD%	ADP	’25 finish
1	T1Trey McBride	ARI	147	55	36%	48.7	TE1
2	Colston Loveland	CHI	130	38	29%	68.7	TE10
3	George Kittle	SF	128	36	31%	113.0	TE12
4	Harold Fannin Jr.	CLE	125	33	33%	98.3	TE5
5	T2Brock Bowers	LV	124	32	31%	51.0	TE8
6	Travis Kelce	KC	122	30	28%	137.4	TE6
7	Kyle Pitts	ATL	119	27	29%	111.1	TE3
8	Mark Andrews	BAL	118	26	26%	118.3	TE19
9	T3Dallas Goedert	PHI	117	26	31%	88.8	TE2
10	Tyler Warren	IND	110	18	25%	79.3	TE7
11	Zach Ertz	WAS	105	13	29%	—	TE21
12	Sam LaPorta	DET	93	1	31%	125.5	TE25
13	T4Juwan Johnson	NO	93	1	22%	155.4	TE11
14	Hunter Henry	NE	92	0	23%	146.9	TE4
15	Pat Freiermuth	PIT	89	-3	22%	—	TE22
16	T.J. Hockenson	MIN	86	-6	23%	—	TE29
17	T5Dalton Schultz	HOU	86	-7	21%	—	TE13
18	Jonnu Smith	PIT	84	-8	15%	—	TE34
19	Tucker Kraft	GB	83	-9	31%	88.2	TE17
20	Oronde Gadsden II	LAC	83	-9	21%	—	TE18
21	T6Chig Okonkwo	WAS	82	-10	21%	—	TE24
22	Theo Johnson	NYG	81	-11	23%	—	TE20
23	Isaiah Likely	NYG	77	-15	23%	137.7	TE49
24	Jake Ferguson	DAL	76	-17	21%	157.4	TE9
25	T7Evan Engram	DEN	72	-20	17%	—	TE32
26	Taysom Hill	NO	72	-21	18%	—	TE51
27	Cade Otton	TB	71	-21	18%	—	TE28
28	Gunnar Helm	TEN	70	-22	19%	—	TE33
29	T8Dalton Kincaid	BUF	70	-22	21%	144.5	TE16
30	AJ Barner	SEA	66	-26	21%	—	TE14
31	Cole Kmet	CHI	64	-28	15%	—	TE36
32	Brenton Strange	JAX	63	-29	22%	166.0	TE23
33	T9Mike Gesicki	CIN	62	-30	19%	—	TE39
34	Colby Parkinson	LA	61	-31	19%	155.8	TE15
35	Dawson Knox	BUF	60	-32	20%	—	TE26
36	Mason Taylor	NYJ	59	-33	20%	—	TE38
37	T10Tyler Higbee	LA	59	-33	15%	—	TE37
38	David Njoku	LAC	55	-37	23%	—	TE31
39	Darren Waller	MIA	51	-41	24%	—	TE27
40	Austin Hooper	ATL	50	-42	14%	—	TE47
41	T11Tommy Tremble	CAR	50	-42	17%	—	TE48
42	Noah Gray	KC	48	-44	11%	—	TE65
43	Noah Fant	NO	45	-47	12%	—	TE35
44	Elijah Higgins	ARI	44	-49	11%	—	TE52
45	T12Davis Allen	LA	43	-49	15%	—	TE46
46	Luke Musgrave	GB	43	-49	12%	—	TE57
47	Michael Mayer	LV	42	-50	18%	—	TE44
48	Foster Moreau	HOU	40	-52	14%	—	TE89
49	T13Tyler Conklin	DET	40	-52	11%	—	TE80
50	Jake Tonges	SF	40	-52	30%	—	TE30
51	Will Dissly	LAC	39	-53	12%	—	TE81
52	Greg Dulcich	MIA	39	-53	19%	—	TE45
53	T14Terrance Ferguson	LA	37	-55	17%	—	TE41
54	Darnell Washington	PIT	37	-55	12%	—	TE40
55	Mitchell Evans	CAR	37	-55	13%	—	TE53
56	Josh Oliver	MIN	37	-56	16%	—	TE43
57	T15Ja'Tavion Sanders	CAR	36	-56	12%	—	TE58
58	Adam Trautman	DEN	32	-60	11%	—	TE56
59	Jeremy Ruckert	NYJ	32	-60	12%	—	TE61
60	Daniel Bellinger	TEN	31	-61	14%	—	TE42
61	T16Luke Schoonmaker	DAL	31	-61	9%	—	TE74
62	Jackson Hawes	BUF	30	-62	15%	—	TE50
63	Connor Heyward	LV	29	-63	12%	—	TE59
64	Johnny Mundt	PHI	27	-65	9%	—	TE77
65	T17Elijah Arroyo	SEA	27	-65	11%	—	TE60
66	Grant Calcaterra	PHI	25	-67	8%	—	TE72
67	Mo Alie-Cox	IND	24	-68	12%	—	TE66
68	Brock Wright	DET	24	-68	18%	—	TE62
69	T18Ben Sinnott	WAS	23	-69	16%	—	TE67
70	Tanner Hudson	CIN	23	-69	11%	—	TE54
71	Brevyn Spann-Ford	DAL	23	-69	7%	—	TE70
72	Charlie Kolar	LAC	23	-70	9%	—	TE55
73	T19Drew Sample	CIN	22	-70	8%	—	TE68
74	John FitzPatrick	GB	22	-70	10%	—	TE73
75	Cade Stover	HOU	22	-70	9%	—	TE87
76	Josh Whyle	GB	21	-71	12%	—	TE82
77	T20Nate Adkins	DEN	20	-72	12%	—	TE78
78	Quintin Morris	JAX	20	-72	11%	—	TE75
79	Julian Hill	NE	18	-74	9%	—	TE71
80	Ian Thomas	LV	17	-76	9%	—	TE76
81	T21John Bates	WAS	16	-76	8%	—	TE69
82	Payne Durham	TB	16	-76	9%	—	TE109
83	Kylen Granson	TEN	15	-77	6%	—	TE94
84	Eric Saubert	SEA	15	-77	8%	—	TE97
85	T22Tanner Conner	NYG	15	-77	10%	—	TE83
86	Andrew Ogletree	IND	15	-77	10%	—	TE85
87	Hunter Long	JAX	15	-77	13%	—	TE63
88	Stone Smartt	PHI	15	-78	8%	—	TE91
89	T23Jack Stoll	CLE	13	-79	8%	—	TE79
90	Charlie Woerner	ATL	11	-81	10%	—	TE92
91	Anthony Firkser	WAS	11	-81	11%	—	TE90
92	Blake Whiteheart	CLE	11	-81	7%	—	TE119
93	T24Luke Farrell	SF	11	-81	6%	—	TE64
94	David Martin-Robinson	TEN	11	-81	7%	—	TE84
95	Lucas Krull	DEN	10	-82	10%	—	TE107
96	Harrison Bryant	SEA	10	-82	10%	—	TE113
97	T25Devin Culp	TB	10	-82	9%	—	TE88
98	Colson Yankoff	WAS	10	-82	7%	—	TE103
99	Cameron Latu	PHI	9	-83	8%	—	TE127
100	Feleipe Franks	CAR	9	-83	8%	—	TE117
101	T26Durham Smythe	BAL	9	-83	6%	—	TE100
102	Tucker Fisk	LAC	7	-85	7%	—	TE102
103	Brenden Bates	CLE	7	-85	8%	—	TE93
104	Ross Dwelley	DET	7	-85	11%	—	TE114
105	T27Jelani Woods	NYJ	7	-85	16%	—	TE116
106	Josiah Deguara	ARI	7	-85	7%	—	TE86
107	Pharaoh Brown	ARI	6	-86	7%	—	TE123
108	Ben Yurosek	MIN	6	-86	6%	—	TE108
109	T28Chris Manhertz	NYG	6	-86	7%	—	TE115
110	Tip Reiman	ARI	6	-86	10%	—	TE104
111	James Mitchell	CAR	6	-87	8%	—	TE99
112	Brayden Willis	SF	5	-87	9%	—	TE131
113	T29Jack Westover	NE	5	-87	7%	—	TE125
114	Ben Sims	MIA	5	-87	9%	—	TE98
115	Robert Tonyan	PIT	5	-87	14%	—	TE122
116	Teagan Quitoriano	ARI	5	-87	12%	—	TE128
117	T30Ko Kieft	TB	4	-88	12%	—	TE129
118	Nick Kallerup	SEA	4	-88	7%	—	TE136
119	Cam Grandy	CIN	4	-88	7%	—	TE112
120	Giovanni Ricci	DET	3	-89	8%	—	TE126
121	T31Will Mallory	IND	3	-89	9%	—	TE106
122	Albert Okwuegbunam	LV	3	-89	14%	—	TE95
123	Shane Zylstra	BUF	2	-90	14%	—	TE101
124	Marcedes Lewis	DEN	2	-91	12%	—	TE124

Data baseline from the projection models · refreshed 30 Aug 2026.

Per-game projections from prior-season form, usage and opponent strength — a data baseline, not a betting edge. Rookies without NFL production are placed by market ADP, not model-projected. For entertainment / draft research — 18+.

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TE fantasy rankings — FAQ

Should I draft an elite TE or wait?

Both are defensible — what loses is the middle. The elite tier's VOR justifies a genuinely early pick because the weekly edge over a streamed TE is large and repeatable. Once that tier is gone, the projected gap between TE8 and TE18 is often smaller than one bench RB's upside, so spending a mid-round pick there is the worst of both worlds. Our tier breaks show exactly where the cliff is; after it, wait and stream.

Why is TD% so important for tight ends?

Because TE scoring is the most touchdown-dependent of any position. Outside the elite target earners, most TEs project for 3–6 targets a game — the difference between a usable week and a zero is usually one red-zone throw. The TD% column (the model's anytime-TD probability) flags which TEs get real red-zone routes rather than just snaps, which is the stickiest part of their role year over year.

What does 'streaming' a tight end mean?

Playing the position week to week off the waiver wire instead of rostering one starter: each week you pick the available TE with the best matchup — a bad opposing defense against TEs, a projected shootout, or an injury that funnels red-zone targets his way. Because replacement-level TEs are close together, a well-picked stream loses surprisingly little to a mid-tier 'set-and-forget' TE and costs you a roster spot instead of a draft pick.