Mike ClayApr 10, 2026, 11:42 AM ETCloseMike Clay is a senior writer for fantasy football and the NFL at ESPN. Mike is a member of the FSWA Hall of Fame. His projections power the ESPN Fantasy Football game, and he also appears on “Fantasy Football Now” and the Fantasy Focus Football podcast.Follow on XMultiple Authors
In advance of the NFL draft, Mike Clay is revealing his 2026 fantasy football rankings at each key offensive position, with profiles for each player. These rankings do not include rookies because we are unsure of their landing spots.
If you are seeking a breakdown of this year’s top NFL draft prospects, Mike has profiled the top 80 skill position players in his fantasy football rookie rankings.
McBride has emerged as one of the league’s top pass catchers — not just tight ends — as he trails only Ja’Marr Chase in targets (317) and receptions (252) over the past two seasons and is sixth in receiving yards (2,385). McBride led the tight end position in every fantasy-relevant counting stat in 2025, and his league-high 15 top-12 fantasy weeks were six more than any other player at the position. He finished third in the NFL with 17 end zone targets. McBride really thrived when Jacoby Brissett (21.1 PPG) replaced Kyler Murray (12.5) under center, which only adds to his 2026 appeal. The 26-year-old should be on your radar at the first-/second-round turn.
Bowers entered 2025 with high expectations and appeared well on his way to another productive season with 103 yards in Week 1, but a late-game injury limited him for three weeks and led to five full missed games. Bowers remained productive when healthy, finishing second among tight ends in fantasy PPG. Incredibly, he tied for fifth in the NFL with 13 end zone targets despite all the missed action. Bowers, who posted a 112-1,194-5 receiving line as a rookie in 2024, is likely to be a top target for projected No. 1 pick Fernando Mendoza. The 23-year-old is well positioned for a highly productive season and should be on your radar in the second or third round.
After averaging 4.1 targets and 8.5 fantasy PPG during his first 14 NFL games, Loveland leaped to 12.0 targets (10-plus in each) and 20.0 fantasy PPG during his final four games of 2025 (including the playoffs). For perspective, there have been only 12 instances of a tight end seeing at least 10 targets in four consecutive regular-season games in NFL history (and only one was a rookie). Loveland’s overall efficiency was terrific, as he ranked eighth or better among tight ends in YPR, YPT and YPRR. With DJ Moore gone, the 2025 first-round pick enters his age-22 season all but locked into a massive workload alongside Rome Odunze and Luther Burden III. Loveland’s ceiling is lofty, and midrange fantasy TE1 should be his floor.
Warren put together a solid rookie season, but it could’ve been even better. In 12 games with a healthy Daniel Jones, Warren scored five touchdowns and averaged 13.1 fantasy PPG. In five games without Jones, Warren fell to 6.3 PPG and failed to find the end zone. In fact, the 2025 first-round pick was unlucky in the scoring department, ranking fifth among tight ends in end zone targets (seven) and expected TDs (7.5). Warren finished the season third among tight ends in targets and also had three goal-line carries. The 24-year-old was already a featured target and might see even more work with Michael Pittman Jr. shipped to Pittsburgh. Warren is a quality TE1.
Right when it seemed like Pitts might never live up to the hype, the 2021 No. 4 pick put together the best season of his career. Pitts finished second among tight ends in routes, targets, catches, yards and fantasy points, setting career highs in all but the yardage category. He scored five touchdowns and has increased his total in that category (by exactly one) each season in the league. Pitts did a big chunk of his damage with Kirk Cousins under center (some with WR Drake London sidelined), which is notable as Tua Tagovailoa and Michael Penix Jr. are set to battle for the Atlanta QB job. There’s some obvious risk here considering Pitts finished 17th or lower in PPG three straight seasons before 2025, but he nonetheless enters his age-25 season as a priority target in the Atlanta offense. Consider him a midrange TE1.
Fannin is a rising star at the tight end position after overcoming the presence of David Njoku and a quarterback merry-go-round to produce a 72-731-6 receiving line (plus 7-13-1 rushing) as a 21-year-old rookie last season. The third-round pick’s 108 targets rank eighth all time by a rookie tight end, and he finished no lower than eighth at the position in catches, yards, touchdowns and fantasy points last season. Fannin figures to see some touchdown regression (seven TDs, 3.8 expected, three end zone targets) and Cleveland still has quarterback question marks, but with Njoku gone, Fannin has a path to improve a bit on what was already a healthy 22% target share. He’s a solid TE1 target.
LaPorta has settled in as one of the league’s top tight ends, but the 2023 second-round pick simply hasn’t been able to match the fantasy success he enjoyed as a rookie. Since posting an 86-889-10 receiving line in 17 games that first season, LaPorta has totaled a 100-1,215-10 line in 25 games over the past two seasons. LaPorta’s 2025 campaign was cut short by a back injury, otherwise he was well on his way to his third straight top-10 fantasy campaign (he finished seventh in PPG). The 25-year-old joins Amon-Ra St. Brown, Jameson Williams and Jahmyr Gibbs as the clear “Core Four” targets in a good, pass-friendly Detroit offense, and is thus a solid fantasy TE1.
Goedert enters the 2026 season as the poster boy for inevitable touchdown regression to the mean. After scoring 24 touchdowns in his first seven seasons (3.4 per year), Goedert inexplicably leaped to 11 scores in 15 games in 2025. Goedert’s expected TD total was 5.1, and he saw only five end zone targets (12 tight ends saw more). Goedert is a solid fantasy tight end — he has finished 12th or better in PPG each of the past seven seasons — but he often misses games (at least two in each of the past six years) and has never finished in the top eight at the position in targets or catches. The 31-year-old is likely to deliver fringe-TE1 numbers in 2026.
Kelce re-signed with the Chiefs and is returning for what might be his final NFL season. The veteran tight end’s days as an elite producer are behind him, and he saw a notable dip in usage last season (19.6% target share was his lowest since 2014). Kelce did hold up for 17 games and still finished in the top 10 at the position in snaps, routes, targets, catches, yards and fantasy PPG. Kelce has reeled off 10 consecutive top-five fantasy campaigns despite not offering much in the scoring department (he hasn’t cleared five TDs in a season since 2022). The 36-year-old’s role could dip even further this season, so he’s best valued as a fringe TE1.
Ferguson has emerged as a reliable target for Dak Prescott in the high-scoring Dallas offense, which has led to solid fantasy production. Ferguson, who has handled a 17% target share each of the past three seasons, is fresh off a career year in which he ranked third among tight ends in receptions, touchdowns and end zone targets (10). His nine top-12 fantasy weeks tied for second. The 27-year-old’s role as a short-range target (4.7 aDOT last season) limits his yardage upside, but he sees just enough work, including near the goal line, to allow fringe-TE1 production. Don’t call him “Joke Farterson” (“Fantasy Football Now” fans know); Ferguson has a decent shot to earn his third top-10 fantasy campaign in his past four seasons.
It’s been a rough go for Hockenson since he peaked with a 95-960-5 receiving line in 2023. He tore an ACL in Week 16 that season and was limited to a 41-455-0 receiving line upon his return in 10 games in 2024. A bounce-back was expected in 2025, but Hockenson handled a weak 16% target share (his lowest since he was a rookie in 2019) and couldn’t overcome the team’s QB woes en route to a 51-438-3 showing. Hockenson has now followed four straight top-seven fantasy PPG seasons with finishes of 17th and 26th. The 29-year-old could very well get back on track in 2026, but he’ll need solid play from either Kyler Murray or J.J. McCarthy. Hockenson is a fringe TE1.
One of fantasy’s biggest mysteries, Andrews’ usage has dipped substantially over the past two seasons. After finishing in the top five in fantasy PPG five seasons in a row from 2019 to 2023, Andrews slipped to eighth in 2024 (it would’ve been much worse if not for 11 touchdowns on 68 targets) and fell even further to 24th last season. Andrews appeared in all 17 of Baltimore’s games but ranked 18th among tight ends in targets and outside the top 20 in catches and yards. The combination of a new coaching staff, a healthy Lamar Jackson and the departure of Isaiah Likely could lead to a rebound season for Andrews, but we now have two straight seasons of underperformance. The 31-year-old remains a force near the goal line (top 10 in end zone targets seven years in a row), but he’s now more of a bench flier than a reliable TE1.
Kraft’s steady career progression had him on the cusp of a full-on breakout last season, but all was derailed by a torn ACL in Week 9. Prior to the injury, Kraft had seen 10 targets in consecutive games, one of which included a career-high 33.3 fantasy points. Through Week 8, only Jake Ferguson had more fantasy points. Granted, Kraft was way over his head in the TD department (six TDs with an expected total of 1.8 and only two end zone targets), but his boost in usage and terrific RAC skills (he has led the position in the category each of his three seasons) were enough to get him into the weekly TE1 mix. Kraft’s recovery will need to be monitored, but even if he’s ready for Week 1, a dip in production is possible in his first year back from the major injury. He’s a risky middle-round target.
Kittle is undoubtedly among the best tight ends in the NFL and fantasy, but he simply can’t dodge the injury bug. The 2017 fifth-round pick has played one full season (2018) and tore an Achilles in the team’s wild-card victory after missing six regular-season games last season. Kittle is likely to miss at least one month to open the season and, now at 32 years old, might not be his usual, dominant self even when he returns. Kittle has finished sixth or better in fantasy PPG in each of the past eight seasons (including first in 2024), so he’s worth a late-round flier, especially if you have an available IR slot.