TE Targets
It’s the position that confounds your league mates. Let’s look at 5 great candidates to draft and why they will work.
#5: Isaiah Likely (NYG)
Likely heads into 2026 as the clear top receiving weapon at tight end in New York, reunited with the coach who unlocked him in Baltimore.
Signed a 3-year, $40M contract with the Giants, reuniting with former Ravens HC John Harbaugh
Ranked 6th among all tight ends in target separation (2.27 yards) in 2025
Path to targets is clear: former Giants TE Daniel Bellinger and slot weapon Wan’Dale Robinson left for Tennessee, leaving Likely as the primary receiving threat at the position. Theo Johnson is second on the depth chart.
With the Giants' schedule projecting as the 2nd-easiest for tight ends in 2026, Likely has a clean runway for a real breakout.
#4: Tucker Kraft (GB)
Kraft was humming as a top-five fantasy tight end before a torn ACL cut his season short, and everything suggests he's picking up right where he left off.
Was the overall fantasy TE4 on a points-per-game basis before tearing his ACL in Week 9
Led all qualified tight ends in yards after catch per reception (9.1), the league's premier YAC producer
Publicly stated he expects to be a full go for Week 1… even though he could play limited snaps to start the season.
A dip in his early-season workload is possible as he ramps back up, but the per-play dominance that made him a breakout name never actually went away… it was just interrupted.
#3: Colston Loveland (CHI)
Loveland spent his rookie year building chemistry with Caleb Williams before an explosive final stretch put the league on notice.
Exploded for a 47-597-6 line over his final 10 games, finishing as the overall TE12 as a rookie
As part of an impressive young trio along with Rome Odunze and Luther Burden, he’s a real candidate to lead the team in targets after Chicago traded WR DJ Moore to Buffalo
Posted a monster 8-137-0 line on 15 targets in the Wild Card win over Green Bay
With HC Ben Johnson staying in Chicago, the infrastructure for a Year 2 leap is already in place.
#2: Dalton Kincaid (BUF)
Kincaid quietly produced some of the best per-play numbers at the position in 2025, all while playing through a torn PCL that limited his workload the entire year.
Ranked 1st among all NFL tight ends in yards per route run (3.02) and yards per target (11.7)
Bills promoted OC Joe Brady to Head Coach, and Brady's system is built around a higher-flying, aggressive passing attack
Set a career high with 5 touchdowns in 2025, scoring in both the Wild Card and Divisional playoff rounds
If the knee cooperates, the efficiency profile already points to a true TE1 ceiling in Buffalo's retooled offense.
#1: Tyler Warren (IND)
Warren enters Year 2 with his top target competition cleared out and an offense already built to feed him early and often.
Finished as the overall fantasy TE4 as a rookie, hauling in 76 catches for 817 yards and 5 total touchdowns
Michael Pittman Jr.'s trade to Pittsburgh clears Warren's path to become the Colts' primary passing-game target. The Keenan Allen signing complicates things, but Alec Pierce isn’t ready to start the year.
Ranked 3rd among tight ends in total targets (112) and finished 2nd at the position in yards after catch (474)
Per Reception Perception, Warren is already a higher-priority target earner (21.1%) than Indy's perimeter receivers, and now there's nothing standing between him and the volume to match.
That's the list. Five tight ends worth building your roster around, each backed by the numbers behind the name.
-Joe