Top-5 TEs
These 5 TEs have the best situations to boost your fantasy team this year.
#5: Tyler Warren (IND)
After a sensational rookie campaign, Warren steps into 2026 as an unquestioned focal point of Indy's passing game.
Finished as the overall fantasy TE4 and 9th in PPG (11.1) with 76 receptions for 817 yards and 5 total touchdowns as a rookie.
With Michael Pittman Jr. traded away, Warren has an open path to becoming the primary target for the Colts' passing attack.
He ranked 3rd among TEs in targets (112) and 2nd in Yards After Catch (474), establishing himself as a high-floor volume sponge and explosive post-catch producer.
With a first-round pedigree and a clear QB1 in Daniel Jones (whose return drove 61.7 yards per game compared to just 29 when he was out), Warren has every ingredient to take another leap in 2026.
#4: Harold Fannin Jr. (CLE)
Cleveland's offense was a wasteland in 2025, but Fannin still produced… and now the leash is off.
David Njoku's free agency departure cements Fannin as the undisputed No. 1 tight end for 2026, after he'd already pushed Njoku out of his role during the second half of his rookie year.
New HC Todd Monken is overhauling an "ultra-conservative" 2025 system that ranked 31st in passing yards into a high-potential, explosive rookie-heavy offense.
He still finished as the fantasy TE6 overall and 7th in PPG (11.7) as a 21-year-old rookie, ranking 2nd among TEs in target rate (25.5%)… proof he was the "clear top option" whenever he was on the field.
A clean target share plus a competent offense for the first time in his career makes Fannin a real breakout candidate, and he's not even the most efficient rookie TE on this list. That distinction belongs to someone ranked just ahead of him.
#3: Colston Loveland
Loveland's rookie season started slow but ended as a preview of true TE1 upside.
He exploded for a 47-597-6 line over his final 10 games, finishing as the overall TE12 as a rookie despite the slow start.
With DJ Moore traded to Buffalo, Loveland is expected to lead the team in targets, backed by established trust with Caleb Williams.
His playoff performance was a statement: an 8-137-0 line on 15 targets in the Wild Card win over Green Bay signaled his arrival as a top-tier weapon.
With HC Ben Johnson (the architect of Sam LaPorta's TE1 rookie year) staying in Chicago and promoting Press Taylor to OC to keep the scheme intact, Loveland has the system continuity to make him a true breakout TE1 candidate in 2026.
#2: Brock Bowers (LV)
Even battling injury for most of 2025, Bowers was nearly unstoppable… and his QB situation just got a major upgrade.
He finished 2025 with 14.7 fantasy points per game (2nd) despite missing 5 games.
His red zone dominance was unmatched: 40.5% red zone target share (1st among TEs) on 17 red zone targets in just 12 games.
The Raiders are all-in on upgrading the passing attack, having drafted QB Fernando Mendoza #1 overall and signed veteran Kirk Cousins to replace Geno Smith and Kenny Pickett.
Healthy and playing through what was reportedly a PCL injury and bone bruise before going on IR in Week 17 to be 100% for 2026, Bowers' ceiling (a 12-127-3 line on a 40% target-per-route rate in his Week 9 return) makes him a legitimate TE1 overall threat.
#1: Trey McBride (ARI)
McBride didn't just lead tight ends in 2025, he rewrote the record book, and that’s why I’m keeping him in the top spot for 2026.
He was the overall fantasy TE1, setting the NFL single-season record for TE receptions (126), while playing all 17 games and earning First-Team All-Pro honors, outscoring the next best TE by over 100 fantasy points on the season.
He led all TEs in every major category: targets (169), receptions (126), yards (1,239), TDs (11), and fantasy points per game (18.6).
His connection with Jacoby Brissett is the engine behind it all (97 catches, 964 yards, and 10 TDs across 12 Brissett starts), and with Brissett back in Arizona on a bridge deal as the projected 2026 starter, that production should carry directly into the new season.
With a rebuilding Cardinals team projected for just 3-4 wins, the frequent game-script deficits should keep the passing volume, and McBride's target share, flowing all season long.
That wraps up the Top-10 TE countdown: from Warren's breakout potential to McBride's record-setting floor, this group has it all in 2026.
-Joe