- Trey McBride and Brock Bowers lead the pack: Both tight ends will likely be second-round picks in redraft leagues this season.
- A strong sophomore class: Four tight ends posted strong rookie seasons in 2025 and landed among the top 12 tight ends for 2026.
- 2026 NFL Draft season is here: Try the best-in-class PFF Mock Draft Simulator and learn about 2026's top prospects while trading and drafting for your favorite NFL team.
The bulk of free agency has concluded, with minimal movement at tight end. Isaiah Likely joined the New York Giants, Chig Okonkwo signed with the Washington Commanders, and several backup options also changed teams. That means many of the tight ends who performed well last season are expected to do so again this year.
This article ranks the top 40 redraft tight ends in PPR leagues and includes players from the upcoming draft class, including Kenyon Sadiq, who is expected to be a first-round pick, along with several players projected to be selected in the third round of the NFL Draft.
Analysis for the top five players can be found at the bottom of the article.
Last updated: 5 a.m. Thursday, April 23
| Rank | Name | Team | Tier |
| 1 | Trey McBride | Cardinals | 1 |
| 2 | Brock Bowers | Raiders | 1 |
| 3 | Colston Loveland | Bears | 2 |
| 4 | Sam LaPorta | Lions | 2 |
| 5 | Harold Fannin Jr. | Browns | 2 |
| 6 | Tucker Kraft | Packers | 2 |
| 7 | Tyler Warren | Colts | 2 |
| 8 | George Kittle | 49ers | 2 |
| 9 | Kyle Pitts Sr. | Falcons | 2 |
| 10 | Oronde Gadsden | Chargers | 3 |
| 11 | Dalton Kincaid | Bills | 3 |
| 12 | Travis Kelce | Chiefs | 3 |
| 13 | Kenyon Sadiq | Rookie | 3 |
| 14 | Mark Andrews | Ravens | 3 |
| 15 | Jake Ferguson | Cowboys | 4 |
| 16 | Isaiah Likely | Giants | 4 |
| 17 | Juwan Johnson | Saints | 4 |
| 18 | Dallas Goedert | Eagles | 4 |
| 19 | Hunter Henry | Patriots | 4 |
| 20 | Brenton Strange | Jaguars | 4 |
| 21 | T.J. Hockenson | Vikings | 4 |
| 22 | Dalton Schultz | Texans | 4 |
| 23 | A.J. Barner | Seahawks | 4 |
| 24 | Chig Okonkwo | Commanders | 4 |
| 25 | Cade Otton | Buccaneers | 5 |
| 26 | Pat Freiermuth | Steelers | 5 |
| 27 | Terrance Ferguson | Rams | 5 |
| 28 | Greg Dulcich | Dolphins | 5 |
| 29 | Eli Stowers | Rookie | 5 |
| 30 | Colby Parkinson | Rams | 5 |
| 31 | Mason Taylor | Jets | 5 |
| 32 | Max Klare | Rookie | 6 |
| 33 | Gunnar Helm | Titans | 6 |
| 34 | Mike Gesicki | Bengals | 6 |
| 35 | Evan Engram | Broncos | 6 |
| 36 | Sam Roush | Rookie | 6 |
| 37 | Jake Tonges | 49ers | 6 |
| 38 | Michael Trigg | Rookie | 6 |
| 39 | Daniel Bellinger | Titans | 6 |
| 40 | David Njoku | Free Agent | 6 |
1. Trey McBride, Arizona Cardinals
McBride has a historically great 2025, setting a new single-season record for receptions by a tight end. He averaged 18.6 PPR points per game, sixth among wide receivers. He scored over 100 more points than the next-best tight end.
There is significant room for regression for McBride in 2026 and beyond. Arizona attempted a league-high 649 passes last season. Its defense allowed the fourth-most points at 488. Arizona lost its top two running backs in September in James Conner and Trey Benson, leading Arizona to stray away from the run game for most of the season. Among Arizona’s top eight wide receivers on the active roster and practice squad from the start of the season, five ended the season on injured reserve. Another two were Xavier Weaver and Tejhaun Palmer, who combined for less than 100 receiving yards, leaving Michael Wilson as the only notable healthy wide receiver. This helped McBride maintain an exceptionally high target rate.
Despite the regression, McBride remains the top tight end. The Cardinals retained Jacoby Brissett as their lead quarterback, which is a large factor in McBride keeping the top spot. McBride averaged a ridiculous 21.1 PPR points per game over Brissett’s 12 starts last season. He averaged 8.1 receptions for 80.3 yards and 0.8 touchdowns per game. Arizona’s only significant additions among skill players were wide receiver Kendrick Bourne and running back Tyler Allgeier, and neither of them should have a significant impact on McBride’s target rate.
2. Brock Bowers, Las Vegas Raiders
There have been 10 players to average at least 14.5 receiving PPR points per game each of the last two seasons, and two of those players are tight ends. Bowers is one of the players to accomplish this despite the Raiders earning a 57.0 team passing grade over the last two seasons, third-worst among teams. None of the other nine receivers accomplished this with a team passing grade in the bottom 12.
The top tight ends are worthy of being ranked here because we can be more confident these tight ends will still be elite fantasy options in a few years from now than any of the running backs or wide receivers not already listed. There is a higher correlation between fantasy points and PFF grades at tight end than at other positions. Bowers, Trey McBride and George Kittle all have 90.0-plus PFF receiving grades over the last two seasons. No tight end has over 50 targets and a grade between 85.0-90.0, leaving a very large gap between those three tight ends and everyone else. Kittle is expected to miss at least the start of the season due to injury, leaving McBride and Bowers as the clear top two.
Similar to McBride, the Raiders moved on from their coaching staff. Bowers will have a new quarterback in Kirk Cousins or Fernando Mendoza, which will ideally be an improvement. The Raiders' only addition of a skill player was Vikings wide receiver Jalen Nailor. We can expect the Raiders to add to their wide receiver and running back rooms in the draft. If they don’t, and the Cardinals add a wide receiver early, it’s possible that Bowers can move to the top spot.
3. Colston Loveland, Chicago Bears
Loveland was the rare tight end to be selected among the first 10 picks of the NFL Draft. Loveland had a slow start to his career, finishing with 40 receiving yards or fewer in each of his first six games until he gained 118 yards on six receptions and two touchdowns against the Cincinnati Bengals.
He particularly excelled over the last four weeks of the season, including the playoffs. He received at least nine targets in each of those matchups, averaging 94 yards per game and scoring two touchdowns. He was the only tight end with four games with 90 or more yards this season, including the playoffs, while Trey McBride had three, and several had two.
His strong playoff performance led him to an 86.2 receiving grade on the season, which was the best grade among tight ends with at least 75 targets. Loveland should be able to build off the momentum of 2025, as the only tight end in the top five with both his quarterback and offensive playcaller returning for another season. Ideally, the continuity will help him stand out from the group.
4. Sam LaPorta, Detroit Lions
LaPorta led all tight ends in fantasy points during his 2023 rookie season. He’s remained among the top 10 in fantasy points per game in each of the last two seasons. While he hasn’t played like the elite tier of tight ends, he’s been the best tight end outside of that tier. His 86.9 PFF receiving grade over the last three seasons is fourth-best among tight ends.
LaPorta’s big problem has been his competition for targets. The Lions have Amon-Ra St. Brown and Jameson Williams at wide receiver in addition to Jahmyr Gibbs and David Montgomery at running back. LaPorta earned a target on 20.4% of his routes over the last three seasons, while the four other tight ends in the top five have 23% or higher rates.
The good news is, LaPorta’s target rate could change. The Lions added Drew Petzing as offensive coordinator. Petzing spent 2020-2022 with the Cleveland Browns, where the Browns' tight ends combined for the fourth-most targets, and 2023-2025 with the Arizona Cardinals, where Trey McBride had 57 more targets than any other tight end. It’s unclear how much Petzing will influence the offense compared to head coach Dan Campbell, but the Petzing addition should help LaPorta’s value rather than hurt it.
5. Harold Fannin Jr., Cleveland Browns
There are several options for the fifth spot, including Fannin and fellow sophomore tight end Tyler Warren, as well as veterans currently injured — such as George Kittle and Tucker Kraft — and Kyle Pitts, with a new coaching staff and potentially a new quarterback. There is more risk around the three veterans until we know when they will be able to play, as well as where Pitts will play.
Fannin takes the lead over Warren because he earned a better grade as a rookie and has less competition for touches. Fannin’s 76.4 receiving grade ranked fourth-best for tight ends with at least 100 targets last season, ahead of Warren’s 72.0 grade.
The Indianapolis Colts have Alec Pierce and Josh Downs as Warren’s primary competition for targets. Conversely, the only other Browns player to reach over 350 yards outside of Fannin was Jerry Jeudy. Both teams could target a wide receiver in the draft. Fannin’s ranking is based on the expectation that Cleveland selects one wide receiver early.
The gap between Fannin and the rest of the tight ends widened when the Browns hired Todd Monken as head coach. Monken has spent the last decade as offensive coordinator for the Tampa Bay Buccaneers, Cleveland Browns, Georgia Bulldogs and Baltimore Ravens. In some stops, he’s had great tight ends like Brock Bowers and Mark Andrews, but his other tight end rooms weren’t as strong. Regardless, his three NFL teams ranked among the top four in touchdowns to tight ends, while Georgia had the seventh-most in the Power Five during his time there. Having Monken will help ensure Fannin is a major part of the offense, even if they add significant reinforcements at wide receiver.
The biggest concern for Fannin is if the Browns heavily invest at tight end in the draft. Monken frequently used 12 personnel with the Ravens, so a mid-round tight end is likely. However, if they draft one in the first or second round, that player could take playing time away from Fannin.
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