- Trey McBride and Brock Bowers lead the pack: The star tight ends will be drafted in the second rounds of redraft leagues this season.
- A strong sophomore class: Three tight ends enjoyed exceptionally successful rookie seasons in 2025 and landed among the top seven tight ends for 2026.
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It's an exciting time for tight ends in the NFL. Trey McBride and Brock Bowers appear poised to lead the position for the next decade, while a promising sophomore class that includes Colston Loveland, Harold Fannin Jr. and Tyler Warren has already produced multiple fantasy starters.
The league's increasing reliance on 12 and 13 personnel has also created more opportunities at the position. With more tight ends seeing the field on a regular basis, the path to fantasy relevance has widened, allowing new breakout candidates to emerge each season.
These rankings are specifically for redraft leagues, with the tight ends broken down by tier.
Last updated: Wednesday, August 5
Tier 1
1. Trey McBride, Arizona Cardinals
McBride had a historically great 2025, setting a new single-season record for receptions by a tight end and averaging 18.6 PPR points per game, sixth among all receivers. Much of that was a product of circumstance: Arizona attempted a league-high 649 passes after losing its top two running backs in September and seeing five of its top eight wide receivers end the year on injured reserve. The good news is that Jacoby Brissett, who averaged a remarkable 21.1 PPR points per game over his 12 starts, remains the expected starter, and a more balanced offense under new head coach Mike LaFleur should mean more red zone trips. The biggest worry is Brissett's ongoing contract holdout, since any replacement almost certainly won't feed McBride at the same rate.
2. Brock Bowers, Las Vegas Raiders
Bowers averaged at least 14.5 receiving PPR points per game in each of the last two seasons despite the Raiders posting the third-worst team PFF passing grade in the league over that span, a feat none of the other nine players to hit that threshold accomplished with a team passing grade in the bottom 12. The top tight ends warrant high rankings in both redraft and dynasty because 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 sit above 90.0 in PFF receiving grade over the last two years, with no one else clearing 85.0 on over 50 targets. Kittle is working back from a torn Achilles, making McBride and Bowers the clear top two for now. The Raiders overhauled their roster around Bowers this offseason, adding head coach Klint Kubiak, quarterback Kirk Cousins and receiver Jalen Nailor. While the changes introduce some uncertainty, most of them point in a positive direction.
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