2026 Fantasy Football: Top 18 Tight Ends Rankings

After two months of NFL research and a couple of weeks of team and player projections, it’s time to put some secondary opinions on each position. Over the next couple of weeks, I’ll breakdown the QBs, RBs, WRs, and TEs positions by groups of 12, with quick-hitting bullet points, NFFC ADPs (range – 7/7 to 7/21), and my initial rankings.

2026 Fantasy Football Cheat Sheet, Depth Charts, and Projections (Link Below):

2026 Fantasy Football Cheat Sheet, Depth Charts, and Projections (Google Sheet)

Fantasy Football Paydirt (Website)

I left the Google Sheet behind the paywall until I know where I stand for work in the fantasy market. To view the cheat sheet, a request is required.

My 120-player journey is now complete. The tight end image below is from my last projection update, not the rankings I started with in mid-July. The player pool remains fluid as the days click off the calendar in August.

· Over the past three seasons, Andrews averaged 4.5 targets per game, which was well below his peak in 2021 (nine per game – 7.5 in 2022).

· He has a floor of five scores over the past seven years, giving him 54 touchdowns over his last 105 games.

· Andrews comes off his worst season (48/422/5 on 70 targets) despite not missing a game. He gained only 8.8 yards per catch.

· Baltimore had him in the field for 62.1% of their snaps.

· The Ravens lost Isaiah Likely and Charlie Kolar in the offseason, suggesting a rebound in targets for Andrews.

Question Marks:

· At age 31, his ceiling is no longer impactful despite still having a reasonable scoring floor.

· Baltimore has a new head coach and offensive coordinator, inviting a change in direction in the Ravens’ passing game.

Conclusion: Investing in players with fading resumes tends to be a losing equation, especially after the age of 30. The changes in the tight end position for Baltimore in the offseason suggest a rebound in targets in 2026. The Ravens signed Andrews to a three-year contract extension last December for $39.3 million ($26 million guaranteed), which shows their confidence in him. I expected a rebound in fantasy value, putting Andrews in the upside TE2 category this draft season.

· Johnson was the second option in the Saints’ passing game last year, leading to career highs in catches (77), receiving yards (889), and targets (103).

· He finished 8th in PPR scoring (183.90) last year, with a floor of 10.00 fantasy points in 10 starts.

· The end zone has been elusive over the past two seasons (six touchdowns over 34 starts, which was tied to the Saints delivering only 39 passing scores over this span.

· His yards per catch (11.5) was a three-year high.

· Johnson is, in essence, a big wide receiver (6’4” and 230 lbs.) playing the tight end position.

Question Marks:

· New Orleans ranked 28th in scoring (306 points) last year,

· Tyler Shough played better than I expected over the back half of last year, but what is his ceiling in the NFL at age 27 (on 9/28) in his sophomore season in the league?

· Will incoming rookie wideout (Jordyn Tyson) steal some of Johnson’s targets?

Conclusions: Johnson was a waiver win last year for the game managers who bought him after flashing in Week 1 (8/76 on 12 targets). Over his final 14 starts, he had five targets or fewer in nine matchups, painting more risk than reward when adding another talented wide receiver to the Saints’ offense. The key to his ceiling in 2026 is adding more touchdowns to his stat sheet, which starts with better quarterback play.

· Flash over four games midseason (7/68, 7/164/1, 5/77/1, and 5/68 on 27 combined targets), but defenses seemed to catch up with Gadsden across his final nine starts (29/241/1 on 34 targets).

· His catch rate (71.0%) and yards per catch rate (13.6) invite more chances.

· Two productive years (61/969/6 and 73/946/7) on his college resume.

· Los Angeles has a new offensive coordinator, creating an offensive buzz this summer.

Question Marks:

· Gadsden was an easy player to over-project in 2026 based on his potential. Unfortunately, the Chargers upgraded their tight end depth, suggesting more competition for targets.

· Possible peak/valley output if game flow doesn’t break right.

Conclusion: Gadsden brings breakout upside with a value price point, but he can’t develop into a top-10 tight end option without a better opportunity. His progression suggests a winning BestBall player this year, and his ceiling could be much higher than most expect if the Chargers air the ball out in 2026. Call me intrigued, and his rookie resume (49/664/3 on 69 targets) translates well when removing his two missed games and four outcomes with only one catch (1/14, 1/27, 1/7, and 1/7).

· Likely has natural ties to the Ravens’ coaching staff that is now in charge of running the Giants’ offense.

· Over the past four years, Baltimore ranked well in tight end production (82/1,042/12, 106/1,281/18, and 83/857/8).

· New York paid Likely $40 million in the offseason for three seasons.

· High-volume potential, after working as a TE2 for the Ravens over the past four years. His catch rate (75.0%) in 2025 commands more targets.

Question Marks:

· Likely scored under 10.00 PPR fantasy points in 12 of his 14 games last season, which included three zero outcomes.

· Theo Johnson is a better player than most will see, which will cap Likely’s ceiling in some weeks.

· The Giants have a running quarterback, similar to Lamar Jackson, and a high-volume WR1, leaving fewer targets for New York’s remaining receiving options.

Conclusion: Likely checks a lot of upside boxes with his move to New York, but he still needs New York to throw the ball well over 500 times to his fantasy floor and ceiling. He projects as the Giants’ number two option in the passing game, in an offense that doesn’t throw many balls to the running back position. He has too much hype to be considered a sleeper, as many fantasy drafters will fight for him due to his breakout upside.

· Over two seasons with Drake Maye behind center, Henry produced two top-12 tight end seasons (66/674/2 – 11th and 60/768/7 – 9th).

· He scored over 10.00 PPR fantasy points in eight of his 17 starts last year, with two highlight games (8/90/2 and 7/115/1).

· Henry had two catches or fewer in eight of his 21 games (including the postseason).

· Henry comes off a career high in yards per catch (12.8).

Question Marks:

· New England improved their receiving options at wide receiver, along with an upgrade by drafting a young, upside tight end.

· Henry starts 2026 at age 31.

Conclusion: Henry has a long second-tier tight end resume, but plenty of experience and chemistry with Drake Maye. I don’t view him as a lock to be a every week fantasy starter, which invites some mistake lineup decisions. His value would be helped greatly by New England upping their passing attempts.

· Over his past seven seasons, Goedert has never played a full slate of games.

· He comes off a career high touchdowns (11), thanks to the Eagles’ offense running more gimmick scoring plays at the goal line at the expense of the tuch push.

· From 2020 to 2024, Goedert reached paydirt 15 times across 62 matchups.

· He scored over 10.00 fantasy points in nine of his 15 games, highlighted by two impact games (9/110/1 and 6/70/2).

Question Marks:

· New offensive coordinator (Sean Mannion) should look to reestablish the Eagles’ run game while looking to beat defenses deeper downfield.

· Players coming off career highs in touchdowns rarely repeat.

· Injuries have cost Goedert a more impactful NFL career.

· Last year, he averaged 5.5 targets per game.

Conclusion: The body of work for Goedert paints a higher ceiling, but his opportunity has never been elite in any season in the NFL, highlighted by him never having more than 87 targets in any season. He brings a top-10 tight end profile if he can stay on the field for 17 games. I prefer to roster him as an upside TE2 rather than fight for him based on last year’s success in scoring.

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Jul 29

After two months of NFL research and a couple of weeks of team and player projections, it’s time to put some secondary opinions on each position. Over the next couple of weeks, I’ll breakdown the QBs, RBs, WRs, and TEs positions by groups of 12, with quick-hitting bullet points, NFFC ADPs (range – 7/7 to 7/21), and my initial rankings.