Fantasy Football Tight End Busts: 3 TEs to Avoid at their ADPs in 2026
The tight end position doesn't feature many obvious busts this year, but these three players come with enough red flags to make fantasy managers think twice.
Let's wrap up the fantasy football draft bust/steal series by going over the tight end position. We have tight end busts to go.
Unlike some of the other stories in this series, there's a lack of options to truly identify as busts. I kept my list to top-100 drafted tight ends, and still struggled to come up with the three names I did. We'll discuss each tight end at length as to why I think they could be draft busts in 2026.
Here is the tight end draft steal article. Also be sure to check out the stories for quarterbacks (busts and steals), running backs (busts and steals) and wide receivers (busts and steals).
Fantasy football average draft position data can be found on FantasySP in the leadup to the 2026 NFL season! Conduct your fantasy football mock drafts through FantasySP too - you can now customize the scoring settings to tailor to your fantasy leagues!
Brock Bowers - Las Vegas Raiders
Bowers is the No. 2 fantasy tight end taken so far, behind only Trey McBride from the Arizona Cardinals. Bowers is going near pick 20 on average.
Bowers was limited to 12 games last season, and his numbers dropped in a big way in comparison to his rookie season in 2024. He did catch two more touchdowns in five less games played, so he salvaged a truly horrible fantasy season at least.
While there were some changes in Las Vegas this offseason, none of the moves actually hurt Bowers and his fantasy stock. He should still easily be the top target in the passing game.
The team brought in quarterbacks Kirk Cousins and Fernando Mendoza, and one of those guys should be better than what the Raiders trotted out there in 2025. That works in Bowers' favor.
So if Bowers can stay healthy in 2026, he could bounce back. So why do I have him as a possible draft bust? It's all about the ADP.
Going just a spot after McBride just seems too early for Bowers. I know he was great as a rookie, but there's still limitations in Vegas, and we also have some injury issues to be worrying about now.
I think Bowers will be a fine fantasy asset in 2026, but if you draft him near pick 20, I think he will end up going down as a draft bust. Getting him a round-plus later is a much better idea in my eyes. If you can't, I'd suggest looking elsewhere for a fantasy tight end in 2026, because Bowers' ADP is just too rich for my liking.
Colston Loveland - Chicago Bears
Loveland is the third tight end off draft boards, but going near pick 42 so far.
Loveland was fantasy TE12 a season ago. Between some natural progression in his second season, and some offseason moves working in Loveland's favor, most are expecting a big 2026 fantasy season from him.
Loveland had 713 yards and six scores over 58 receptions and 82 targets in his rookie year. Some improvement on that could help him be a top-end fantasy tight end.
However, I'm again hesitant because of that ADP. I can see Loveland finishing about that high by the end of the season, but that's about his ceiling.
It's not a great idea to be drafting players at their fantasy ceiling. You want to create room for them to surpass their draft slot, and I don't see a ton of room for that with Loveland going into 2026.
So unless he drops a round or two, I'm probably going to also skip Loveland, and instead grab a tight end later on, when the value is better or risks are lower.
George Kittle - San Francisco 49ers
Kittle is TE9 and sitting at pick 100 right now.
He tore his Achilles in the playoffs this past January, but is hoping to suit up right away in week 1. If you are drafting early, that's a huge risk to take, as he could end up being placed on the injured reserve list and missing a quarter, or more, of the season.
Kittle has injury concerns based on what we've seen over his career already. He was at 11 games last year, and missed time in most seasons in one fashion or another.
When healthy, Kittle can be an elite fantasy tight end, so it's the ultimate risk vs. reward when discussing drafting Kittle, especially right now. As the season nears, we might get a clearer picture of when Kittle will start playing.
With his injury issues and coming off this big injury, I am going to always be skeptical of taking Kittle. His ADP will rise in a big way if he's cleared for week 1 eventually, but there's still a ton of risk in taking Kittle. I'd definitely want another fantasy TE option if I take Kittle this year.
Anyways, I see Kittle being a possible draft bust candidate, even if his ADP sticks near pick 100 going into the year and he plays right away. There's injury risk, and the chance that the injury sapped away some of his talent and real-world upside.
We'll provide updates on Kittle, and all the big-name fantasy players who are battling injuries, throughout camp and the preseason, so be checking back to FantasySP for those articles.
