Fantasy Football Draftable Tight Ends: Draft Spots for McBride, Bowers, and More

In the past, tight end has been a fantasy position where one or two players really stand out, and everyone else is essentially the same in terms of fantasy value. Think about Rob Gronkowski or Travis Kelce clearly above the rest of the field; that's the case again this year.

We have two tight ends who are pretty much WR1 on their team, putting them in a different category from everyone else at the position. After that, there are guys with upside, some veterans with plenty of questions, and a big group that is mostly the same and fit better as streamers.

Let's look at the draftable fantasy tight ends based on preseason ADP trends from ESPN. The players are broken into tiers based on those ADP numbers, not my own analysis (and those draft spots are accurate as of August 23). Most stats are from NFL.com, and previous fantasy scores and rankings are from FantasyPros.

Make sure to check out the breakdown of draftable fantasy quarterbacks from last week.

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Cream of the Crop

• 18. Trey McBride, ARI
• 23. Brock Bowers, LV

The best way to think of these guys might be as true top receivers. Each player has led the position in PPR points in one of the past two seasons (Bowers in 2024, McBride last year) and has the ability to do it again in 2026. I can't argue with taking either of them in the second or third round.

The real advantage to McBride and Bowers is that they give you a huge boost over every fantasy team that doesn't have one of the stars. Sure, you'll miss out on a running back or receiver (or Josh Allen, who I recommend you skip anyway), but these tight ends will likely produce like an RB or WR many weeks, and the difference between their projected point totals and the middle of the pack is immense compared to the same difference at those other positions.

McBride has the slight advantage by ADP and the most recent big season, but these guys are very close, and you could make the argument for Bowers as the top player. It's more about your preference, though I'll take McBride by just a hair.

Young Budding Stars

• 40. Colston Loveland, CHI
• 45. Tyler Warren, IND

These two were both drafted in the first round in 2025 and made immediate impacts on their respective teams.

Warren started his rookie season hot: he ranked among the top-three tight ends in both standard and PPR through Week 7. He didn't reach double-digit standard points in any week after that, though, and was especially anonymous from Week 14 on, the time Daniel Jones missed with injury. He was seen as a top NFL draft pick for a reason, though, and Warren still finished the year in the top seven in both formats. It wouldn't be a surprise to see Warren rise to the next level, but until we see it, he's not on par with McBride and Bowers and might be a slight reach here.

Loveland finished as a top-12 TE in all formats, but he had the opposite season from Warren, starting slow and then having his best stretch from Week 9 on. It helped that his snaps increased around that time, as he played at least 75% of the snaps seven times beginning in Week 8. Veteran Cole Kmet is still around, but Loveland outdid him in every area last year, leading the Bears outright in receptions, yards, and touchdowns (tied). Like Warren, this might be a slight reach, but neither guy in this tier is a terrible pick.

Solid Starters

• 55. Kyle Pitts Sr., ATL
• 56. Sam LaPorta, DET
• 65. Harold Fannin Jr., CLE

Pitts had a career year and earned himself a nice contract, setting career highs in everything aside from receiving yards (he fell 98 short of his rookie total of 1,026). He finished as a top-three tight end in both formats, but that was partly driven by a huge Week 15: his 11 receptions, 166 yards, and three touchdowns accounted for 12.5% of his catches, 17.9% of his yards, and 60% of his scores on the season, along with more than 20% of his fantasy points. Pitts will probably be fine, but this is too high to draft a guy who had three straight poor seasons before 2025.

LaPorta missed the final eight games of last season with a back injury, and his status to start the season is questionable. He will likely be back early in the season even if he does miss the start, but there's risk of a lingering issue moving forward. He was way down in 2024 from his standout rookie season, and he was TE8 through 10 weeks last year before the injury; LaPorta is fine but probably brings too much risk for me in the sixth round.

Fannin burst onto the scene as a rookie after Cleveland took him in the third round, leading the Browns in receptions (72), receiving yards (731), and touchdowns (six). With Cleveland's receiving corps filled with potential but not much production, Fannin could be in line for another big season, though poor quarterback play might hinder his top end. This is a decent spot to draft the second-year tight end, though a little regression might be headed his way.

Veteran Class

• 82. Tucker Kraft, GB
• 86. Travis Kelce, KC
• 87. George Kittle, SF
• 88. Dallas Goedert, PHI

Here's where I see the most value among tight ends. There are a lot of questions, including injuries, age, or both, but there are big names here with a lot of fantasy success in the past.

Kraft suffered a torn ACL in Week 9, but he is on track to be ready to start the season, as he is practicing with the Packers. After a big jump between his first and second seasons, Kraft was on pace to set new career highs in everything again before getting hurt. There's always risk with a guy coming off a major injury, but Kraft could again be in line for big numbers; he was TE1 in standard and TE2 in PPR through Week 8.

We talked in the intro about Kelce being a former superstar; we don't need to rehash his portfolio. He was still a top-five TE in both formats last season, showing his mediocre work is still top-end tight end stuff. Now about to turn 37, we will keep expecting Kelce to fall off, but it hasn't fully happened yet. Kansas City's group of receivers is very suspect, especially with Rashee Rice continually popping up with issues, so Kelce will likely get a lot of looks from Patrick Mahomes. While obvious risks exist, I don't mind taking Kelce here if you miss the top guys.

My favorite tight end pick, though, is Kittle in the ninth round. Kittle was activated off the PUP list on Sunday and could play in Week 1, but even if he misses time early, he should be back within the first month after tearing his Achilles in the playoffs. It might take time for Kittle to reach top form, but this is a guy who lived as a top-five tight end for years before missing six-and-a-half games last season after an early injury. I'm grabbing Kittle in any mock draft in which I don't take McBride or Bowers.

Goedert's production had been slipping a little each year before a resurgence last year. That big 2025 was largely driven by 11 receiving touchdowns, though, more than double his previous career high. He also set a new high with 60 receptions, but that was in line with previous marks; Goedert was a top-10 tight end (TE2 in standard) because he kept finding the end zone at a rate that he never had come close to before. That is highly unlikely to repeat, and I don't like Goedert's outlook as a result.

Still Draftable

• 102. Jake Ferguson, DAL
• 112. Mark Andrews, BAL
• 117. Isaiah Likely, NYG
• 125. T.J. Hockenson, MIN
• 127. Dalton Kincaid, BUF
• 138. Kenyon Sadiq, NYJ
• 139. Hunter Henry, NE

This group makes 18 tight ends on our list; even though a few other guys who have had mild success in the past are also available (including Juwan Johnson of the Saints, Brenton Strange of the Jaguars, and Dalton Schultz of the Texans), I feel good about cutting off the list here, as those other guys are highly unlikely to break into the top 10 at the position unless they hit a touchdown spree (which does happen with somebody every year).

Everyone here is fairly similar from a fantasy perspective. There will be some big weeks but also plenty of disappointments; this is where playing streamers is your best bet. Andrews and Hockenson have had big seasons in the past, but both guys are several years removed from their best work. Ferguson, Kincaid, and Henry have all had solid stretches but top out as middling players.

Likely has a little intrigue as a guy moving into a top role after spending years behind Andrews, but we haven't ever seen him rise to another level, leaving him as more of a lottery ticket. Speaking of playing the lotto, Sadiq is interesting as a rookie first-round pick, the type of guy who has had success in the recent past (guys like LaPorta, Bowers, Loveland, and Warren since 2023). Do you want to count on a rookie joining the Jets' offense, though? I don't. Sadiq is a worthy flier if you're in a super-deep league or miss out on everyone ahead of him.