TE projections.

Machine learning tight end projections for 2026 fantasy football, built on ElasticNet models trained on 16 seasons (2010-2025) of NFL data with advanced metrics from Next Gen Stats and PFR.

#	Player	Tm	Age	Rec	Yds	TD	QB	Proj Pts
1	Trey McBride	ARI	27	80	910	6.2	Jacoby Brissett	248.1
2	Brock Bowers	LVR	24	62	692	4.2	Geno Smith	215.0
3	Tyler Warren	IND	24	63	700	4.0	Daniel Jones	196.5
4	Colston Loveland	CHI	22	52	582	4.9	Caleb Williams	196.3
5	Harold Fannin	CLE	22	63	704	4.2	Shedeur Sanders	185.5
6	Kyle Pitts	ATL	26	56	612	4.1	Michael Penix	172.7
7	George Kittle	SFO	33	55	601	4.7	Brock Purdy	167.1
8	Tucker Kraft	GNB	26	58	696	5.0	Jordan Love	167.0
9	Sam LaPorta	DET	25	52	588	4.2	Jared Goff	161.5
10	Travis Kelce	KAN	37	58	635	4.2	Patrick Mahomes	151.9
11	Jake Ferguson	DAL	27	55	563	4.2	Dak Prescott	145.6
12	Dallas Goedert	PHI	31	51	547	4.4	Jalen Hurts	139.2
13	Dalton Kincaid	BUF	27	47	554	4.4	Josh Allen	134.0
14	Mark Andrews	BAL	31	50	549	3.9	Lamar Jackson	134.0
15	Isaiah Likely	NYG	26	41	456	3.1	Jaxson Dart	124.0
16	Oronde Gadsden II	LAC	23	44	498	4.1	Justin Herbert	122.8
17	Juwan Johnson	NOR	30	54	593	4.0	Tyler Shough	119.9
18	Chigoziem Okonkwo	WSH	27	50	534	3.1	Marcus Mariota	119.9
19	Zach Ertz	WAS	36	46	507	3.4	Marcus Mariota	118.1
20	Hunter Henry	NWE	32	55	617	4.6	Drake Maye	116.9
21	Brenton Strange	JAX	26	40	427	3.3	Trevor Lawrence	103.3
22	Dalton Schultz	HOU	30	55	576	4.2	C.J. Stroud	102.1
23	T.J. Hockenson	MIN	29	44	455	2.7	J.J. McCarthy	100.0
24	Darren Waller	MIA	34	34	382	3.5	Tua Tagovailoa	95.2
25	Kenyon Sadiq	NYJ	-	-	-	-	-	93.5
26	Pat Freiermuth	PIT	28	48	552	3.5	Aaron Rodgers	92.4
27	Jonnu Smith	PIT	31	40	382	2.0	Aaron Rodgers	90.4
28	AJ Barner	SEA	24	40	388	2.6	Sam Darnold	86.6
29	Cade Otton	TAM	27	54	575	3.8	Baker Mayfield	85.5
30	David Njoku	LAC	30	44	459	2.5	Justin Herbert	85.0
31	Terrance Ferguson	LAR	23	35	494	4.8	Matthew Stafford	81.4
32	Colby Parkinson	LAR	27	43	462	3.7	Matthew Stafford	77.6
33	Gunnar Helm	TEN	24	33	298	1.7	Cam Ward	67.3
34	Noah Fant	NOR	29	34	312	2.0	Tyler Shough	64.7
35	Luke Musgrave	GNB	26	21	169	1.6	Jordan Love	60.9
36	Adam Trautman	DEN	29	32	302	2.4	Bo Nix	58.6
37	Nate Boerkircher	JAX	-	-	-	-	-	57.7
38	Luke Schoonmaker	DAL	28	28	265	1.9	Dak Prescott	56.9
39	Max Klare	LAR	-	-	-	-	-	55.1
40	Marlin Klein	HOU	-	-	-	-	-	53.5
41	Jackson Hawes	BUF	26	32	347	3.2	Josh Allen	51.8
42	Austin Hooper	ATL	32	31	307	2.5	Michael Penix	50.5
43	Grant Calcaterra	PHI	28	23	192	1.6	Jalen Hurts	48.5
44	John FitzPatrick	GNB	26	22	154	1.0	Jordan Love	47.0
45	Eli Stowers	PHI	-	-	-	-	-	46.8
46	Drew Sample	CIN	30	30	248	0.8	Joe Burrow	45.8
47	Jeremy Ruckert	NYJ	26	28	227	1.0	Justin Fields	45.2
48	Brevyn Spann-Ford	DAL	27	22	200	2.0	Dak Prescott	44.0
49	Will Kacmarek	MIA	-	-	-	-	-	43.1
50	Luke Farrell	SFO	29	26	202	1.8	Brock Purdy	43.1
51	Mitchell Evans	CAR	23	26	210	1.4	Bryce Young	40.9
52	Will Dissly	LAC	30	23	170	1.0	Justin Herbert	40.6
53	Elijah Higgins	ARI	26	35	367	2.1	Jacoby Brissett	40.5
54	Mason Taylor	NYJ	22	42	405	2.3	Justin Fields	40.0
55	Davis Allen	LAR	25	32	304	2.5	Matthew Stafford	40.0
56	Evan Engram	DEN	32	42	397	2.8	Bo Nix	39.4
57	Cole Kmet	CHI	27	38	408	3.3	Caleb Williams	39.1
58	Theo Johnson	NYG	25	40	409	2.8	Jaxson Dart	38.9
59	Sam Roush	CHI	-	-	-	-	-	38.4
60	Oscar Delp	NOR	-	-	-	-	-	37.8
61	Dawson Knox	BUF	30	36	376	3.1	Josh Allen	37.8
62	Darnell Washington	PIT	25	35	396	2.1	Aaron Rodgers	37.3
63	Greg Dulcich	MIA	26	36	385	2.5	Tua Tagovailoa	37.1
64	Jake Tonges	SFO	27	36	337	2.7	Brock Purdy	36.6
65	Tommy Tremble	CAR	26	35	344	2.2	Bryce Young	35.2
66	Mike Gesicki	CIN	31	33	346	2.3	Joe Burrow	34.9
67	Brock Wright	DET	28	24	176	1.0	Jared Goff	34.8
68	Charlie Kolar	LAC	27	29	315	2.6	Justin Herbert	34.6
69	Tyler Higbee	LAR	33	30	290	2.5	Matthew Stafford	33.9
70	Tanner Hudson	CIN	32	28	250	1.6	Joe Burrow	33.3
71	Michael Mayer	LVR	25	33	328	1.4	Geno Smith	33.0
72	Mo Alie-Cox	IND	33	30	313	1.9	Daniel Jones	33.0
73	Ja'Tavion Sanders	CAR	23	31	277	2.0	Bryce Young	32.4
74	Ben Sinnott	WAS	24	28	298	2.1	Marcus Mariota	31.8
75	Elijah Arroyo	SEA	23	27	285	2.1	Sam Darnold	31.7
76	Charlie Woerner	ATL	29	26	200	1.1	Michael Penix	31.2
77	Noah Gray	KAN	27	29	273	1.6	Patrick Mahomes	30.9
78	Johnny Mundt	PHI	32	25	241	1.9	Jalen Hurts	30.7
79	Jack Endries	CIN	-	-	-	-	-	29.5
80	Jaren Kanak	TEN	-	-	-	-	-	29.5
81	Seydou Traore	MIA	-	-	-	-	-	29.1
82	Max Bredeson	MIN	-	-	-	-	-	28.6
83	Tanner Conner	NYG	28	21	206	1.6	Tua Tagovailoa	28.5
84	Dallen Bentley	DEN	-	-	-	-	-	28.5
85	Daniel Bellinger	TEN	26	25	251	1.7	Cam Ward	28.4
86	Tyler Conklin	DET	31	22	185	1.6	Jared Goff	27.9
87	Kylen Granson	TEN	28	21	179	1.8	Cam Ward	27.4
88	Eli Raridon	NWE	-	-	-	-	-	27.4
89	Josh Oliver	MIN	29	24	204	1.4	J.J. McCarthy	27.4
90	Josh Cuevas	BAL	-	-	-	-	-	27.3
91	Justin Joly	DEN	-	-	-	-	-	27.0
92	Cade Stover	HOU	26	23	161	1.3	C.J. Stroud	26.5
93	Stone Smartt	PHI	28	21	165	1.3	Jalen Hurts	25.8
94	John Bates	WAS	29	21	163	0.8	Marcus Mariota	25.7
95	Hunter Long	JAX	28	17	100	1.5	Trevor Lawrence	25.6
96	Foster Moreau	HOU	29	19	131	1.2	C.J. Stroud	25.4
97	Joe Royer	CLE	-	-	-	-	-	25.1
98	Carsen Ryan	CLE	-	-	-	-	-	25.1
99	Ian Thomas	LVR	30	21	166	0.5	Geno Smith	24.7
100	Quintin Morris	JAX	27	18	125	1.4	Trevor Lawrence	24.6
101	Julian Hill	NWE	26	24	222	1.3	Drake Maye	24.4
102	Taysom Hill	NOR	36	19	130	0.5	Tyler Shough	23.4
103	Bauer Sharp	TAM	-	-	-	-	-	23.2
104	Jack Stoll	CLE	28	16	79	0.5	Shedeur Sanders	21.9
105	Nate Adkins	DEN	27	12	47	0.8	Bo Nix	21.8
106	Tanner Koziol	JAX	-	-	-	-	-	17.4
107	Riley Nowakowski	PIT	-	-	-	-	-	13.6
108	Matthew Hibner	BAL	-	-	-	-	-	12.8
109	Anthony Firkser	DET	31	19	123	1.1	Jared Goff	0.0

Proj Pts is our 2026 projection: the model blended daily with live market ADP, so the order reflects both. Rec, Yds, and TD are the model's projected 2026 components; QB is the passer context it weighed. Dashes mark rookies and returning players priced from market data alone.

How we project tight end performance

Our TE projection model uses ElasticNet regression with QB context features similar to the WR model. Target share and QB quality are the primary drivers, as tight end fantasy production is heavily concentrated among a small number of elite players who command significant target shares.

The tight end position has the most severe positional scarcity in fantasy football. The drop-off from the TE1 to the TE6 is often larger in VBD terms than any other position, making elite TEs particularly valuable in TE-premium scoring formats.

Tight End projection FAQ

Who are the top fantasy tight ends for 2026?

According to our machine learning model trained on 16 seasons (2010-2025) of NFL data, the top 2026 fantasy tight ends are: 1. Trey McBride (ARI) with 248.1 projected fantasy points; 2. Brock Bowers (LVR) with 215.0 projected fantasy points; 3. Tyler Warren (IND) with 196.5 projected fantasy points; 4. Colston Loveland (CHI) with 196.3 projected fantasy points; 5. Harold Fannin (CLE) with 185.5 projected fantasy points.

When should I draft a tight end in 2026 fantasy football?

In standard leagues, wait until round 5+ unless an elite TE is available. The TE position has extreme scarcity, with a massive gap between the top 3–5 TEs and everyone else. In TE-premium leagues, top TEs are worth a round 2–3 pick.