ThExiting the NFL Combine, we are digging into the 2026 fantasy rookie tight end tiers for Dynasty rookie drafts, startups, and seasonal formats.
Even before the NFL Draft in April, rookies are available in Best Ball formats across all platforms.
Now that the Combine has passed, we have a full picture of the athletic data on this incoming tight end class.
That information gets applied to athletic models and layered alongside production profiles to shape each prospect's complete portfolio.
We will add notes on those prospects as we receive additional athletic testing data from Pro Days.
However, athletic testing has a low correlation to actual fantasy output.
When it does, it is typically counted twice for a productive player.
But when a prospect has subpar athletic testing and a limited or nonexistent production resume, we are playing with fire when attempting to elevate or rely on that player for NFL production.
Post-draft, we’ll have the added influence of draft investment and landing spot to add to the layout.
The tight end position has received an injection of much-needed youth in recent seasons.
We have had a rookie tight end close the season as a TE1 scorer in four of the past five seasons.
The NFL landscape has not only seen more young tight ends enter the league in recent seasons, but the league as a whole has shifted to using the position more to counter the rise of defensive backs and the spike in shell coverages.
The past two seasons have seen the highest 12-personnel rates since tracking began.
In 2025, that rate was 22.2% of offensive snaps.
13 personnel was used at a season-high 5.2%.
Tight end target rates have risen from the year prior in each of the past four seasons.
In 2025, tight ends had their most collective receptions per game (5.3) in the 2000s.
The 53.3 receiving yards per game from tight ends were the second most in a year in the 2000s, trailing only 2015 (53.8).
The 0.42 receiving touchdowns per game from tight ends trails only 2013 (0.46) and 2020 (0.45) over that span.
The position is being used more frequently, and there is a clear emphasis on its importance to NFL teams amid the NFL's current shift.
A record 27 tight ends were invited to the NFL Combine this year.
The 2026 class has another objectively strong group of players who can make an immediate impact at the top.
Jump To:
- Tier 1 Rookie Tight Ends
- Tier 2 Rookie Tight Ends
- Tier 3 Rookie Tight Ends
- Tier 4 Rookie Tight Ends
- Tier 5 Rookie Tight Ends
- Fantasy Football Rankings
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2026 Tier 1 Rookie Tight Ends
Kenyon Sadiq, Oregon
Rookie Age*: 21.5
*Age on 9/1/26
Sadiq had his first full season of playing time after Terrance Ferguson left for the NFL, securing 51 receptions for 560 yards and 8 touchdowns as a true junior at Oregon this past season.
Sadiq is going to check a lot of boxes for many teams as a pass catcher.
The former 4-star recruit is a versatile player in the route tree, the youngest tight end in this class, and made noise at the NFL Combine with his athletic testing.
Sadiq has long been head and shoulders ahead of the field as TE1 throughout the start of the draft process, but his top-down profile is not as glowing as that of recent Round 1 picks at the position.
While Sadiq’s age-adjusted production is more than solid, he was not as completely dominant as some of the recent picks that have commanded premier draft capital.
Round 1 Tight Ends Over the Past 10 Years
| Player | Year | Draft | FY Age | Tgt/Rt% | YRR | RecGrade |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Colston Loveland | 2025 | 10 | 20.7 | 37.6% | 2.67 | 90.6 |
| Tyler Warren | 2025 | 14 | 22.6 | 30.5% | 2.78 | 93.4 |
| Brock Bowers | 2024 | 13 | 21.1 | 26.2% | 2.65 | 87.1 |
| Dalton Kincaid | 2023 | 25 | 23.2 | 25.2% | 2.41 | 91.8 |
| Kyle Pitts | 2021 | 4 | 20.2 | 27.5% | 3.26 | 96.1 |
| T.J. Hockenson | 2019 | 8 | 21.6 | 19.0% | 2.21 | 90.8 |
| Noah Fant | 2019 | 20 | 21.2 | 24.9% | 2.15 | 80.6 |
| Hayden Hurst | 2018 | 25 | 24.5 | 16.5% | 1.42 | 66.4 |
| O.J. Howard | 2017 | 19 | 22.1 | 17.0% | 1.81 | 69.1 |
| Evan Engram | 2017 | 23 | 22.3 | 25.8% | 2.59 | 80.5 |
| David Njoku | 2017 | 29 | 20.5 | 23.2% | 2.34 | 76.3 |
| Kenyon Sadiq | 2026 | TBD | 20.8 | 19.4% | 1.62 | 69.0 |
Comparing Sadiq to Round 1 tight ends over the past decade places him in fragile territory among the group.
Even if you apply any shade towards his receiving grade at Pro Football Focus, Sadiq is one of four tight ends here with a target rate per route below 20%, and he only clears Hayden Hurst in yards per route run.
Typically, we have seen these early-round tight end picks post silly production and control their passing games.
He was targeted on 19.4% of his routes (TE11 in this class) with 1.62 yards per route run (TE10).
He posted 1.15 yards per route run against man coverage (TE13) and 1.71 yards per route against zone coverage (TE13).
He also had a 10.5% drop rate (TE23).
Sadiq did not have a reception for longer than 30 yards last season, but he did lead the tight end class with 5 touchdowns on throws 20-plus yards downfield.
That is where things get interesting, and we can start to apply some context to why Sadiq did not go bonkers, given his complete profile.
A class-high 23.9% of his targets were at or behind the line of scrimmage, which accounted for 27.5% of his receptions (TE2 in this class).
Those targets near the line of scrimmage were on full display as the season wore on and Oregon began using Jamari Johnson as their field-stretching tight end.
Sadiq only posted 81 yards over the final four games, while Johnson put up 250 yards over that stretch.
Sadiq dealt with multiple injuries during the season that were never fully disclosed, but they had an impact following the Rutgers game.
He then outright missed the next week against Iowa, which Dan Lanning said was precautionary due to “lingering injuries,” but a game they nearly lost.
Sadiq did have two more good outings immediately after his return (8-96-1 and 6-72-2), but whatever injury he had had had an impact on his role for the rest of the season.
He went from averaging 14.5 yards per reception before missing time down to 8.5 yards per catch to close the season.
He went from 10.5 yards per target down to 6.2 yards per target to end the season.
His depth of target went from 8.5 air yards downfield to 6.4 yards downfield afterwards.
That applies some context to Sadiq’s end-of-the-season decline.
However, he still falls short of the Brock Bowers, Tyler Warren, Colston Loveland, and Kyle Pitts level of dominance we saw entering the league, which casts a raincloud on how bullish gamers may be with front-end fantasy capital.
Sadiq brought everyone back at the NFL Combine, where he put on a strong showing.
With a track background, Sadiq ran a 4.39 40-yard dash at 6-foot-3 and 241 pounds.
That was good for a 99th percentile weight-adjusted measurement at his position.
He also had a 43.5-inch vertical, which was, at the time, a new record for the position.
There is no doubt that Sadiq is a strong athlete, and his straight-line speed will have him elevated up draft boards.
I am going to go on a slight side mission here that is more encompassing, larger picture thoughts on the position, but it is relevant for Sadiq and this draft class that we will be referencing as we move through the rest of the players, so bear with me for a moment.
What is compelling about this tight end class is that, in bulk, the position is leaner and lighter.
With the NFL shifting toward more 12-personnel and a higher rate of running, we are now seeing the position's archetypes impact fantasy.
We have seen a rise in blocking-only tight ends who play only on run downs, receiving-centric tight ends who are restricted to passing downs, and a small handful of guys who can block and receive, which keeps them on the field.
We want the latter because those guys are the ones stacking more opportunities.
Fantasy points at tight end are more heavily correlated to routes run than they are at wide receiver.
The past five TE1 overall scores have also led the position in routes.
I wrote about this last year regarding Dalton Kincaid, T.J. Hockenson, and Evan Engram, among others.
The slot-dependent tight end has felt some squeeze in this era if their team does not believe they can contribute in the run game (which is why we were bullish on Tucker Kraft).
Players like Josh Oliver, Dawson Knox, and Adam Trautman, among others, are having an impact on their receiving teammates.
Especially if their teams are good and they play in more running game scripts.
The Goldilocks zone is right around that 250-pound mark.
If there is too large a swing on the heavier side, you are not utilized as a pass catcher.
Darnell Washington was the only tight end at 260-plus to log a top-40 fantasy season last year.
If you are too light, you run the risk of losing snaps in the run game.
We do not see many sub-250-pound tight ends playing regularly on run downs in the NFL.
We do not get points for run blocking, but removing that tight end from the field in those sets does dent the top-down route participation since no team is 100% run from those sets.
In fact, the under-center, play-action passing targets are the most valuable you can have.
Here are the top fantasy tight ends from 2025 and a handful of added tight ends who are of the same body type as Sadiq, paired with their usage rates.
| TE | Weight | Tm Run% On | Run% Off | Inline% | Route/DB% | PPR/Gm |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Trey McBride | 246 | 28.0% | 56.3% | 36.4% | 93.2% | 18.6 |
| Brock Bowers | 246 | 29.4% | 50.7% | 43.0% | 89.2% | 14.7 |
| George Kittle | 250 | 41.7% | 44.0% | 72.3% | 78.5% | 14.7 |
| Tucker Kraft | 259 | 43.9% | 49.9% | 70.8% | 75.2% | 14.7 |
| Kyle Pitts | 245 | 39.3% | 81.7% | 57.6% | 92.5% | 12.4 |
| Dallas Goedert | 256 | 40.7% | 54.4% | 53.8% | 84.5% | 12.3 |
| Sam LaPorta | 245 | 44.9% | 37.9% | 58.5% | 81.9% | 11.9 |
| Harold Fannin | 241 | 38.4% | 40.0% | 53.2% | 71.3% | 11.7 |
| Travis Kelce | 250 | 30.5% | 59.8% | 44.3% | 83.4% | 11.4 |
| Jake Ferguson | 244 | 27.9% | 61.9% | 49.2% | 72.8% | 11.1 |
| Tyler Warren | 256 | 37.1% | 62.9% | 51.6% | 83.6% | 11.1 |
| Juwan Johnson | 231 | 31.6% | 57.9% | 41.5% | 78.4% | 11.1 |
| Dalton Schultz | 242 | 30.2% | 69.1% | 63.3% | 77.5% | 10.5 |
| Dalton Kincaid | 240 | 28.5% | 57.1% | 34.5% | 49.8% | 10.5 |
| Hunter Henry | 249 | 37.8% | 60.9% | 63.3% | 75.2% | 10.5 |
| Colston Loveland | 241 | 39.6% | 49.0% | 57.3% | 63.8% | 10.3 |
| Darren Waller | 238 | 30.2% | 49.4% | 21.8% | 56.5% | 9.9 |
| Oronde Gadsden | 236 | 30.5% | 50.3% | 50.3% | 65.6% | 8.8 |
| TJ Hockenson | 248 | 32.1% | 59.3% | 57.4% | 80.9% | 7.5 |
| Evan Engram | 240 | 15.5% | 57.9% | 46.9% | 56.7% | 6.4 |
| Mike Gesicki | 245 | 17.2% | 42.3% | 6.3% | 48.6% | 5.4 |
*Route % is only in games played
You can quickly see the wide range of outcomes we are working with here and how much more these teams ran the football with these guys off the field.
Sam LaPorta is the only tight end here whose team ran more with him on the field than off the field.
Even rookies who were active in the run game, such as Colston Loveland and Tyler Warren, had trouble playing consistent snaps in the run game.
We want tight ends in the 70+% range and ideally close to 80+% to have a real shot at a front-end fantasy season.
The way to overcome being a limited blocker (not by talent, but team assessment) is to be a legitimate passing-game asset in an offense that is forced to pass.
This is the exact cocktail that happened for Trey McBride last season.
If you are on a lousy team, odds are that you will be running a lot of routes.
We have seen this with Harold Fannin last season (especially after David Njoku was injured and then jettisoned) and Brock Bowers the past two seasons.
Neither of those players is particularly active in the run game and has a similar body type to Sadiq, but they played on teams forced to throw more via game scripts.
Sadiq could just be as good a receiving asset as McBride, Bowers, or Fannin, but his collegiate profile, even when accounting for his injuries, is not nearly as prolific as those players.
We do not want to see him go the route of Evan Engram (whose one front-end fantasy season came in a year he led the position in routes run), Dalton Kincaid, or even worse, the path of Mike Gesicki, who was selected 42nd overall in his class.
It is a thin line to expect a player not only to be as good as Travis Kelce at his apex, but also to have the team environment overlap the talent.
Sadiq played just 27.7% of his snaps last season in-line (TE24 in this class), compared to 58.5% in slot (TE4), and 10.7% out wide (TE4). Backfield snaps made up the leftovers.
The good news for Sadiq is that, for his size, he is a willing and active blocker.
He had the sixth-highest run blocking grade in this draft class at the position per Pro Football Focus.
I do not treat PFF blocking grades as gospel, but they match what I saw from him in terms of effort and effectiveness, if that means anything to my eyes.
That is great for him, as he could potentially develop into an every-down tight end at the next level.
That said, we have to take a step of faith based on his physical profile, despite his good work in college.
In fact, he talked about this himself at the Combine, saying he felt good about his blocking at the college level while recognizing the need to improve in that area at the next level.
That self-awareness ties into the buzz that Sadiq was one of the best interviewees for teams based on word of mouth at the Combine.
I have used a lot of words to this point, not only to cover Sadiq but also to offer some top-down thoughts on where we are with the position at the moment.
To wrap this up in a tidier bow, Sadiq is exciting through the lenses of pass-catching upside, versatility, age, and athleticism.
Those aspects will have him drafted highly.
Where the bet comes in on him is placing faith in that draft capital opening the door to overcoming his limited production and physical archetype.
If you have followed my work in the past, you are aware that I rarely pay a premium for tight ends, especially in rookie drafts.
The position inherently scores fewer points than running backs and wide receivers.
That said, Sadiq enters Dynasty drafts in a weaker draft class at the other skill positions to aid fantasy gamers' cause.
As long as Sadiq has Round 1 draft capital, I do believe he is a mid-range round 1 fantasy pick in rookie drafts because the wide receivers selected at his price point will also be subject to potential limitations based on their archetypes if they land in the wrong hands.
Eli Stowers, Vanderbilt
Rookie Age: 23.4
Stowers has taken a unique path to this point.
He opened his college career at Texas A&M as a quarterback.
After failing to get on the field for two seasons, he transferred to New Mexico State, where he lost out in a quarterback competition with Diego Pavia and converted to tight end six weeks into the 2023 season.
He ended up catching 35 passes for 366 yards and 2 touchdowns in his first taste of playing tight end.
Then, he and Pavia transferred together to Vanderbilt, where Stowers posted seasons of 49-638-5 and 62-769-4 while winning the John Mackey Award for the best tight end this past season.
Stowers has a lot of overlap with Sadiq in terms of physical profile and usage, but he wins out as a more nuanced pass catcher than Sadiq is right now, resulting in stronger on-field production.
Stowers was targeted on 28.2% of his routes in 2025 (TE2 in this class) with a class-high 2.55 yards per route run.
He averaged 1.92 yards per team pass attempt, which was second in the class.
He led this class with 3.06 yards per route run against zone coverage.
He produced a first down or touchdown on a class-high 13.3% of his routes.
There was less manufactured for Stowers, as well.
Only 11.8% of his targets were at or behind the line of scrimmage (16th in this class).
Like Sadiq, Stowers has more of the profile of a pass catcher first than an all-around tight end.
He played 24.9% of his snaps in line (2nd-lowest rate from this class), playing 66.4% of his snaps from the slot and 8.4% out wide.
He is built nearly identically to Sadiq (6-foot-4 and 239 pounds), while he tested out amazingly at the NFL Combine.
Stowers ran a 4.51 40-yard dash (90th percentile) and posted a 45.5-inch vertical, breaking the position record minutes after Sadiq set it.
Stowers added an 11-foot-3 broad jump, which was also a new record for the position.
Despite overlapping Sadiq in many areas while being more productive on the field, Stowers is two years older and has more up in the air in terms of projected draft capital.
While Stowers faces some of the same positional limitations as Sadiq due to his physical profile, he lacks Sadiq's blocking ability at this stage.
Stowers was 19th in run-blocking grade at the position per Pro Football Focus last season, and it shows subjectively in his aggression in the run game.
Stowers has not been playing the position long.
The hope is that he will grow as a complete player, but he may not receive the front-end investment that Sadiq does to be pushed on the field early on.
I believe Stowers is potentially an arbitrage buy relative to Sadiq for NFL and fantasy purposes.
Based on the potential draft cost, I will likely end up with Stowers on more rosters, as well.
That said, Sadiq’s age and willingness as a blocker are factors between the two at face value.
2026 Tier 2 Rookie Tight Ends
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