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2026 fantasy football TE rankings - Week 3 start, sit tight end rankings. Win more with our updated TE fantasy football rankings and tiers for Week 3.
The tight end position has already been head-scratching through two weeks, and that seems to be a common theme with the shallow position. Luckily, an elite option is back in the mix heading into Week 3. We're here to help you with key start-sit calls with our Week 3 fantasy football tight end rankings. Below, see where Colston Loveland, Dalton Kincaid, Darren Waller, Kyle Pitts Sr., Tucker Kraft, Harold Fannin Jr., Juwan Johnson, and Isaiah Likely stand, among all others.
Our TE fantasy football rankings for Week 3 are put together by Nick Mariano. Below the rankings, you will also find a summary of the important fantasy football news for this week. There are always key injuries and developments to keep track of, so check back throughout the week for updates.
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Week 3 Fantasy Football Tight End Rankings
Bookmark our PPR rankings, Half-PPR rankings, and standard (non-PPR) rankings
| TE Tier |
TE Rank |
Player Name |
Pos. | Overall Rank |
| 1 | 1 | Trey McBride | TE | 24 |
| 2 | 2 | Dalton Kincaid | TE | 49 |
| 3 | 3 | Sam LaPorta | TE | 50 |
| 3 | 4 | Travis Kelce | TE | 52 |
| 3 | 5 | Brock Bowers | TE | 54 |
| 3 | 6 | George Kittle | TE | 61 |
| 4 | 7 | Dalton Schultz | TE | 62 |
| 5 | 8 | Mark Andrews | TE | 67 |
| 5 | 9 | Tucker Kraft | TE | 70 |
| 5 | 10 | Tyler Warren | TE | 75 |
| 5 | 11 | Juwan Johnson | TE | 76 |
| 5 | 12 | Colston Loveland | TE | 84 |
| 5 | 13 | Terrance Ferguson | TE | 86 |
| 5 | 14 | Hunter Henry | TE | 92 |
| 6 | 15 | Harold Fannin Jr. | TE | 104 |
| 6 | 16 | Oronde Gadsden II | TE | 105 |
| 6 | 17 | Isaiah Likely | TE | 107 |
| 6 | 18 | Kyle Pitts Sr. | TE | 112 |
| 6 | 19 | Jake Ferguson | TE | 114 |
| 6 | 20 | Pat Freiermuth | TE | 117 |
| 6 | 21 | T.J. Hockenson | TE | 118 |
| 6 | 22 | Brenton Strange | TE | 123 |
| 6 | 23 | Darren Waller | TE | 134 |
| 6 | 24 | AJ Barner | TE | 138 |
| 6 | 25 | Gunnar Helm | TE | 144 |
| 7 | 26 | Cade Otton | TE | 146 |
| 7 | 27 | Evan Engram | TE | 147 |
| 7 | 28 | Mike Gesicki | TE | 148 |
| 7 | 29 | Michael Mayer | TE | 163 |
| 7 | 30 | Colby Parkinson | TE | 169 |
| 7 | 31 | Greg Dulcich | TE | 171 |
| 7 | 32 | Kenyon Sadiq | TE | 174 |
| 7 | 33 | Dawson Knox | TE | 175 |
| 7 | 34 | Darnell Washington | TE | 177 |
| 7 | 35 | Johnny Mundt | TE | 191 |
| 8 | 36 | Theo Johnson | TE | 192 |
| 8 | 37 | Cole Kmet | TE | 197 |
| 8 | 38 | Foster Moreau | TE | 199 |
| 8 | 39 | Noah Gray | TE | 205 |
| 8 | 40 | Elijah Arroyo | TE | 207 |
| 8 | 41 | Noah Fant | TE | 209 |
| 8 | 42 | Tommy Tremble | TE | 212 |
| 8 | 43 | Josh Oliver | TE | 213 |
| 8 | 44 | Mason Taylor | TE | 220 |
| 8 | 45 | Jonnu Smith | TE | 221 |
| 8 | 46 | John Bates | TE | 226 |
| 8 | 47 | Erick All Jr. | TE | 229 |
| 8 | 48 | Durham Smythe | TE | 232 |
| 8 | 49 | Drew Sample | TE | 235 |
| 8 | 50 | Ben Sinnott | TE | 236 |
| 8 | 51 | Mitchell Evans | TE | 243 |
| 8 | 52 | Jeremy Ruckert | TE | 245 |
| 8 | 53 | Blake Whiteheart | TE | 246 |
| 8 | 54 | Daniel Bellinger | TE | 247 |
| 8 | 55 | Tyler Higbee | TE | 249 |
| 9 | 56 | Luke Farrell | TE | 250 |
| 9 | 57 | Eli Raridon | TE | 252 |
| 9 | 58 | Austin Hooper | TE | 253 |
| 9 | 59 | Will Kacmarek | TE | 257 |
| 9 | 60 | Adam Trautman | TE | 258 |
| 9 | 61 | Matthew Hibner | TE | 261 |
| 9 | 62 | Nate Boerkircher | TE | 262 |
| 9 | 63 | Brock Wright | TE | 263 |
| 9 | 64 | Elijah Higgins | TE | 265 |
| 9 | 65 | Marlin Klein | TE | 266 |
| 9 | 66 | Nate Adkins | TE | 268 |
| 10 | 67 | Brevyn Spann-Ford | TE | 269 |
| 10 | 68 | Luke Schoonmaker | TE | 274 |
| 10 | 69 | Davis Allen | TE | 275 |
| 10 | 70 | Cade Stover | TE | 277 |
Week 3 Fantasy Football Tight End Outlooks
Darren Waller, Carolina Panthers
Carolina Panthers tight end Darren Waller has shown a strong connection with Bryce Young in his first two games with the Panthers, making an immediate impact after joining the team in August. He didn't play in the preseason, but when the games started to count, he became a prime option for Carolina in the red zone.
Waller had a short touchdown called back due to a penalty in Week 1, but he found the end zone twice in Week 2. The 34-year-old caught all five of his targets for 61 yards in his two games and will continue to be a go-to option in the red zone due to his ability to win contested catches. He only played 35% of the team's snaps in Week 1 and 44% of the snaps in Week 2, so there is also the potential for more growth in other areas of the field as he settles into the team's offense.
Waller is definitely a tight end on the rise and is a pickup to consider in all formats if you need tight end help. This week, he and the Panthers visit the Browns in Cleveland.
Chig Okonkwo, Washington Commanders
Washington Commanders tight end Chig Okonkwo (hamstring) was not at the team's first practice of the week on Wednesday, according to Tashan Reed of The Athletic. Okonkwo suffered a hamstring injury in the Week 1 loss to the division-rival Philadelphia Eagles and was unable to play in last week's loss to the division-rival Dallas Cowboys. In Okonkwo's absence on Sunday in Dallas, tight ends Ben Sinnott and Colson Yankoff combined for two catches for 20 yards, while John Bates did not see a single pass-game target.
The 27-year-old Okonkwo had a case for a 2026 breakout in his move to D.C. with quarterback Jayden Daniels (elbow), but that is not looking so hot after Okonkwo's hamstring injury in Week 1 and Daniels' dislocated left elbow in Week 2. Even if Okonkwo makes his return in Week 3 this Sunday against the Seattle Seahawks, he will be best left on the bench in deeper leagues with veteran Marcus Mariota taking over at QB.
Kyle Pitts Sr., Atlanta Falcons
Atlanta Falcons tight end Kyle Pitts Sr. has posted back-to-back duds to begin the season, totaling one catch on four targets for 15 scoreless yards. It's a disappointing start for fantasy managers expecting much more after setting career highs in multiple statistical categories a season ago. The good news is that he will no longer have the likes of Cooper Rush and Jack Strand throwing to him, rather, it will be Michael Penix Jr. (knee) who will make his season debut on Thursday night in a road matchup against the Packers.
Pitts averaged over six targets and four catches per game last year with Penix under center, so expect an uptick in productivity. The matchup against the Packers is just so-so on paper, with the team allowing 10 receptions for 80 yards and a score through two games thus far in 2026. While the upgrade at QB is certainly a welcome sight for Pitts managers, in a game that isn't expected to be high-scoring (42.5 O/U), the 6-foot-6 tight end projects as a mid-range TE2 this week at RotoBaller.
Who Should I Start Tool
Compare up to four players and we'll tell you who to start...
Week 3 Player Decisions. Today's focus is on specific players: Colston Loveland, Dalton Kincaid, Darren Waller, Kyle Pitts Sr., Tucker Kraft, Harold Fannin Jr., Juwan Johnson, Isaiah Likely. These are some of the most common searches for fantasy football lineups in Week 3.
Using The Tool. This is a simple tool but very powerful. The first step is to enter the player names that you want to compare. In the first box, search for the first player name. In the second box, search for the second player name. Compare up to four NFL players at once, and then click the Who To Start? button to see who the recommended starts are based on weekly fantasy football matchups.
Improvements For Who Should I Start? You may have noticed that our 'Who Should I Start?' tool has gotten an overhaul. We've added lots of great features for you to give you as much information as possible to win your fantasy football matchups each week. You'll see NFL player tiles with headshots and bye weeks, stats, projections, strength of schedule, player news, and enhanced search results with data to compare with a slick new interface. We hope you enjoy!
How It Works. Each week, our RotoBaller staff puts together their weekly fantasy football rankings and projections based on their research. That information is the core data that is powering the decision-making in this tool. When you search for player names, you will only see those players who are ranked. If someone is out for the week, they will not appear in the search results.
Scoring Formats. Fantasy football managers play in various types of leagues, and this tool allows you to choose whether it's PPR scoring, Half-PPR scoring, or Standard (Non-PPR) scoring. The second thing you want to do is select the scoring format. There are three small radio buttons (small circle), so click on the scoring format you prefer. The results may vary based on the scoring format you select.
Popular Week 3 Searches. Curious to see some tough lineup decisions for Week 3 (2026)? Below you will find a list of some popular Who Should I Start? searches that RotoBaller readers are looking at this week. Click any of the links to see the result and recommendation.
Popular Week 3 Searches - Start/Sit Player Comparisons
Below are some popular searches and comparisons from our Who To Start tool for Week 3 for Colston Loveland, Dalton Kincaid, Darren Waller, Kyle Pitts Sr., Tucker Kraft, Harold Fannin Jr., Juwan Johnson, Isaiah Likely:
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