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Dan Fornek's tight end sleepers and draft values for 2026 fantasy football. His top TE undervalued draft targets and breakout candidates, including Mark Andrews and more.
The NFL offseason is moving quickly. Teams have already spent their money in free agency and invested their draft capital into the rookie class. Training camps, the preseason, and the regular season are just around the corner.
We still have time before redraft season starts, but plenty of fantasy managers are already drafting teams in best-ball and dynasty formats. ADP can be valuable to find positions with deeper value to start forming the foundation of a draft strategy.
One position where it is beneficial to wait for production is tight end. Thankfully, there has been an influx of young talent into the NFL that has given the position plenty of depth. This article will use ADP data from Underdog Fantasy (a best-ball platform) to identify six tight ends who are undervalued in early drafts.
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Mark Andrews, Baltimore Ravens
ADP: 129.1, TE13
2025 was a down year for the Baltimore Ravens offense. Lamar Jackson was limited to just 13 games, leading to an extremely run-focused game plan that saw the Ravens finish with 47 fewer pass attempts per game (422) than the next closest team. That decreased passing volume was felt across the team, but especially with veteran tight end Mark Andrews.
Andrews was second on the team in targets (70) and one of two players with 40 or more targets on the season. However, the lack of opportunities and passing volume led to one of the worst seasons of his career (48 receptions for 422 yards and five touchdowns).
That, combined with a career-low 8.8 yards per reception, led to Andrews finishing with 7.7 PPR points per game, the second fewest in a season in his career.
Mark Andrews TD increases the @Ravens' lead!
BALvsMIN on FOX/FOX Onehttps://t.co/HkKw7uXVnt pic.twitter.com/DzGGzJZuXN
— NFL (@NFL) November 9, 2025
Despite that, the arrow should be pointing up for Andrews in 2026. The Ravens extended Andrews during the 2025 NFL season and let both Isaiah Likely and Charlie Kolar leave in free agency. None of their replacements in free agency (Durham Smythe) nor the draft (Matthew Hibner and Josh Cuevas) are likely to have a notable role in the passing attack.
Andrews won’t be the focal point of the offense, but a healthy season from Jackson should help the Ravens’ passing attack get back on track in 2026. An increase in passing volume should help Andrews beat his TE13 price tag in early fantasy drafts.
Chig Okonkwo, Washington Commanders
ADP: 153.5, TE20
There was hope going into the 2025 season that Cam Ward could unlock veteran tight end Chig Okonkwo’s ceiling after several inconsistent years in fantasy. Those hopes were partially realized with Okonkwo posting career-highs in targets (79), receptions (56), and receiving yards (560) with two touchdowns.
Chig Okonkwo cannot be stopped!
NOvsTEN on CBS/Paramount+https://t.co/HkKw7uXVnt pic.twitter.com/vrs4HBP8yx
— NFL (@NFL) December 28, 2025
Unfortunately, that production didn’t mean much in fantasy. Okonkwo averaged 7.3 PPR points per game and finished as the TE27 among tight ends with at least eight games played. Even worse for managers who took a swing on Okonkwo’s upside was the fact that 2025 fourth-round pick Gunnar Helm gradually earned a bigger role within the offense, siphoning targets from Okonkwo over the course of the season.
Okonkwo hit free agency this offseason and landed with the Washington Commanders as a potential replacement for Zach Ertz and a complement to Terry McLaurin. Washington brought back Dyami Brown in free agency and used a 2026 third-round pick on Clemson slot receiver Antonio Williams, but neither player is expected to command big targets next season.
22% of Washington’s targets in 2025 were thrown to the tight end position (Ertz’s 72 targets were second on the team), giving Okonkwo another opportunity to be a fantasy factor.
As of now, Okonkwo has a chance to be a top-2 target earner in an offense that could ascend with a new play-caller and a healthy year from Jayden Daniels. This could be the year we see his athleticism manifest into sustainable fantasy production.
T.J. Hockenson, Minnesota Vikings
ADP: 161.6, TE22
Fantasy managers hoped that T.J. Hockenson would be back to his normal production more than a year removed from his 2023 knee injury, as evidenced by his top-10 ADP among the tight end position.
Instead, Hockenson (and the entire Vikings offense) struggled to get traction in 2025, leading to widespread disappointment among the team and (most importantly) fantasy managers.
Hockenson finished as the TE26 in PPR points per game (minimum eight games played) with 7.5 points. The veteran tight end struggled through a career-worst season, catching 51 of 66 targets for 438 yards and three touchdowns in 15 games played. Hockenson had just four double-digit scoring weeks and two games with more than 50 receiving yards.
There are still reasons to believe in Hockenson in fantasy in 2026. Hockenson is just two years removed from a TE2 finish in fantasy (14.6 PPR PPG) and should benefit from a quarterback upgrade to Kyler Murray. If Hockenson can carve out a consistent target floor with weekly touchdown upside, he could be a big value at his TE22 price tag.
Cade Otton, Tampa Bay Buccaneers
ADP: 186.2, TE26
Nobody will confuse Tampa Bay Buccaneers tight end Cade Otton with some of the more athletic options in the NFL. But he has an entrenched role on an offense that has passed the ball on 54% or more of its offensive plays over the last three seasons.
The Buccaneers also signaled how they felt about Otton this offseason when they signed him to a three-year, $30 million contract ($20 million guaranteed) instead of investing in a deep tight end draft class.
Otton has averaged 84.0 targets, 59.0 receptions, 1,172 receiving yards, and five touchdowns over the last two seasons, finishing as the TE9 in targets in 2024 (87) and the TE13 in targets in 2025 (81). He’s never had fewer than 9.0 yards per reception in his career.
That hasn’t necessarily manifested in fantasy success (he has one career season with double-digit fantasy points per game), but it does give him a dependable, volume-based floor.
More importantly, Otton could potentially fill the big-bodied red-zone void left behind by Mike Evans. The Buccaneers drafted Georgia State wide receiver Ted Hurst in the third round of the 2026 NFL Draft to ultimately fill that void long-term, but there is no way of knowing how long it will take him to acclimate to the NFL.
If Otton can be more of a primary target in the red zone, he could see a burst in fantasy production given his dependable target floor. That is really all he needs to be more fantasy relevant in 2026, making him a good gamble at his TE26 price.
Greg Dulcich, Miami Dolphins
ADP: 210.9, TE32
It’s been a while since Greg Dulcich has been a player to watch in fantasy football. However, a strong end to the 2025 season has given him intrigue in fantasy yet again.
In the final nine games of the season, Dulcich racked up 33 targets, 26 receptions, 335 yards, and a touchdown. During that stretch of games, Dulcich was the TE11 in EPA (18.46), the TE6 in explosive play rate (21.2%), and the TE2 in yards per route run (2.5).
Greg Dulcich picks up the 3rd and 17!
MIAvsNE on FOX/FOX Onehttps://t.co/HkKw7uXVnt pic.twitter.com/AhvuDpyA0h
— NFL (@NFL) January 4, 2026
Dulcich could continue to see his role grow with a new coaching staff and an ambiguous pass-catching room. Malik Washington (65 targets), Theo Wease Jr. (10), and Tahj Washington (five) are the only receivers who earned targets on the team in 2025.
The team added low-cost veterans (Jalen Tolbert and Tutu Atwell) and Day 2 and 3 draft picks (third-round pick Chris Bell, Caleb Douglas, and fifth-round pick Kevin Coleman Jr.) to build out the team.
Somebody has to catch passes in Miami, and Dulcich can generate mismatches in the middle of the field for new quarterback Malik Willis. If he can stay healthy, he has a chance to be fantasy relevant again in 2026.
Eli Raridon, New England Patriots
ADP: 215.5, TE37
The New England Patriots upgraded their tight end depth behind Hunter Henry during the 2026 offseason, signing veteran tight end Julian Hill in free agency and drafting Notre Dame’s Eli Raridon in the third round of the 2026 NFL Draft.
Henry is still a dependable target, finishing second on the team in targets in 2025 (87). However, he is a limited athlete who can’t challenge defenses down the field consistently. Similarly, Hill is more known for his blocking prowess than his dynamism in the passing attack. That leaves Raridon as a wild card who can unlock the passing attack if he earns a pass game role.
Raridon struggled to produce throughout his college career at Notre Dame thanks to two ACL injuries. However, when he was healthy in his final season, he showed good vertical speed and strong route-running ability, catching 32 passes for 482 yards in his final season.
Raridon cemented his status as an intriguing prospect during the predraft process, measuring in at 6-foot-6, 245 pounds, and running a 4.62 40-yard dash.
The Patriots ran 12 personnel (two tight end sets) the 19th-most times among teams in 2025 (19.35%). If Raridon can acclimate to the NFL quickly, he could earn a role in an exciting offense that is hoping to build upon a strong 2025 season. He is an intriguing final-round pick in fantasy who can be churned off the roster if an early role doesn’t materialize.
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