5 Must-Have Fantasy Football Tight Ends to Target and Draft: Potential League-Winning Players (2026)

June 24, 2026

Joey's five league-winning fantasy football tight ends for the 2026 season. His top tight ends to target and draft include Colston Loveland, Chig Okonkwo, and more.

The tight end position is always the hardest to navigate in fantasy football drafts. On one hand, managers could just take Trey McBride or Brock Bowers within the first two rounds and not have to worry about the position the rest of the draft. By doing that, though, you're missing out on selecting one of the top wide receivers or running backs in the early rounds.

In this article, we'll look at five must-draft tight ends if you don't want to spend a premium for either McBride or Bowers. Two of these tight ends are going in the early rounds, one is going in the middle rounds, and two are going outside the top 130 in drafts. All five of these tight ends could exceed their average draft position.

Let's dive into the five must-have fantasy football tight ends to target in fantasy football drafts this summer.

Colston Loveland, Chicago Bears

Those who are looking to snag an elite tight end but aren't willing to spend a Round 2 ADP on Bowers or McBride should look to take Chicago Bears playmaker Colston Loveland in the fourth or fifth round of fantasy drafts. While his current 46.3 ADP in NFFC leagues might seem too high, the sky is the limit for the 22-year-old in his second NFL season.

Loveland really came on strongly toward the end of his rookie season. He averaged 14.3 PPR fantasy points over the final 10 weeks and was the TE2 in total PPR fantasy points scored during this stretch. The former Michigan star had three different 20+ point PPR fantasy performances, which included a monster nine-catch, 118-yard, two-touchdown game against the Bengals in Week 9.

Colston Loveland is the Week 18 @pepsi Zero Sugar Rookie of the Week 👏 pic.twitter.com/NpWdyM7aoP

— NFL (@NFL) January 8, 2026

Those types of performances could happen more often in 2026. Loveland was clearly Caleb Williams' favorite target down the stretch, as he saw double-digit targets in his final four games (including playoffs), and his advanced metrics suggest that he could take the next step as a pass-catcher this year.

As a rookie, Loveland ranked sixth in yards per route run, sixth in first downs per route run, fifth in yards per reception, third in deep targets, 11th in first-read target share, second in explosive rating, and fourth in air yards among all tight ends. The expectation is that he'll now be more involved in a Chicago offense that could be even better than it was a season ago.

The talent is there for the Bears tight end to finish as the overall TE1. He ranked seventh in fantasy points per route run last year, and Ben Johnson's offensive scheme is extremely tight-end friendly. Johnson helped Sam LaPorta finish as the overall TE1 back in 2023. Loveland could be next.

Harold Fannin Jr., Cleveland Browns

Cleveland Browns tight end Harold Fannin Jr. was arguably the waiver wire pickup of the year in 2025. After going undrafted in most fantasy leagues, Fannin was a cheat code at the tight end position. He finished as the overall TE6 in PPR formats and averaged 11.7 PPR fantasy points per game in his rookie season.

Now, Fannin could one-up those fantasy numbers in his second NFL campaign. The Browns only added two rookies in KC Concepcion and Denzel Boston to their lackluster wide receiver room, and David Njoku left in the offseason.

The departure of Njoku fully puts Fannin in a spot to explode this upcoming season. In four games without Njoku from Week 14 to Week 17, the Bowling Green product averaged 16.9 PPR fantasy points per game.

Browns rookie TE Harold Fannin Jr. is a special tackle breaker at the position already pic.twitter.com/dm1eCWUp64

— Benjamin Solak (@BenjaminSolak) November 24, 2025

Although that is only a small sample size of four games, the Browns fed the young tight end in those contests. He saw 11 targets, 14 targets, six targets, and two targets in the final game before he left early in the second quarter due to a groin issue. That potential high target share with Njoku now out of the picture could help Fannin go from a mid-tier TE1 to a high-end TE1.

Fannin already had a 21.6% target share as a rookie, but that number could rise to 23 to 24% this season. He will likely operate as the Browns' top pass-catcher, and ranked top 10 among all tight ends in fantasy points per route run, dominator rating, explosive rating, yards after catch, and first-read target share in 2025.

Cleveland's quarterback concerns shouldn't scare fantasy managers away from drafting this explosive 21-year-old tight end. He is going to feast with whoever is under center. Last year, Fannin had big fantasy days with Joe Flacco, Dillon Gabriel, and Shedeur Sanders. That's why he is a must-draft target on a Browns team that has no true WR1.

Sam LaPorta, Detroit Lions

Since finishing as the overall TE1 back in 2023, LaPorta has not been able to recapture that elite fantasy status. He finished as the TE8 in 2024 and then finished as the TE27 last year after undergoing season-ending back surgery in November. Following a disappointing 2025 campaign, his fantasy value is certainly down heading into 2026.

However, LaPorta is a must-draft tight end in the middle rounds of fantasy football drafts this year. He's going around pick 97 in current NFFC leagues, and that's a bargain for a tight end who has been a much better fantasy option than managers might realize in each of the past two years.

Although he got off to a slow start during the 2024 season, he averaged 15 PPR fantasy points in the final six weeks of that campaign. Then, LaPorta averaged 11.9 PPR fantasy points across nine games last season. He finished as a top-10 fantasy TE in five of those nine contests and averaged 14.6 PPR fantasy points from Week 5 to Week 10 before suffering a season-ending injury.

LaPorta will be a key part of this Detroit offense again in 2026. The Lions' new offensive coordinator (Drew Petzing) comes from Arizona, where he helped McBride become a top fantasy tight end. Petzing won’t be afraid to move LaPorta around the formation to create mismatches, as he did with McBride. That could result in him becoming a high-end TE1 in fantasy once again.

There aren't too many tight ends with this much fantasy upside this late in drafts. He ranked sixth in fantasy points per target among all tight ends last year and caught 17 total touchdowns in his first two years in the league. LaPorta is a great pick in the middle rounds.

Isaiah Likely, New York Giants

For years, the fantasy community debated what Isaiah Likely's fantasy value would look like without Mark Andrews. Likely showed flashes of his potential in each of the last two years with the Baltimore Ravens, but he could never escape that timeshare with Andrews at the tight end position. That made him an unstartable fantasy option most of the time.

Well, Likely will finally get the opportunity to show that fantasy potential with the New York Giants. The 26-year-old signed a three-year, $40 million deal with the Giants in free agency and is expected to be New York's starting tight end in 2026. That's enough to take a chance on him at his 133.1 ADP in current NFFC leagues.

Could Isaiah Likely take the @Giants offense to the next level? 👀 @Copilot pic.twitter.com/MU87UxOKPT

— NFL (@NFL) March 11, 2026

There haven't been many instances of Likely operating as a TE1 in his career since Andrews didn't miss any games in each of the past two seasons. But when Andrews missed the final six weeks of the 2023 season, Likely put up strong TE1 numbers. He averaged 13.9 PPR fantasy points from Week 12 to Week 18 while averaging 53.7 yards per game.

There is obviously some uncertainty surrounding Likely, which is why he is going so late in drafts. However, the upside is there for him to finish as a TE1 for the first time in his career. John Harbaugh is already familiar with him, and Jaxson Dart targeted his tight ends at an elite 23.9% clip in his rookie season. Likely has league winner written all over him.

Chig Okonkwo, Washington Commanders

After four mediocre seasons with the Tennessee Titans, Chig Okonkwo signed a three-year deal with the Washington Commanders in free agency. Okonkwo will now lead this Washington tight end group in 2026 and beyond. He replaces Zach Ertz at the top of the depth chart after the Commanders chose not to bring him back.

Okonkwo won't suddenly turn into this high-end TE1 in his fifth NFL season. He can, though, emerge as a consistent low-end TE1, similar to Ertz back in 2024 when he finished as the overall TE7. The former Titans playmaker is still only 26 years old and ranked ninth among all tight ends in yards after catch (342) last year.

He'll now be a part of a better offense than he was the last few years in Tennessee. He will have a better quarterback in Jayden Daniels throwing him the ball, and Daniels targeted his tight ends at an above-average 21% rate last season. With Washington's current wide receiver group being Terry McLaurin, Dyami Brown, Van Jefferson, and Antonio Williams, Okonkwo could settle in as a reliable target in the middle of the field.

Don't forget, Okonkwo had a crazy fantasy stretch toward the end of the 2024 season. He scored in double figures in PPR formats in four of his last six games, which included a nine-catch, 81-yard performance with Mason Rudolph under center.

Okonkwo is worth grabbing at his current 173.8 ADP in NFFC leagues. There is real potential here, given that Washington lacks a true No. 2 pass-catcher in this offense.

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