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Matt's dark-horse candidates to finish as the overall fantasy football TE1 in 2026. Target these five tight ends with league-winning upside, including Dalton Kincaid and more.
With rookie tight ends making a name for themselves and veteran tight ends proving to be productive members of our fantasy football society, the tight end position has never been deeper than it is today. However, every year there is a tight end or two who far surpasses expectations and their ADP.
It is perfectly acceptable to use an early draft pick to take one of the three elite tight ends from last season (George Kittle, Brock Bowers, and Trey McBride). For those keeping score at home, the top-12-scoring tight ends in PPR formats included McBride, Bowers, Kittle, Kyle Pitts Sr., Travis Kelce, Jake Ferguson, Harold Fannin Jr., Dallas Goedert, Tyler Warren, Juwan Johnson, Hunter Henry, and Dalton Schultz.
This article will explore five different tight ends who can be considered dark horses to finish as the TE1 in fantasy (top 12 at the position). The ADPs in this article come from Yahoo.
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Isaiah Likely, New York Giants
ADP: 108.4, TE13
It seems every year Isaiah Likely is coined as a dark-horse candidate. Every year we have witnessed a two- to three-game stretch in which Likely looks like he fits the mold of a Jordan Reed-type tight end who could finish first or second on his team in targets.
Could Isaiah Likely take the @Giants offense to the next level? 👀 @Copilot pic.twitter.com/MU87UxOKPT
— NFL (@NFL) March 11, 2026
With the move from Baltimore to New York, the promise of production has tagged along. While Malik Nabers has been on the mend for much of training camp, Likely has quickly become one of Jaxson Dart's favorite targets.
Then again, a look at the Giants’ depth chart is all one needs. Behind Nabers, the Giants will be counting on Darius Slayton, Darnell Mooney, Calvin Austin III, JuJu Smith-Schuster, and Malachi Fields, none of whom offer the athletic upside that Likely does.
Bottom line, when looking for dark-horse prospects with the highest likelihood of hitting, you need to find a player who will be the top target or, at the very least, the second option in a passing game, which Likely projects to be. Likely also has the stamp of approval of his head coach, whom he followed from Baltimore to New York this offseason.
SNY's Connor Hughes reported that Likely is being used more as a utility than as a traditional tight end. Throughout camp, Likely has been making plays at all three levels and is making Theo Johnson become more of an afterthought.
AJ Barner, Seattle Seahawks
ADP: 128.3, TE21
AJ Barner has earned his spot on this list. Last season, Barner caught 52 passes for 519 yards and earned a respectable 15.0% target share in an offense in which Sam Darnold was looking early and often toward Jaxon Smith-Njigba. One area in which Barner stood apart from his peers was in the end zone, where his six touchdown receptions tied Tucker Kraft for the eighth-highest mark among fellow tight ends.
When you add everything above and translate it to fantasy terms, you have yourself the reigning TE13 in fantasy, producing 143.9 fantasy points in 16 contests.
The fact that Barner finished as the TE13 and is coming off the board as the TE21 is an absolute travesty. Barner never left the field, as he has proved to be an exceptional blocker with decent receiving ability. It’s his ability to block that has effectively kept Elijah Arroyo off the field.
Barner's 76.5% catch rate was among the elite when focusing on tight ends who ran 290 or more routes. Barner also posted respectable metrics in terms of targets per route run (0.18) and yards per route run (1.41). Barner also finished eighth in red-zone targets and finished in the 87th percentile in EPA per play.
In the Super Bowl and the NFC Championship, Barner saw snap shares of 90% and 95%, proving your best ability is your availability. Super Bowl LX saw Barner produce 16.4 fantasy points for those keeping track at home.
Dalton Kincaid, Buffalo Bills
ADP: 99.6, TE11
Dalton Kincaid enters the conversation with the highest ADP of any tight end on the list, but is a bit of an underdog because he missed six games due to injury last season and finished as the TE20 with 118.3 fantasy points.
DALTON KINCAID WHAT A CATCH TO TIE IT
BUFvsDEN on CBS/Paramount+
Stream on @NFLPlus pic.twitter.com/y4wUrQgjb5— NFL (@NFL) January 17, 2026
However, that tells only a small part of Kincaid's story. While the production is easily overlooked on a points-per-game basis, Kincaid’s 10.3 fantasy points per game tied him for 12th with Juwan Johnson.
With Kincaid's injury, we have to identify and look at smaller sample sizes to determine his potential value this upcoming season. Among tight ends who ran at least 150 routes, Kincaid ranked first in targets per route run (0.24), first in yards per route run (2.77), and third in EPA per play. Kincaid only had 39 receptions, but those 39 receptions resulted in 571 receiving yards.
For Kincaid to finish in the top 12 when the dust settles, he is going to need to find a way to stay on the field. Over the last two seasons, Kincaid has missed nine games. During Kincaid's rookie season, he played in 16 contests, recording 73 receptions on 91 targets while producing 673 receiving yards.
Greg Dulcich, Miami Dolphins
Kenyon Sadiq, New York Jets
ADP: 129.5, TE24
With what Warren, Fannin, and Colston Loveland accomplished as rookies last season, expectations for Kenyon Sadiq, Eli Stowers, and even Max Klare have become unrealistic given the history of the tight end position. That said, if any of the 2026 rookie tight end class is in a position to replicate that production, the Jets' 16th overall selection is best positioned to succeed.
Sadiq entered training camp fully recovered from a hernia injury. He was immediately heavily involved in the Jets offense, becoming a focal point through the early portion of camp as the Jets have moved him around the formation.
There's just no guarding Kenyon Sadiq 💪
Here's another look at his TD route for @Oregonfootball @ATTBusiness pic.twitter.com/MiGKtObEl3
— FOX College Football (@CFBONFOX) September 13, 2025
Frank Reich is planning on incorporating heavier two-tight-end-sets with Geno Smith looking to distribute the ball. Looking over Smith's tendencies over the last couple of seasons, Smith has targeted the tight end position on 21.6% of his total pass attempts and 23.3% of Smith’s total passing yardage.
Now, Bowers played a prominent role in that, but even Noah Fant produced back in 2024, hauling in 48 passes for 500 receiving yards. In that 2024 season, not only was Fant useful, but Barner caught 30 of 38 targets for 245 yards.
You don’t have to be a fantasy football scholar to deduce that if Sadiq were to see anything close to the 102 targets the Seahawks duo saw in 2024, the path to production would easily follow.
As bad as the Jets' passing offense was in 2025, Mason Taylor still saw 65 targets in 13 contests; only Garrett Wilson was targeted more often. That said, Wilson only played in seven games.
Honorable Mentions: Dalton Schultz (TE25) and Gunnar Helm (TE29)
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