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Updated PPR tight end (TE) rankings for fantasy football. Tiered TE rankings for 2026, including Tyler Warren, Harrold Fannin Jr., Tucker Kraft, and more.
Hey RotoBallers! The NFL season is about to begin, and fantasy football drafts are heating up. Below, we'll provide you with our updated tight end rankings for PPR formats.
Our 2026 fantasy football rankings are put together by Nick Mariano, a top-accuracy industry ranker and the lead forecaster here at RotoBaller. Find out where key TEs sit, such as Tucker Kraft, George Kittle, Dalton Kincaid, Isaiah Likely, Oronde Gadsden II, and more.
In addition to these PPR rankings, our 2026 fantasy football rankings dashboard also provides our team's Dynasty League rankings and Rookie Rankings. Bookmark those pages, and use them to prepare for all of your 2026 fantasy football drafts.
Bookmark our updated and revamped fantasy football rankings portal for all league formats!PPR rankings | Half-PPR rankings | Non-PPR (Standard) rankings | Rookie rankings | Superflex rankings | Best Ball rankings | Underdog rankings | Dynasty rankings | IDP rankings | Injuries
PPR Fantasy Football Tight End Rankings
Fantasy Football Tight End Player News
Travis Kelce, Kansas City Chiefs
Kansas City Chiefs tight end Travis Kelce has looked locked in and ready to post another strong season, according to reports from Chiefs' camp. Last year, in a down year by his elite standards, Kelce racked up 76 catches for 851 yards and five touchdowns on 108 targets. He has finished with over 100 targets in 11 consecutive seasons, and the Chiefs return most of the same pass-catching options this year.
In great news for Kelce's fantasy outlook, Chiefs quarterback Patrick Mahomes (knee) looks like he'll be ready for Week 1, so Kelce can continue his elite chemistry, serving as Mahomes' go-to option. He may not have the ceiling that he provided earlier in his career, but it looks like the veteran still has enough in the tank to bring great value at his current ADP. He's being drafted as a low-end TE1 option in most drafts and is RotoBaller's No. 11 TE.
In that spot, he brings a high floor and good upside if he bounces back from last year's slightly reduced totals.
Juwan Johnson, New Orleans Saints
New Orleans Saints tight end Juwan Johnson should see an uptick in targets early this season as he helps to fill the void of wide receiver Jordyn Tyson (hamstring). Johnson was a wide receiver in college, so even though he's a tight end now, he remains a legitimate receiving threat with impressive size and athleticism. While the coaching staff is high on Devaughn Vele, there's a very legitimate chance that Johnson ranks second on the team in targets (behind Chris Olave) for the duration of Tyson's absence.
Tyson is expected to be sidelined through late October, setting up Johnson to see enough targets for him to rank as a low-end TE1. There's certainly precedent here, as Johnson was the overall TE8 while playing in a similar-looking offense last year. It's also encouraging that he performed better with Tyler Shough as his quarterback (11.5 PPR points per game) than with Spencer Rattler (9.5 PPR points per game).
Johnson currently has an ADP of 146.3, which corresponds to the 13th round and makes him the 16th tight end off the board.
AJ Barner, Seattle Seahawks
Seattle Seahawks tight end AJ Barner emerged as his team's top tight end in 2025, recording 52 catches for 519 yards and six touchdowns on 68 targets across 17 games. Despite his solid production, the presence of 2025 second-round tight end Elijah Arroyo in Seattle has led to speculation that Barner's role in the Seahawks' offense could fade in 2026.
However, Barner has reportedly been one of the team's standout performers this summer, and he's already proven that he has established red-zone chemistry with Seahawks quarterback Sam Darnold. If he can earn slightly more overall target volume in 2026, Barner could establish himself as a lower-end TE1 option for fantasy managers.
Isaiah Likely, New York Giants
ESPN's Dan Graziano does not think anyone should be surprised if tight end Isaiah Likely is a "breakout star" in his first season with the New York Giants in 2026. Likely followed head coach John Harbaugh from the Baltimore Ravens to the Giants in free agency, and Giants coaches "light up" when talking about Likely. The coaching staff thinks that Likely will "be a real asset" for quarterback Jaxson Dart as a receiver and "think he can win in both man and zone coverage." The Giants love how he has evolved his relationship with Dart, and he is a regular visitor to the QB room.
The connection that Likely has formed with Dart on and off the field "could pay major dividends." Graziano thinks that Likely is a strong candidate to be the Giants' second-leading receiver this year, and potentially more if receiver Malik Nabers (knee) needs more time to get up to speed after tearing his ACL and meniscus early last year. The 26-year-old former fourth-rounder from Coastal Carolina never had over 477 receiving yards or six touchdowns in his four years in Baltimore, where he was in the shadow of Mark Andrews.
Now that he is the TE1 in the Big Apple, Likely has clear TE1 upside in fantasy, with RotoBaller ranking him as the No. 15 player at the position heading into the new season.
Dalton Kincaid, Buffalo Bills
Buffalo Bills tight end Dalton Kincaid has been amid a ton of training camp buzz throughout the offseason and appears set for a big role in this offense. In 12 games, Kincaid hauled in 39 of 49 targets for 571 yards and five touchdowns, averaging 8.8 half-PPR fantasy points per game last season. The upside is there, but some big factors that appear to be emerging heading into 2026 are holding back his fantasy value. Kincaid has missed nine games over the last two seasons due to hamstring and knee injuries, but has looked healthy throughout camp.
Snaps will be the major question, and with head coach Joe Brady in full control of the offense, Kincaid's snap count will be known in Week 1. Kincaid isn't a strong start at tight end for Week 1 against the Houston Texans, but is a high-upside option assuming he stays healthy and plays more snaps in 2026.
Who Should I Draft Fantasy Football Tool
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Compare up to four players and we'll tell you who to draft...
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's name. In the second box, search for the second player's name. Compare up to four NFL players at once, and then click the Who To Draft? button to see who the recommended draft picks are based on fantasy football rankings, projections, and more.
Improvements For Who Should I Draft? You may have noticed our Who Should I Draft? 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 2026 fantasy football drafts. You'll see NFL player tiles with bye weeks, stats, and projections, ADPs, strength of schedule, enhanced search results with data to compare, and a slick interface. We hope you enjoy!
How It Works. Our RotoBaller staff puts together their preseason fantasy football rankings and projections based on their research and updates them constantly throughout the preseason. 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.
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 circles), so click on the scoring format you prefer. The results may vary based on the scoring format you select.
Popular Player Comparison Searches - Who To Draft
Below are some popular searches and comparisons from our Who To Draft tool for 2026 drafts for Dalton Kincaid, George Kittle, Travis Kelce, Dallas Goedert, Mark Andrews, Juwan Johnson, Isaiah Likely, Jake Ferguson, Brenton Strange, Hunter Henry:
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Check out all of RotoBaller's fantasy football rankings. Staff rankings are updated regularly for all positions and include standard formats, PPR scoring, tiered rankings and dynasty leagues.
