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Fantasy football rankings - tight ends (TE) Week 9 rankings early edition for 2026. Read the top-accuracy fantasy football TE rankings.
At RotoBaller HQ, we help fantasy managers get a head start in Week 9 with our early positional rankings. Only two teams are on bye: the Steelers and Titans. If you need a TE streamer, injury fill-in, or even a bye-week replacement, our Week 9 Half-PPR fantasy football tight end rankings have you covered. See where key tight ends such as Harold Fannin Jr., Tucker Kraft, Mike Gesicki, Dalton Kincaid, Brenton Strange, Kyle Pitts Sr., Dalton Schultz, Trey McBride, Michael Mayer, T.J. Hockenson, Cade Otton, and Eli Raridon land in our early TE rankings.
Our tight end fantasy football rankings for Week 9 are put together by Nick Mariano. Below the rankings, you will also find a summary of the important TE 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 9 Tight End Rankings for Fantasy Football
Bookmark our PPR rankings, Half-PPR rankings, and standard (non-PPR) rankings.
| TE Tier |
TE Rank |
Player Name |
Pos. | Overall Rank |
| 1 | 1 | Brock Bowers | TE | 17 |
| 2 | 2 | George Kittle | TE | 30 |
| 3 | 3 | Isaiah Likely | TE | 39 |
| 3 | 4 | Sam LaPorta | TE | 43 |
| 3 | 5 | Colston Loveland | TE | 45 |
| 3 | 6 | Trey McBride | TE | 52 |
| 4 | 7 | Harold Fannin Jr. | TE | 53 |
| 5 | 8 | Tucker Kraft | TE | 65 |
| 5 | 9 | Tyler Warren | TE | 73 |
| 5 | 10 | T.J. Hockenson | TE | 79 |
| 5 | 11 | Travis Kelce | TE | 83 |
| 5 | 12 | Dallas Goedert | TE | 85 |
| 5 | 13 | Mike Gesicki | TE | 86 |
| 5 | 14 | Brenton Strange | TE | 88 |
| 6 | 15 | Dalton Kincaid | TE | 89 |
| 6 | 16 | Kyle Pitts Sr. | TE | 90 |
| 6 | 17 | Greg Dulcich | TE | 92 |
| 6 | 18 | Hunter Henry | TE | 95 |
| 6 | 19 | Chig Okonkwo | TE | 96 |
| 6 | 20 | Tyler Higbee | TE | 98 |
| 6 | 21 | Juwan Johnson | TE | 103 |
| 6 | 22 | Dalton Schultz | TE | 108 |
| 6 | 23 | AJ Barner | TE | 114 |
| 6 | 24 | Michael Mayer | TE | 117 |
| 6 | 25 | Cade Otton | TE | 118 |
| 7 | 26 | Mason Taylor | TE | 122 |
| 7 | 27 | Eli Raridon | TE | 123 |
| 7 | 28 | Darren Waller | TE | 129 |
| 7 | 29 | Terrance Ferguson | TE | 140 |
| 7 | 30 | Mark Andrews | TE | 145 |
| 7 | 31 | Noah Fant | TE | 148 |
| 7 | 32 | Evan Engram | TE | 150 |
| 7 | 33 | Colby Parkinson | TE | 151 |
| 7 | 34 | Oronde Gadsden II | TE | 155 |
| 7 | 35 | Davis Allen | TE | 168 |
| 8 | 36 | Brevyn Spann-Ford | TE | 175 |
| 8 | 37 | Tommy Tremble | TE | 176 |
| 8 | 38 | Noah Gray | TE | 178 |
| 8 | 39 | Charlie Kolar | TE | 179 |
| 8 | 40 | Elijah Higgins | TE | 183 |
| 8 | 41 | Jake Ferguson | TE | 188 |
| 8 | 42 | Kenyon Sadiq | TE | 189 |
| 8 | 43 | Drew Sample | TE | 192 |
| 8 | 44 | Theo Johnson | TE | 193 |
| 8 | 45 | Foster Moreau | TE | 194 |
| 8 | 46 | Dawson Knox | TE | 209 |
| 8 | 47 | Austin Hooper | TE | 212 |
| 8 | 48 | Sam Roush | TE | 215 |
| 8 | 49 | Gavin Bartholomew | TE | 217 |
| 8 | 50 | Will Kacmarek | TE | 218 |
| 8 | 51 | Nate Boerkircher | TE | 221 |
| 8 | 52 | Eric Saubert | TE | 222 |
| 8 | 53 | Nate Adkins | TE | 226 |
| 8 | 54 | Luke Farrell | TE | 229 |
| 8 | 55 | Mitchell Evans | TE | 230 |
| 9 | 56 | Adam Trautman | TE | 231 |
| 9 | 57 | Blake Whiteheart | TE | 234 |
| 9 | 58 | Josh Cuevas | TE | 235 |
| 9 | 59 | John Bates | TE | 236 |
| 9 | 60 | Brock Wright | TE | 237 |
| 9 | 61 | Luke Schoonmaker | TE | 240 |
| 9 | 62 | Oscar Delp | TE | 243 |
| 9 | 63 | Jeremy Ruckert | TE | 244 |
| 9 | 64 | Tanner Koziol | TE | 256 |
| 9 | 65 | Mo Alie-Cox | TE | 257 |
| 9 | 66 | Cade Stover | TE | 258 |
| 10 | 67 | Eli Stowers | TE | 259 |
| 10 | 68 | Ben Sinnott | TE | 268 |
| 10 | 69 | Johnny Mundt | TE | 269 |
| 10 | 70 | Matthew Hibner | TE | 270 |
| 10 | 71 | Jackson Hawes | TE | 271 |
| 10 | 72 | Jake Briningstool | TE | 272 |
| 10 | 73 | Charlie Woerner | TE | 274 |
| 10 | 74 | James Mitchell | TE | 278 |
| 10 | 75 | Drew Ogletree | TE | 281 |
Week 9 Tight End Rankings News
Brenton Strange, Jacksonville Jaguars
n a week that saw Jaguars quarterbacks attempt only 17 passes in a blowout win over the Colts, Jacksonville tight end Brenton Strange tied for the team lead with 55 receiving yards on his two receptions. With the passing offense becoming slightly unpredictable through its embarrassment of riches, Strange has emerged as one of the Jaguars' most consistent fantasy producers, topping 40 receiving yards in his last four outings and ranking as the TE13 by points per game over that stretch despite being held without a touchdown.
Offering one of the safest floors at the position, Strange has emerged as a usable weekly streamer who could help to win weeks if he finds his way back into the end zone, an accomplishable feat with Trevor Lawrence now ranking third in the league with 17 passing touchdowns.
T.J. Hockenson, Minnesota Vikings
Minnesota Vikings tight end T.J. Hockenson collected four of five targets for 58 yards and a touchdown in Sunday's 19-15 road loss to the division-rival Detroit Lions. Hockenson picked up his third outing of four catches and a receiving score on five targets on Sunday, and has been a decent play over the last month or so, sans a win over New Orleans, when he left with a concussion after just two snaps. Even with the suboptimal effort, the eighth-year pro is the PPR TE5 in points per game (14) since Week 4.
Furthermore, he's handily led the team in receiving over that stretch, and sits atop the Vikings' pass-catchers with eight red zone looks on the season as a whole. Hockenson may not boast the upside he did earlier in his career, but he still holds some value as a fringy back-end TE1 play with steady opportunity as an outlet for Kyler Murray. He'll look to keep it rolling next Monday night against the visiting Buffalo Bills in what projects to be a favorable outing.
Harold Fannin Jr., Cleveland Browns
On a day in which the Cleveland Browns only scored six points and quarterback Deshaun Watson threw for 324 yards in Sunday's loss to the division-rival Pittsburgh Steelers, tight end Harold Fannin Jr. was the only offensive skill player for the Browns to thrive. Fannin led the team in receptions (10), targets (12), and receiving yards (154) for a career-best day while averaging a healthy 15.4 yards per catch. With the strong performance, Fannin is now quietly the overall TE5 in half-PPR scoring with 35 receptions on 51 targets for 411 yards and three touchdowns.
Only Trey McBride, Brock Bowers, Isaiah Likely, and George Kittle have been more productive so far in 2026 at the tight end position in fantasy. The only negative aspect of the 22-year-old's game on Sunday in Pittsburgh was his lost fumble, but fantasy managers were not complaining at all. The game script in the Steel City definitely helped Fannin's cause this weekend, but he will remain a strong TE1 option for fantasy managers in Cleveland's Week 9 road outing against the New Orleans Saints, who will be coming off their bye.
Trey McBride, Arizona Cardinals
Arizona Cardinals tight end Trey McBride did not lead the team in receiving in their 33-30 comeback win in overtime over the hosting Dallas Cowboys on Sunday, but he still had a big game for his fantasy managers and remains the overall TE1 in half-PPR scoring through eight weeks. McBride finished the game in Dallas with seven catches on eight targets for 72 yards (10.3 yards per reception) and another touchdown. The 26-year-old former second-rounder out of Colorado State now leads all tight ends in receptions (66) and targets (86) for 544 receiving yards and five touchdowns. His 544 yards are only three behind Brock Bowers, and his five touchdowns have him tied for first at the position.
Fantasy managers might have been a bit worried when the Cardinals benched Jacoby Brissett at quarterback in favor of Gardner Minshew II, but McBride did not miss a beat. He could lose a little fantasy upside moving forward if Arizona sticks with Minshew under center, but McBride is still an elite TE in fantasy and is on pace to improve on his career-best numbers from a season ago, when he caught 126 passes for 1,239 yards and 11 touchdowns on 169 targets.
Who Should I Start Tool
Compare up to four players and we'll tell you who to start...
Week 9 Player Decisions. Today's focus is on specific players: Harold Fannin Jr., Tucker Kraft, Mike Gesicki, Dalton Kincaid, Brenton Strange, Kyle Pitts Sr., Dalton Schultz, Trey McBride, Michael Mayer, T.J. Hockenson, Cade Otton, and Eli Raridon. These are some of the most common searches for fantasy football lineups in Week 9.
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 9 Searches. Curious to see some tough lineup decisions for Week 9 (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 9 Searches - Start/Sit Player Comparisons
Below are some popular searches and comparisons from our Who To Start tool for Week 9 for Harold Fannin Jr., Tucker Kraft, Mike Gesicki, Dalton Kincaid, Brenton Strange, Kyle Pitts Sr., Dalton Schultz, Trey McBride, Michael Mayer, T.J. Hockenson, Cade Otton, and Eli Raridon:
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