Fantasy Football Tight Ends: Stats, Sleepers, and Surprises You Need to Know (Week 4)

October 1, 2026

Rob breaks down the fantasy football tight end landscape in 2026 by looking at snaps played, routes run, and targets earned to provide you with in-depth information about who to trust in Week 4.

The tight end position is off to the hottest start in recent memory. TE17 Sam LaPorta is averaging roughly the same half-PPR PPG as WR32 Luther Burden III (9.1 vs. 9.3). LaPorta is currently outscoring RB25 Kyle Monangai, who is at 8.5 half-PPR PPG. Crazy hot start, but will it hold?

While we've gotten some surprise performances from Kenyon Sadiq, Darren Waller, and Noah Fant, we also have underperforming stars Tucker Kraft, Kyle Pitts Sr., and Colston Loveland. Fantasy managers simply have never had as many quality options at tight end as they do right now.

Unfortunately, tight ends are always prone to bust weeks, and the extra number of quality options might make some fantasy managers feel like they're scrolling through Netflix with multiple decent-to-solid options but unsure what to select. We'll take a look at some of the most interesting tight ends -- both good and bad -- to see if we can get a better idea of what to expect moving forward.

Tucker Kraft ... Where Art Thou?

We're not panicking, folks. Ok, we might be panicking a little, but if you've ever watched "Top Gun," this is where we're at with Kraft. His ACL recovery is playing the role of his late wingman, Goose, but fantasy managers have just one option: keep sending him up. Eventually, he'll reengage, just like Maverick did.

Sure, you might be thinking that's a Hollywood movie. Real life doesn't always end with happy endings. You're not wrong, but Kraft has a few things working in his favor. They're not necessarily good for the Packers, but they are good for Kraft's fantasy prospects.

Through the first three weeks of the season, Jordan Love and the Packers have the second-most pass attempts. Given the state of their offensive line and running back depth chart, there's little reason to think that'll be changing anytime soon. Jayden Reed has also been ruled out for the season.

Between Matthew Golden, Christian Watson, and Kraft, the Packers will have one of the NFL's most condensed passing offenses, yet they're currently passing the football at an extremely high rate. That will eventually pay dividends for Kraft as he continues to get healthier.

While Kraft was on a snap count in Week 1, he has run the fifth-most routes over the last two weeks. The production hasn't been there yet, but we've seen just how great a player Kraft is over the past two seasons. Given the injury he's working back from, it's not surprising he's had a slow start, but it's a great sign that he's not on a snap count anymore.

With the volume the Packers offense is producing and the limited number of pass-catchers, Kraft will eventually catch fire. With the newest offensive line additions, if they can give Love better production, this passing offense could see its efficiency increase.

It'll be difficult to keep starting Kraft, but that's exactly what fantasy managers should do. Trust the talent. Trust the role.

Is Kenyon Sadiq on the Verge of a Breakout?

Sadiq is fresh off a monster performance, finishing with eight targets, seven receptions, 105 yards, and a touchdown for 20.0 half-PPR points. This is after having just 21 and 17 receiving yards in Weeks 1 and 2, respectively. How much of last week's game signals what's to come, and how much was a mirage?

In Week 3, the Jets were missing Omar Cooper Jr., Mason Taylor, and Adonai Mitchell. Not that any of these players are household names, but they're all guys who could begin to cut into a rookie tight end's target share. We'll have to wait until they return to know for sure, but we can look at whether his role and usage changed.

In Weeks 1 and 2, Sadiq had a 40.0% route share. That rose to 56.8% in Week 3. That's moving in the right direction, but it's still considerably lower than we'd like to see for consistent fantasy football production. You could interpret that in one of two ways. The first being that now is a good time to sell high because production will not consistently follow this route share.

The second, and the route fantasy managers should be taking, is that Sadiq is the type of player fantasy managers should be aggressively targeting, but not confidently starting yet. As a first-round rookie, a performance like the one we saw in Week 3 could be just what the doctor ordered for a more involved role.

That first-round ability shows up for Sadiq and the Jets here: pic.twitter.com/fZajx7PE4d

— Jeremy Fowler (@JFowlerESPN) September 27, 2026

In the first two games of the season, Sadiq had just a 7.7% target share and 17% target rate. This last week, those numbers jumped to 21.6% and 32%, respectively. Fantasy managers should be encouraged by his Week 3 performance. If Taylor and Mitchell remain out in Week 4, they can start him as well. If those guys return, Sadiq is probably best benched to see how his role and usage change with them active.

There is no denying his talent, however. He was a first-round pick for a reason. He's an explosive athlete, and the Jets need him right now. He's a player to aggressively add via the waiver wire. Trust the talent. Trust the draft capital, but maybe don't trust him in your starting lineup just yet. At least until we see that route share increase to 65%, ideally with those other players back in the fold.

Buy Sam LaPorta

Let's just cut to the chase: Sam LaPorta is "only" TE17 through three weeks with a 9.1 half-PPR PPG, but last year a 9.1 half-PPR PPG would have been TE9. With just a three-week sample size, things will fluctuate, but LaPorta's utilization and his expected half-PPR PPG suggest that better days, much better days, are ahead.

His expected half-PPR PPG is 10.55, which ranks fourth among tight ends. That alone should tell fantasy managers to buy low on LaPorta. Over three weeks, only Brock Bowers has a higher route share than LaPorta, and Bowers has played only one game this season. LaPorta's route share is at 84.3%. Outside of Bowers, only three other tight ends have a route share above 80%.

Jared Goff with a strike to Sam LaPorta for a 28-yard gain!@NYJvsDET on CBS/Paramount+
Stream on @NFLPlus pic.twitter.com/mFPbUcdqj1

— NFL (@NFL) September 27, 2026

Through three weeks, LaPorta is tied for fifth in total targets with 18. He's also seventh with 144 receiving yards. Fantasy managers can see the overall production has been there, but unfortunately, he has just one touchdown, tied for 13th with 15 other tight ends. His expected touchdown total is 2.0, indicating much better days are ahead.

Like Kraft, plenty of outside factors favor LaPorta. The Detroit defense is atrocious. The secondary is utterly depleted. While Jahmyr Gibbs is an absolute superstar, they can only give him so many touches. That will force Detroit's offense to chase points consistently.

Without a decent No. 2 running back and the ability to give Gibbs 20 carries every week, they'll keep leaning on the passing game. That's a positive for LaPorta, and over three weeks, dating back to last season, LaPorta has outperformed Jameson Williams when they've both been active. Fantasy managers should be buying low on LaPorta if they can.

Panic Meter on Kyle Pitts Sr.

It's up there, ladies and gentlemen. If the panic meter is 1-5, we're at a real solid four. From 2024-26, when Michael Penix Jr. has been the quarterback, Pitts' target rate has been 17%. During that time, without Penix, Pitts' target rate rose to 20%. Drake London has seen the opposite. Without Penix, his target rate is 26%, but with Penix, that number rose to 34%.

We all know how bad the production has been over the past three weeks. He has two catches for 20 yards. That is absolutely dreadful. However, over just three weeks, box-score stats can lie. In Pitts' case, that's simply not the case. Fantasy managers have plenty of reasons to be terrified.

Among 48 tight ends with at least 30 routes, fantasy managers won't find much to be optimistic about. He sits just 24th in route share at 58.9%. His snap share is barely over 50%, sitting at 53.9%. The new coaching staff has greatly limited his snaps in 12 personnel. Considering how poor the Falcons' receiver depth chart is, they've used 12 personnel enough that it's significantly hurting Pitts' value.

Not that we expect Pitts to be like George Kittle, but Kittle has a 61.8% route share, barely above Pitts, at 24th. However, Kittle is earning a route on 29% of his routes, which offsets his low route rate. That is soooo not the case for Pitts.

His target rate is just 11%, which is 40th out of 48 tight ends with 30 routes. He's 46th out of those 48 tight ends in yards per route run at just 0.38. There's no silver lining to look to here, but there are a whole lot of red flags. As bad as the production has been, the underlying utilization might be worse.

Week 4 Rankings

1. Brock Bowers vs. Kansas City Chiefs
2. Trey McBride at New York Giants
3. George Kittle vs. Denver Broncos
4. Dalton Kincaid vs. New England Patriots
5. Sam LaPorta at Carolina Panthers
6. Tyler Warren at Washington Commanders
7. Travis Kelce at Las Vegas Raiders
8. Tucker Kraft at Tampa Bay Buccaneers
9. Juwan Johnson vs. Atlanta Falcons
10. Kenyon Sadiq at Chicago Bears
11. Harold Fannin Jr. vs. Pittsburgh Steelers
12. Isaiah Likely vs. Arizona Cardinals
13. Colston Loveland vs. New York Jets
14. Dalton Schultz vs. Dallas Cowboys
15. Mark Andrews vs. Tennessee Titans
16. Brenton Strange at Cincinnati Bengals
17. Darren Waller vs. Detroit Lions
18. Pat Freiermuth at Cleveland Browns
19. Jake Ferguson at Houston Texans
20. T.J. Hockenson vs. Miami Dolphins
21. Kyle Pitts Sr. at New Orleans Saints
22. AJ Barner vs. Los Angeles Chargers
23. Tyler Higbee at Philadelphia Eagles
24. Hunter Henry at Buffalo Bills
25. Mike Gesicki vs. Jacksonville Jaguars

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