2026 Tight End Premium Fantasy Football Draft Rankings: August Updates

August 17, 2026

RotoBaller's updated tight end premium rankings for fantasy football. These 2026 TEP rankings include the top 400 players at TE, WR, RB, and QB.

If you don't land a top tight end in traditional leagues, it can be frustrating to count on a mid-level tight end to produce enough fantasy points to make a difference for your team. But in tight end premium setups, TEs are awarded extra points for receptions and/or yards, meaning later-round tight ends are valuable contributors, and you can even consider playing two tight ends in your starting lineup. Ahead of your draft, check out our updated tight end premium rankings for fantasy football.

Our TEP 2026 fantasy football rankings are put together by Nick Mariano, a top-accuracy industry ranker and the lead forecaster here at RotoBaller. Below, see where key tight ends like Brock Bowers, Harold Fannin Jr., Sam LaPorta, Tucker Kraft, George Kittle, Dalton Kincaid, Gunnar Helm, Chig Okonkwo, and more stand among the top 400 players.

In addition to these 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.

2026 TE-Premium Fantasy Football Rankings

2026 Fantasy Football Tight End News

Tyler Warren, Indianapolis Colts

Indianapolis Colts tight end Tyler Warren is expected to take on a much larger target share during his second NFL season. The Colts traded away Michael Pittman Jr. this past offseason and didn't bring in any big names to fill his shoes, so a lot of his vacated targets will go to Warren. The tight end is heading into his second NFL season and will look to build on an impressive rookie campaign in which he caught 76 passes for 817 yards and four touchdowns.

The Penn State product was the overall TE4 in PPR leagues last year, and he achieved that mark despite playing several games without quarterback Daniel Jones, who suffered an Achilles injury. Now, Jones is healthy, and Pittman is gone, setting the stage for Warren to have a massive Year 2 breakout. In the short term, he could also step into a larger role if wide receiver Alec Pierce (ankle) isn't quite at 100 percent in Week 1.

Tucker Kraft, Green Bay Packers

Green Bay Packers tight end Tucker Kraft (knee) said he hopes that he won't be on a snap count for Week 1 of the regular season against the Minnesota Vikings, according to Rob Demovsky of ESPN. Kraft is working his way back from an ACL tear, and he has four weeks to progress through the final stages of his recovery so that he can avoid having any limitations in the season opener. It was previously reported that he was on track to be ready for Week 1, but this latest update suggests that he could be able to handle a full workload.

Kraft was the overall TE1 in PPR leagues before tearing his ACL in Week 9 last season, so fantasy managers will hope that he can return to that level of productivity in 2026. Even if the injury does hinder him slightly, we're still optimistic that he can be a top-eight fantasy tight end in redraft leagues. As it stands, he ranks as the overall TE5 in RotoBaller's latest fantasy football rankings.

George Kittle, San Francisco 49ers

San Francisco 49ers tight end George Kittle (Achilles) gave another positive update on his recovery Sunday. While doing his on-field rehab, Kittle told Matt Barrows that he's "hitting numbers I need to hit" and is "pretty close." Kittle remains on the active/PUP list and hasn't returned to team practice yet after tearing his right Achilles during San Francisco's Wild Card win over the Philadelphia Eagles in January. He has been working off to the side throughout camp as he continues to build toward football activity.

Kittle has made Week 1 his goal, although coming back that quickly from a January Achilles tear would be an aggressive timeline. The 32-year-old was still productive when healthy last season, catching 57 passes for 628 yards and seven touchdowns in 11 games. There is still another step to take before Kittle is practicing with his teammates, but his latest comments suggest the rehab continues to move in the right direction.

Eli Stowers, Philadelphia Eagles

Philadelphia Eagles tight end Eli Stowers caught all three of his targets for 12 yards during Saturday's preseason contest against the Baltimore Ravens. Stowers did a little bit of everything in his pro debut. In addition to catching three passes, he carved out a decent role as a blocker and also made a tackle on special teams. The only blip on Stowers' stat sheet was a holding penalty from the very first play of the game, but perhaps that can be chalked up to first-game jitters.

It was encouraging to see Stowers form a rapport with Tanner McKee, who is in the mix to be Jalen Hurts' backup in Philly this season. While Dallas Goedert projects as the Eagles' No. 1 tight end this year, there's a clear path for Stowers to take over atop the depth chart with Goedert's anticipated departure in free agency next offseason. As it stands, the second-round pick out of Vanderbilt checks in at TE12 in RotoBaller's latest dynasty fantasy football rankings.

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