Dynasty TE1 Candidates: 3 Tight Ends Who Could Dethrone Brock Bowers in Fantasy Football (2025)

August 21, 2025

Andrew's three top tight ends who can become the TE1 over Brock Bowers in 2025 dynasty fantasy football leagues. His fantasy outlooks on Trey McBride and more.

One offseason ago, Sam LaPorta was widely viewed as the TE1 for dynasty fantasy football leagues (He's going to be on my roster until he retires!). That didn't last long.

Brock Bowers rewrote the record books in his rookie season and cemented himself atop the dynasty rankings. Now entering his second season, with an improved offense no less, it's going to take extraordinary circumstances to dethrone him.

But let's play the game. If Bowers were to slip, which tight end would take his place atop the rankings? Here are three candidates.

Trey McBride, TE, Arizona Cardinals

It's Bowers and Trey McBride, and then everybody else right now.

The 2022 second-round pick broke out at the tail end of his second season, following an injury to starter Zach Ertz. He rode that momentum into his third year, finishing as the TE2 in total points (trailing Bowers) and points per game (George Kittle).

There's still plenty of room for No. 85 to grow. 111 receptions and 1,146 yards will be difficult to top, but even a decrease of 10 catches and 100 yards would put him among the elite. The missing ingredient can be found in the end zone.

McBride didn't score a receiving touchdown until Week 17, when he decided to put a mini-streak together, finding paydirt again in the (meaningless for fantasy) Week 18. Toss in the random rushing touchdown in Week 9 (his only carry of the season) and McBride's total hit three. 24 tight ends caught more touchdowns than McBride, including fantasy football *ahem* superstars AJ Barner, Nick Vannett, Josh Oliver, and Nate Adkins.

What frustrated fantasy managers even more was that McBride's target share increased in the red zone, and he finished second among tight ends in red zone targets (21). The connection between him and Kyler Murray clicked between the 20s. When the field shrank, McBride's catch rate dropped from over 75 to 52 percent.

Trey McBride was all alone in the endzone and Kyler didn't see him 😭 pic.twitter.com/2GYLoHEaXy

— Yahoo Fantasy Sports (@YahooFantasy) November 3, 2024

It's becoming somewhat of a concerning trend, as McBride has six receiving touchdowns in three years. It's not panic time yet; he's only been a starter for a season and a half. But something worth monitoring.

The popular consensus is that he'll enjoy positive touchdown regression in 2025, and if he does, overtaking Bowers atop the dynasty wish list isn't out of the question. Regardless of what happens in the red zone, managers can trust that McBride is Murray's preferred target in the desert.

Tyler Warren, TE, Indianapolis Colts

First came LaPorta, then came Bowers.

Fantasy football players are witnessing the unlikeliest of trends: Two rookies have topped the tight end scoring list in consecutive seasons. Can Tyler Warren be the one to make it three in a row?

The rookie is the latest in a lengthy list of Penn State tight ends to make the NFL. Unlike Mike Gesicki, Pat Freiermuth, Brenton Strange, and Theo Johnson, Warren was a first-round draft pick after displaying talents that exceeded the receiving game.

Yes, Warren led the Nittany Lions in receptions (104), receiving yards (1,233), and receiving touchdowns (8). But he also rushed the football 26 times for 218 yards and four scores and threw another touchdown for good measure. He is truly a jack-of-all-trades weapon.

This one will never fail to impress 💯

We're reliving Tyler Warren's trick play TD to spark @PennStateFball's comeback at USC 👇#TouchdownTuesday x #B1GFootball pic.twitter.com/bVZ80AQ0MW

— Big Ten Football (@B1Gfootball) July 1, 2025

His upside was too juicy for Indianapolis to pass up with the 14th pick in the NFL Draft. He joins a roster filled with receiving talent (Michael Pittman Jr., Josh Downs, and Adonai Mitchell), but nobody who has truly stepped into an alpha role.

How will head coach Shane Steichen deploy his rookie? He's been an offensive coordinator or head coach since the 2020 season. Dallas Goedert enjoyed his two best yardage seasons with Steichen calling plays in Philadelphia. Hunter Henry caught 60 passes in his final Los Angeles season with Steichen serving as the offensive coordinator. Goedert and Henry are both nice players, but did not have Warren's pedigree upon entering the league.

The biggest knock on Warren's redraft potential could be his biggest boon for his career-long trajectory. The Indianapolis quarterback room is well-documented: Anthony Richardson can't pass the football. He has 11 touchdowns through the air and 13 interceptions in 15 career games. The former first-round pick completed fewer than 50 percent of his pass attempts and temporarily lost his job to 39-year-old Joe Flacco in 2024.

Fantasy managers of Pittman and Downs were actively rooting for Flacco to start. Downs averaged 15.4 PPR points per game in seven games without Richardson, compared to 10.7 with him.

The same crowd is hoping Daniel Jones wins the starting job in Indianapolis. Mediocre numbers (64% completion rate and 208 yards per game) led to the New York Giants moving on from their former first-round pick, and he's still the guy we want to see under center.

Whether it's Richardson or Jones, Warren won't have an upper-half starting quarterback throughout his rookie season. That's why he's outside of the top 12 in redraft rankings.

However, if he becomes the Colts' top target, despite a low pass rate and inaccuracies, then his long-term stock will rise. If, like Bowers, he overcomes all the offensive obstacles en route to a top-three fantasy season, he'll be a dynasty darling.

Sam LaPorta, TE, Detroit Lions

When Sam LaPorta ended his rookie season as fantasy football's TE1, he did it on the heels of double-digit touchdowns. He also logged 86 receptions. A rookie, the highest-scoring tight end, was unheard of. LaPorta was the first in 35 years to accomplish the feat. Little did we know, he may have been starting a trend.

Touchdown regression contributed to LaPorta's sophomore slump. He had zero touchdown receptions in September and two when the calendar rolled into November. He also saw fewer targets (83) than he had receptions in his first go-around.

LaPorta's involvement became more consistent after Thanksgiving. He earned seven or more targets in every game from the beginning of December through the end of the season, reminding fantasy managers why he was a third-round selection in redraft leagues. The boost came as an early-season injury healed.

In the end, the TE8 overall was a disappointment for both redraft and dynasty managers. However, he's only 24 years old and is on one of the most potent offenses in football, even without now-departed offensive coordinator Ben Johnson.

In a countdown of the @NFL Top 100 Players of 2025, @Samlaporta
came in at No. 94.

Stay tuned this week to see the rest of the #Lions who made the list! pic.twitter.com/5VrjNIo6iD

— Detroit Lions (@Lions) July 3, 2025

Of course, with a good offense comes target competition. Amon-Ra St. Brown (141 targets) and Jahmyr Gibbs (63 as a running back) are the primary weapons. Jameson Williams (91) is next in line. LaPorta and David Montgomery are next in the typical game plan. Being the fourth option on most NFL teams won't cut it. Detroit is an exception.

There are hopes, at least for managers who drafted Colston Loveland, that he can become the LaPorta of Johnson's new Chicago offense. He faces tougher target competition at his position (Cole Kmet), and the Bears offense (and Loveland himself) aren't proven commodities. LaPorta's odds of having another Pro Bowl and top-three fantasy campaign are much higher than Loveland's.

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