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Joey's upside fantasy football tight ends, breakouts, and elite TEs who can finish as the overall TE1 in 2026. His top picks include Brock Bowers, Trey McBride, more.
The tight end position in fantasy football is always the hardest to navigate in drafts. Some will say taking one of the top tight ends early is a must in drafts. Others will say it's best to wait on one until the middle-to-late rounds. This position is so unpredictable every week that grabbing a consistent one could go a long way for your fantasy team.
In this article, we will dive into the five tight ends who have TE1 upside this year. Some of these tight ends are safer bets to finish as the top tight end, but each of them could finish as the overall TE1. There hasn't been a repeat TE1 since Travis Kelce did it in 2019 and 2020. Since then, Mark Andrews (2021), Kelce (2022), Sam LaPorta (2023), Brock Bowers (2024), and Trey McBride (2025) have all finished as the top TE.
So, which tight end could finish as the overall TE1 this season? Let's dive in and look at every tight end with overall TE1 upside.
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Safe Bets: Overall Fantasy Football TE1 Upside
Brock Bowers, Las Vegas Raiders
Bowers obviously has overall TE1 upside in 2026. He has finished as the overall TE1 before and could do it again this year. The last time that the Raiders playmaker finished as the overall TE1 was back in his rookie season in 2024. The former Georgia superstar caught 112 passes for 1,194 yards and five touchdowns while averaging 15.5 PPR fantasy points per game.
Unfortunately, Bowers failed to follow up on that TE1 season last year. He only finished as the overall TE11 in PPR formats behind a 64-catch, 680-yard, seven-touchdown campaign. Part of the reason for his down season in 2025 was due to a nagging knee injury he suffered in Week 1. He missed some time with that injury early in the year and never quite looked right on the field.
But with Bowers now back to being fully healthy, he could finish as the overall TE1 again. The 23-year-old will remain the top target in this offense and should be a security blanket for Kirk Cousins/Fernando Mendoza in the middle of the field. He was also a much better fantasy option than his TE11 finish suggests.
Bowers finished as the TE2 in fantasy points per game, TE2 in air yards share, TE1 in red-zone target share, TE3 in expected fantasy points per game, TE3 in dominator rating, TE3 in target premium, and TE6 in fantasy points per route run.
Now that he is finally past his PCL injury, expect the Raiders tight end to return to his 2024 self. The upgraded play-caller in Klint Kubiak should also help Bowers reach that overall TE1 status again.
Trey McBride, Arizona Cardinals
McBride is another safe bet to finish as the overall TE1 this upcoming season. He just finished as the overall TE1 last year behind a dominant all-around season.
The 26-year-old caught 126 passes for 1,239 yards and 11 touchdowns while averaging 18.6 PPR fantasy points per game. McBride was really a tight end who was putting up WR1 fantasy numbers. His 315.9 PPR fantasy points would have placed him as the WR4.
There's really no going wrong with McBride at the top of drafts. He finished as the TE2 (2024) and TE1 (2025) in each of the past two seasons and should have a very good shot at finishing as the overall TE1 again for the second straight year.
The Cardinals playmaker finished as the TE1 in air yards, receptions, receiving yards, touchdowns, designated target share, red-zone targets, designated targets, and routes run last season.
Trey McBride 1 | Budda Baker 0
McBride got him twice in 1-on-1 work. pic.twitter.com/qiS66UeFLa
— Tyler Drake (@Tdrake4sports) July 29, 2026
With Jacoby Brissett also back as his starting quarterback, McBride is the likeliest bet to finish as the overall TE1. These two were on a different level together once Brissett filled in for Kyler Murray from Week 6 onward.
McBride averaged 21.2 PPR fantasy points during this stretch with Brissett as his quarterback. Jaxon Smith-Njigba (21.8) and Puka Nacua (21.9) were the only other pass-catchers to average more than McBride in this span.
Fantasy managers will likely have to spend an early second-round pick to get McBride in drafts this season. But if you want that elite option at the position, it could be worth it.
Colston Loveland, Chicago Bears
It might surprise some managers to see Chicago Bears tight end Colston Loveland in this section. He only finished as the TE12 in his rookie season, and the Bears have plenty of pass-catchers on offense who could take targets away from the former Michigan star. Both Rome Odunze and Luther Burden III will be top targets in Chicago's offense under Ben Johnson.
But Loveland has the potential to go off in 2026, especially given his involvement in the passing game in the second half of last season. The 22-year-old was the overall TE2 from Week 9 onward. He averaged 14.3 PPR fantasy points per game and had five top-10 fantasy TE finishes over the final 10 weeks of the regular season.
Loveland emerged as Caleb Williams' favorite target in the passing game down the stretch. Williams simply wasn't afraid to force-feed him through the air. In his final four games (including playoffs), the Bears tight end caught six passes on 10 targets for 94 yards and one touchdown, 10 passes on 13 targets for 91 yards and one touchdown, eight passes on 15 targets for 137 yards, and four passes on 10 targets for 56 yards.
The young playmaker will now carry those types of performances into his second NFL season, where his rapport with Williams should grow even stronger. His fantasy ceiling is absolutely the TE1 after showing his upside late during the 2025 campaign.
Loveland ranked as the TE3 in average target distance, TE4 in air yards, TE5 in yards per reception, and TE7 in fantasy points per route run as a rookie.
Colston Loveland looks good.
Looks bigger running good routes soft natural hands lining up everywhere.
Caleb said he thinks he has the ability to become the best TE in the NFL. I agree. Uncommon skillset. #DaBears #Bears pic.twitter.com/xtKgcEZ9y1
— Clay Harbor (@clayharbs82) July 29, 2026
On a Bears offense that should be even better than it was a season ago, Loveland has TE1 upside.
Outside Chance: Overall Fantasy Football TE1 Upside
Tucker Kraft, Green Bay Packers
Green Bay Packers tight end Tucker Kraft was one of the best fantasy options at the position to start the 2025 season. His 16.2 PPR fantasy points per game through the first eight weeks were tied with McBride as the TE1, and Kraft had two separate overall TE1 weeks in his first seven contests. He scored 24.4 PPR fantasy points in Week 2 against the Commanders and then 33.3 PPR fantasy points in Week 8 against the Steelers.
7 catches.
143 yards.
2 TDs.Tucker Kraft wrapped up National Tight Ends Day with a BANG 🙌 pic.twitter.com/WTu7EMgLUQ
— NFL (@NFL) October 27, 2025
Then, Kraft suffered a season-ending ACL tear in a Week 9 game against the Panthers. If the 25-year-old played the entire season and never went down with that injury, there's a chance Kraft would have finished as a top-3 fantasy TE for the first time in his career. That's how good he was to begin the 2025 campaign. He was really starting to emerge as a superstar fantasy TE option for managers.
That's exactly why Kraft could finish as the overall TE1 this year. Whether he can achieve that top fantasy finish by the end of the season will likely depend on his explosiveness following his ACL tear and some sort of regression from McBride. But the South Dakota State product does have overall TE1 upside at this position this year.
The Packers lost two wide receivers in the offseason (Romeo Doubs and Dontayvion Wicks), and Kraft's advanced metrics last year suggest that a TE1 finish is possible.
He ranked as the TE2 in fantasy points per route run, TE1 in fantasy points per target, TE1 in dominator rating, TE2 in target premium, TE2 in yards per route run, TE1 in yards per reception, and TE3 in red-zone target share.
Long Shot: Overall Fantasy Football TE1 Upside
Harold Fannin Jr., Cleveland Browns
Cleveland Browns tight end Harold Fannin Jr. quickly emerged as a fantasy star in his first NFL season. Despite sharing TE1 snaps with veteran David Njoku for most of the year, Fannin didn't let that stop him from making an immediate fantasy impact. He finished as the TE6 in PPR formats and averaged a solid 11.7 PPR fantasy points per game.
Following that incredible rookie campaign, Fannin could take his fantasy game a step further in 2026. He now has some NFL experience, and Njoku is no longer on this team after signing a free-agent deal with the Chargers.
In five games without Njoku last year (which includes a game in Week 14 in which Njoku left early), Fannin averaged 15.1 PPR fantasy points, had a 26% target share, and his receiving touchdown rate jumped to 11.8%.
Even though the quarterback play remains suspect in Cleveland, Fannin has so much potential in a Browns offense that has no true WR1. Just look at Bowers back when he finished as the overall TE1 in 2024. His quarterbacks were Gardner Minshew II and Aidan O'Connell that year, but he was the top target on a Raiders offense that often trailed in games.
There is a real opportunity in front of Fannin to finish as the overall TE1 this year. He ranked in the top 10 among all tight ends in air yards share, designed targets, yards after catch, explosive rating, and fantasy points per route run last year, all while splitting with Njoku. The departure of Njoku opens up more targets and more chances in the passing game for the second-year TE to explode.
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