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RotoBaller's updated Week 1 tight end (TE) rankings for fantasy football in 2026. Read the weekend updates for our fantasy football TE rankings and win more.
Welcome RotoBallers! The first full slate of the 2026 NFL season kicks off in just under a day, and those needing to adjust their tight end position have come to the right place. Below, you will find our updated Week 1 PPR rankings for tight ends. If you drafted Trey McBride or Colston Loveland, you may feel comfortable with your roster, but superstar Brock Bowers has been ruled out, leaving many managers with an open spot in their starting lineup.
Our tight end fantasy football rankings for Week 1 are put together by Nick Mariano. In addition to his rankings, below you will also find a summary of the important fantasy football injury news for this week. There are always key injuries to keep track of, so be sure to check back until kickoff.
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Week 1 Tight End Rankings for Fantasy Football
Be sure to bookmark our weekly PPR rankings, Half-PPR rankings, Standard rankings.
| TE Tier |
TE Rank |
Player Name |
Pos. | Overall Rank |
| 1 | 1 | Trey McBride | TE | 32 |
| 1 | 2 | Colston Loveland | TE | 54 |
| 2 | 3 | Tyler Warren | TE | 62 |
| 3 | 4 | Sam LaPorta | TE | 66 |
| 3 | 5 | Tucker Kraft | TE | 69 |
| 3 | 6 | Harold Fannin Jr. | TE | 74 |
| 3 | 7 | Dallas Goedert | TE | 76 |
| 4 | 8 | Travis Kelce | TE | 82 |
| 4 | 9 | Juwan Johnson | TE | 90 |
| 5 | 10 | Michael Mayer | TE | 96 |
| 6 | 11 | Kyle Pitts Sr. | TE | 98 |
| 6 | 12 | Mark Andrews | TE | 103 |
| 6 | 13 | Isaiah Likely | TE | 105 |
| 6 | 14 | Jake Ferguson | TE | 109 |
| 7 | 15 | Dalton Kincaid | TE | 110 |
| 7 | 16 | George Kittle | TE | 113 |
| 7 | 17 | Hunter Henry | TE | 117 |
| 7 | 18 | Brenton Strange | TE | 121 |
| 8 | 19 | Dalton Schultz | TE | 129 |
| 8 | 20 | T.J. Hockenson | TE | 132 |
| 8 | 21 | Cade Otton | TE | 133 |
| 9 | 22 | Terrance Ferguson | TE | 138 |
| 9 | 23 | AJ Barner | TE | 143 |
| 9 | 24 | Pat Freiermuth | TE | 147 |
| 10 | 25 | Mike Gesicki | TE | 149 |
| 10 | 26 | Chig Okonkwo | TE | 151 |
| 10 | 27 | Colby Parkinson | TE | 153 |
| 10 | 28 | Gunnar Helm | TE | 156 |
| 11 | 29 | Evan Engram | TE | 160 |
| 12 | 30 | Greg Dulcich | TE | 161 |
| 13 | 31 | Darren Waller | TE | 166 |
| 13 | 32 | Charlie Kolar | TE | 173 |
| 13 | 33 | Oronde Gadsden II | TE | 178 |
| 13 | 34 | Darnell Washington | TE | 179 |
| 13 | 35 | Kenyon Sadiq | TE | 184 |
| 13 | 36 | Cole Kmet | TE | 191 |
| 13 | 37 | David Njoku | TE | 192 |
| 14 | 38 | Noah Fant | TE | 194 |
| 14 | 39 | Theo Johnson | TE | 209 |
| 14 | 40 | Tyler Higbee | TE | 210 |
| 14 | 41 | Elijah Arroyo | TE | 211 |
| 14 | 42 | Mason Taylor | TE | 212 |
| 14 | 43 | Jake Tonges | TE | 215 |
| 14 | 44 | Ja'Tavion Sanders | TE | 223 |
| 14 | 45 | Dawson Knox | TE | 224 |
| 14 | 46 | Erick All Jr. | TE | 225 |
| 14 | 47 | Matthew Hibner | TE | 228 |
| 14 | 48 | Daniel Bellinger | TE | 232 |
| 15 | 49 | Jonnu Smith | TE | 235 |
| 15 | 50 | Noah Gray | TE | 237 |
| 15 | 51 | Josh Oliver | TE | 239 |
| 15 | 52 | Eli Raridon | TE | 241 |
| 15 | 53 | Austin Hooper | TE | 243 |
| 15 | 54 | Luke Schoonmaker | TE | 246 |
| 15 | 55 | Tyler Conklin | TE | 248 |
| 15 | 56 | Oscar Delp | TE | 249 |
| 15 | 57 | Brock Wright | TE | 250 |
| 15 | 58 | Ian Thomas | TE | 253 |
| 15 | 59 | Elijah Higgins | TE | 255 |
| 16 | 60 | Marlin Klein | TE | 256 |
| 16 | 61 | Foster Moreau | TE | 258 |
| 16 | 62 | Drew Sample | TE | 259 |
| 16 | 63 | John Bates | TE | 262 |
| 16 | 64 | Tommy Tremble | TE | 269 |
| 16 | 65 | Mo Alie-Cox | TE | 272 |
| 16 | 66 | Adam Trautman | TE | 278 |
| 16 | 67 | Nate Boerkircher | TE | 281 |
| 16 | 68 | Tanner Hudson | TE | 282 |
| 16 | 69 | Jackson Hawes | TE | 283 |
| 16 | 70 | Eli Stowers | TE | 284 |
| 17 | 71 | Davis Allen | TE | 286 |
| 17 | 72 | Luke Farrell | TE | 287 |
| 17 | 73 | Tanner Koziol | TE | 288 |
Week 1 Tight End Outlooks for Fantasy Football
Tucker Kraft, Green Bay Packers
Green Bay Packers tight end Tucker Kraft looks to continue his early-season momentum from last season into Week 1 as the Packers head to Minnesota to take on the Vikings. From Week 1 through Week 8 of last season, Kraft was TE1 in fantasy points per game and had five weeks of TE10 or better in those weeks, including two overall TE1 weeks.
Kraft suffered a season-ending ACL tear in Week 9 against Carolina that shut his breakout season down, but he's off the Packers' injury report and is good to go for Week 1. It's possible Kraft's workload may be a bit more managed in the season's first few weeks, but when he's on the field, he's arguably the team's most dynamic receiver and YAC threat. Kraft is a no-brainer TE1 for fantasy against the Vikings in Week 1.
Dalton Schultz, Houston Texans
Houston Texans tight end Dalton Schultz could get enough work to be a deep-league starter this season with Jayden Higgins (knee) vacating targets due to his season-ending injury and Tank Dell (knee) on IR to start the season. However, Schultz has a very tough Week 1 matchup against the Buffalo Bills, who were the best team in the NFL at limiting tight ends last year in PPR scoring.
He did have 106 targets last year, and his strong rapport with C.J. Stroud could get him enough volume to overcome the tough matchup. However, Schultz is only RotoBaller's TE 19 this week in PPR formats, making him not the best option unless you're forced to look for emergency, last-minute help from the waiver wire.
Chig Okonkwo, Washington Commanders
Washington Commanders tight end Chig Okonkwo is set to make his team debut after signing a 3-year, $27 million contract this offseason. The 27-year-old has recorded three straight seasons with 50+ catches with the Titans, and now is slotted to take over Zach Ertz's place as Washington's top pass-catching tight end.
The signing of Stefon Diggs lowers the potential target volume for Okonkwo, but Okonkwo's dynamic ability after the catch presents a major upgrade in Washington's offense. While Jayden Daniels is also an upgrade over Okonkwo's quarterbacks throughout his career and the opportunity for targets is there, Okonkwo projects as a risky start in Week 1 against the Eagles. He ranks as RotoBaller's TE26 in PPR leagues.
Mark Andrews, Baltimore Ravens
Baltimore Ravens tight end Mark Andrews looks to bounce back this season, and his campaign starts in Indianapolis against the Colts in Week 1. Andrews is entering the first year of his three-year, $39.3 million contract extension signed in December and is leading a rebuilt tight end room. Veteran Durham Smythe joined in the offseason, and rookies Matt Hibner and Josh Cuevas each made strong showings during the preseason.
Smythe is expected to handle much of the blocking work, while the younger tight ends will develop over the course of the season. Andrews is coming off one of his worst career years, in terms of efficiency, but he had a promising camp and looks healthy heading into his ninth season with the Ravens. Last year, Andrews had a career-low 422 total yards, despite playing all 17 games, and averaged just 24.8 receiving yards per game.
He also had career lows in several advanced metrics, including yards per reception (8.8), receiving EPA (-9.2), air yards per target (7.8), and yards after catch over expected (-23). However, the Colts defense was in the bottom 10 against tight ends in 2025, allowing an average of 12.6 points to the position. Andrews should fall right behind wide receiver Zay Flowers in targets on Sunday.
Most importantly, the veteran tight end has established trust with quarterback Lamar Jackson, especially in the red zone, which probably makes him a low-end TE1 going into Week 1.
Who Should I Start Tool
Compare up to four players and we'll tell you who to start...
Week 1 Player Decisions. Today's focus is on specific players: Michael Mayer, Kyle Pitts Sr., Mark Andrews, Isaiah Likely, Jake Ferguson, Dalton Kincaid. These are some of the most common searches for fantasy football lineups in Week 1.
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 1 Searches. Curious to see some tough lineup decisions for Week 1 (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 1 Searches - Start/Sit Player Comparisons
Below are some popular searches and comparisons from our Who To Start tool for Week 1 for Michael Mayer, Kyle Pitts Sr., Mark Andrews, Isaiah Likely, Jake Ferguson, Dalton Kincaid:
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