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RotoBaller's updated Week 3 tight end (TE) rankings for fantasy football in 2026. Read the weekend updates for our fantasy football TE rankings and win more.
Welcome RotoBallers! Week 3 of the NFL season kicks off in one day, and many managers still need to set their lineups. Below you will find our updated TE PPR Rankings for Week 3 to reflect recent injury updates at the position, including Brock Bowers being listed as questionable and Oronde Gadsden II now sitting atop the team's depth chart.
Our tight end fantasy football rankings for Week 3 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 3 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 | 22 |
| 1 | 2 | Dalton Kincaid | TE | 45 |
| 2 | 3 | Sam LaPorta | TE | 48 |
| 3 | 4 | Travis Kelce | TE | 50 |
| 3 | 5 | Brock Bowers | TE | 52 |
| 3 | 6 | Dalton Schultz | TE | 55 |
| 3 | 7 | George Kittle | TE | 60 |
| 4 | 8 | Mark Andrews | TE | 62 |
| 4 | 9 | Tucker Kraft | TE | 68 |
| 5 | 10 | Juwan Johnson | TE | 72 |
| 6 | 11 | Tyler Warren | TE | 74 |
| 6 | 12 | Colston Loveland | TE | 83 |
| 6 | 13 | Terrance Ferguson | TE | 86 |
| 6 | 14 | Hunter Henry | TE | 90 |
| 7 | 15 | Harold Fannin Jr. | TE | 101 |
| 7 | 16 | Oronde Gadsden II | TE | 106 |
| 7 | 17 | Jake Ferguson | TE | 108 |
| 7 | 18 | Kyle Pitts Sr. | TE | 109 |
| 8 | 19 | T.J. Hockenson | TE | 111 |
| 8 | 20 | Isaiah Likely | TE | 112 |
| 8 | 21 | Pat Freiermuth | TE | 116 |
| 9 | 22 | Brenton Strange | TE | 120 |
| 9 | 23 | Darren Waller | TE | 131 |
| 9 | 24 | AJ Barner | TE | 137 |
| 10 | 25 | Zach Ertz | TE | 139 |
| 10 | 26 | Gunnar Helm | TE | 140 |
| 10 | 27 | Cade Otton | TE | 141 |
| 10 | 28 | Evan Engram | TE | 142 |
| 11 | 29 | Mike Gesicki | TE | 145 |
| 12 | 30 | Michael Mayer | TE | 159 |
| 13 | 31 | Kenyon Sadiq | TE | 161 |
| 13 | 32 | Colby Parkinson | TE | 163 |
| 13 | 33 | Greg Dulcich | TE | 166 |
| 13 | 34 | Darnell Washington | TE | 173 |
| 13 | 35 | Dawson Knox | TE | 174 |
| 13 | 36 | Johnny Mundt | TE | 187 |
| 13 | 37 | Theo Johnson | TE | 191 |
| 14 | 38 | Cole Kmet | TE | 195 |
| 14 | 39 | Foster Moreau | TE | 197 |
| 14 | 40 | Noah Gray | TE | 201 |
| 14 | 41 | Noah Fant | TE | 203 |
| 14 | 42 | Elijah Arroyo | TE | 204 |
| 14 | 43 | Tommy Tremble | TE | 207 |
| 14 | 44 | Josh Oliver | TE | 208 |
| 14 | 45 | Mason Taylor | TE | 215 |
| 14 | 46 | Jonnu Smith | TE | 216 |
| 14 | 47 | John Bates | TE | 222 |
| 14 | 48 | Erick All Jr. | TE | 224 |
| 15 | 49 | Durham Smythe | TE | 228 |
| 15 | 50 | Drew Sample | TE | 230 |
| 15 | 51 | Ben Sinnott | TE | 231 |
| 15 | 52 | Daniel Bellinger | TE | 239 |
| 15 | 53 | Mitchell Evans | TE | 241 |
| 15 | 54 | Jeremy Ruckert | TE | 242 |
| 15 | 55 | Blake Whiteheart | TE | 243 |
| 15 | 56 | Tyler Higbee | TE | 245 |
| 15 | 57 | Luke Farrell | TE | 246 |
| 15 | 58 | Austin Hooper | TE | 247 |
| 15 | 59 | Eli Raridon | TE | 249 |
| 16 | 60 | Will Kacmarek | TE | 252 |
| 16 | 61 | Adam Trautman | TE | 254 |
| 16 | 62 | Matthew Hibner | TE | 256 |
| 16 | 63 | Brock Wright | TE | 258 |
| 16 | 64 | Nate Boerkircher | TE | 259 |
| 16 | 65 | Elijah Higgins | TE | 260 |
| 16 | 66 | Marlin Klein | TE | 262 |
| 16 | 67 | Nate Adkins | TE | 263 |
| 16 | 68 | Brevyn Spann-Ford | TE | 266 |
| 16 | 69 | Luke Schoonmaker | TE | 271 |
| 16 | 70 | Davis Allen | TE | 272 |
| 17 | 71 | Cade Stover | TE | 273 |
| 17 | 72 | Tanner Koziol | TE | 275 |
| 17 | 73 | Jackson Hawes | TE | 277 |
| 17 | 74 | Charlie Woerner | TE | 281 |
| 17 | 75 | Josh Whyle | TE | 282 |
| 17 | 76 | Mo Alie-Cox | TE | 284 |
| 17 | 77 | Tyler Conklin | TE | 285 |
| 17 | 78 | Drew Ogletree | TE | 290 |
| 17 | 79 | Jake Briningstool | TE | 291 |
| 17 | 80 | Payne Durham | TE | 294 |
Week 3 Tight End Outlooks for Fantasy Football
Harold Fannin Jr., Cleveland Browns
Cleveland Browns tight end Harold Fannin Jr. is starting to come along in the passing game after his Week 2 performance against the Buccaneers. Fannin Jr. saw six targets and caught five passes for 54 yards, good for an average of 10.8 yards per reception. That followed up a lackluster Week 1 performance at the Jaguars when Fannin Jr. caught two of his three targets for 21 receiving yards.
He's averaging a solid 10.7 yards per catch on the year, but has yet to see a truly heavy target game. Deshaun Watson has looked his way plenty but there is room for more involvement in the passing game for Fannin Jr. The second-year tight end out of Bowling Green is one of the more talented tight ends in the league and has room to do much more than he has shown.
He has six touchdown receptions as a rookie, so he is a threat to find the end zone. Last week, backup tight end Blake Whiteheart scored a touchdown instead of Fannin Jr. If Fannin Jr. can find the end zone, he should be a good play against the Panthers in Week 3. At the very least, he should see more action in the game plan and be more involved in the passing game.
Dalton Schultz, Houston Texans
Houston Texans tight end Dalton Schultz had a monster week last week, catching 12 of his team-high 14 targets for 140 yards against the Bengals. He got so much volume due to the absence of Nico Collins (hamstring), who will be out again this week against the Colts. Schultz also had eight targets in Week 1 alongside Collins, so he's a key part of Houston's passing game going forward, even when Collins returns.
This week, though, C.J. Stroud will likely pepper him with targets again, which could lead to a big game against the Colts, who have allowed the fourth-most fantasy points to tight ends this season and were just trampled by Travis Kelce in Week 2. Schultz's high volume gives him a solid floor and a high ceiling, especially in PPR leagues. He is the TE6 in RotoBaller's Week 3 rankings, setting him up as a strong option to start in almost all formats.
Isaiah Likely, New York Giants
New York Giants tight end Isaiah Likely has been highly productive in his first few weeks with his new team. Through two games, Likely has hauled in 13 of 18 targets for 111 yards and two touchdowns, averaging 14.8 half-PPR fantasy points per game. Despite wide receiver Malik Nabers (knee) being healthy and active to start the season, Likely has been the team's lead receiver in every statistical category.
However, quarterback Jaxson Dart (knee) underwent season-ending surgery, and backup Jameis Winston will take over as starter. With Dart out, this Matt Nagy offense could lean more on the run game as it tries to limit Winston's turnovers. They face a Tennessee Titans defense that has allowed just 35 yards to tight ends in two games this season, but the main concern is the weather, with heavy rain and winds expected in East Rutherford on Sunday.
While it's difficult to take Likely out of starting lineups given his consistent production, fantasy managers should temper expectations in Week 3.
Sam LaPorta, Detroit Lions
Across two games so far in 2026, Detroit Lions tight end Sam LaPorta has recorded 11 catches for 100 yards and a touchdown on 15 targets. The 25-year-old has established himself as the number two option in the Lions' passing game, behind only star wideout Amon-Ra St. Brown. In Week 3, LaPorta will square off against a New York Jets defense that currently ranks second in the NFL in both total passing yards (285) and yards per pass attempt (4.7) allowed.
The Jets did a nice job against Green Bay Packers tight end Tucker Kraft in Week 2, holding him to 15 receiving yards on two catches. Still, the Lions may be forced into a pass-heavy game script by their struggling defense, which has been one of the worst in the NFL so far. As long as he continues to see adequate target volume, LaPorta profiles as a steady TE1 option for fantasy managers in Week 3.
Who Should I Start Tool
Compare up to four players and we'll tell you who to start...
Week 3 Player Decisions. Today's focus is on specific players: Dalton Schultz, Harold Fannin Jr., Isaiah Likely, Sam LaPorta. These are some of the most common searches for fantasy football lineups in Week 3.
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 3 Searches. Curious to see some tough lineup decisions for Week 3 (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 3 Searches - Start/Sit Player Comparisons
Below are some popular searches and comparisons from our Who To Start tool for Week 3 for Dalton Schultz, Harold Fannin Jr., Isaiah Likely, Sam LaPorta:
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