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Who should I draft for fantasy football in 2026? Fantasy football outlooks for Gunnar Helm, Colby Parkinson, Kyle Pitts Sr., T.J. Hockenson, Dalton Kincaid, Terrance Ferguson, Mark Andrews, AJ Barner, Chig Okonkwo, Travis Kelce.
Who Should I Draft? Use this tool to assist you with some common 2026 fantasy football draft decisions regarding players like Gunnar Helm, Colby Parkinson, Kyle Pitts Sr., T.J. Hockenson, Dalton Kincaid, Terrance Ferguson, Mark Andrews, AJ Barner, Chig Okonkwo, and Travis Kelce. We are here to help make these calls and build winning teams in 2026. Draft your optimal fantasy football teams for 2026 with our Who Should I Draft? tool. Compare up to four NFL players, and we tell you who to draft... all free!
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Fantasy Football Draft Outlooks
Below are some fantasy football outlooks written by our NFL team here at RotoBaller, bringing you their fantasy football analysis and advice on which players to consider drafting in 2026:
Colby Parkinson, Los Angeles Rams
The Los Angeles Rams are loaded at plenty of positions, and one of them is tight end. Colby Parkinson only scored five touchdowns over his first five NFL seasons, but last year exploded for a career-high eight touchdown receptions that blew the roof off the fantasy football world. Known more in the past for his long hair than his long gainers, Parkinson surpassed longtime starter Tyler Higbee on the depth chart and was Matthew Stafford's top tight end when Pro Bowl receivers Puka Nacua and Davante Adams were covered.
Parkinson will have a hard time duplicating his career-year stats in 2026, however. Besides Higbee sticking around, the Rams have selected tight ends in the second round in the last two drafts, so Parkinson's snap count and target total might both be trending downward unless he breaks out of the gate quickly. I think Parkinson will generate 350 receiving yards and four touchdowns, but with all these other tight ends breathing down his neck and Nacua and Adams needing their double-digit targets every week, it will be virtually impossible for him to have another eight-TD output.
T.J. Hockenson, Minnesota Vikings
Minnesota Vikings tight end T.J. Hockenson struggled to 51 catches on 66 targets for 438 yards and three touchdowns in 2025, as part of a teamwide dip in production. He also missed the final two games due to a shoulder injury. The inconsistent quarterbacking left much to be desired, but Hock still appears to have lost a step since his major knee injury in 2023.
The veteran wound up with 17 fewer yards on 10 more catches thanks to a depressed 5.2 average depth of target (8.4 in '24, 7.7 in '23), per Pro Football Reference, and limited ability to shed tacklers and create yards after the catch. Of 19 TEs with 50 or more catches last season, Hock's 1.53 yards after contact per reception ranked 14th, and his 9% drop rate was the second-worst mark according to Fantasy Points Data.
Those who believe that Kyler Murray will deliver with far greater accuracy and efficiency could see many of those numbers improve, even if Hockenson's own burst doesn't ever mirror his pre-injury prime. RotoBaller's TE22 half-PPR rank is identical to his ADP price, except we have him going 20 picks later on the other side of a tier jump. Believers can snag him late, though most will not feel comfortable with him as their starter.
Terrance Ferguson, Los Angeles Rams
You've heard of a crowded running back room, but rarely is the amount of talented tight ends a deterrent to fantasy football success. However, that's exactly the issue in Los Angeles. During the 2025 season, the Rams shifted toward using 13 personnel more often, meaning three tight ends could see the field at once, alongside Puka Nacua and Davante Adams. Four tight ends - Tyler Higbee, Terrance Ferguson, Colby Parkinson, and Davis Allen - were part of the rotation, to varying degrees. Ferguson only played 38% of the team's offensive snaps.
The Rams' brass complicated matters even more by drafting Max Klare in the second round of the NFL Draft. Ferguson, a second-round pick in 2025, is the most explosive of the group. He led all tight ends in deep targets, despite earning 25 total all season. The receiving upside is tremendous, but the snap count may not be up to snuff.
Kyle Pitts Sr., Atlanta Falcons
Ever since being selected fourth overall in the 2021 NFL Draft, Kyle Pitts Sr. has had high expectations. He surpassed 1,000 receiving yards as a rookie, but has not hit the mark since and has routinely been considered a fantasy bust. However, Pitts exploded over the final six weeks of the 2025 season, averaging 8.5 targets, 6.5 receptions, 78.2 yards, and scoring four touchdowns, finally rewarding fantasy managers en route to finishing as the TE2 on the season.
Pitts should be in line for another heavy dose of targets, as the Falcons did not do much outside of adding rookie Zachariah Branch to the receiving room. Whether Tua Tagovailoa or Michael Penix Jr. wins the quarterback job in Atlanta, fantasy managers should expect a healthy target share for the star tight end.
Gunnar Helm, Tennessee Titans
Following an ankle sprain during his 40-yard dash at the 2025 combine, Tennessee Titans tight end Gunnar Helm has had an uphill climb to make an impact as a pro, but it seems to be slowly taking shape. As a fourth-round pick in last year's draft, Helm platooned at Tennessee's tight end spot with Chig Okonkwo to amass decent numbers as a rookie. He totaled 44 receptions on 55 targets for 357 yards and two touchdowns despite playing for the NFL's third-worst offense in passing yards per attempt (5.7 YPA).
The team evidently saw enough in Helm through that action; Okonkwo signed with the Washington Commanders in March, and the team didn't draft a tight end in April until the seventh round. The former Texas standout's competition for receiving work at the position includes Daniel Bellinger and Kylen Granson - both of whom have fewer than 100 career receptions in at least three NFL seasons. The arrow seems to be pointing up for a Titans offense that added first-round rookie Carnell Tate and Wan'Dale Robinson at wide receiver, and Brian Daboll joins the team as offensive coordinator to call plays and develop Cam Ward. Helm will certainly slot behind Tate, Robinson, and veteran Calvin Ridley in Tennessee's target tree. Still, he'll have a path to routes and relevance for an offense that could be significantly more functional in 2026.
He is RotoBaller's 24th-ranked tight end in overall PPR rankings, fitting into a tier with T.J. Hockenson and Dalton Schultz as other tight ends with a monopoly on their teams' positional snaps but a limited chance to be a featured part of the offense. In dynasty formats, Helm could be a late-round dart that joins lineups in positive matchups, but he will need a productive year to avoid convincing the Titans to draft a replacement next spring.
Who Should I Draft - Fantasy Football Tool
Read more about the Who Should I Draft tool here:
2026 Player Decisions. Today's focus is on specific players - Gunnar Helm, Colby Parkinson, Kyle Pitts Sr., T.J. Hockenson, Dalton Kincaid, Terrance Ferguson, Mark Andrews, AJ Barner, Chig Okonkwo, Travis Kelce. These are some common searches for 2026 fantasy football drafts.
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 Draft? button to see who the recommended draft picks are based on fantasy football rankings, projections, and more.
Improvements For Who Should I Draft? You may have noticed our Who Should I Draft? 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 2026 fantasy football drafts. You'll see NFL player tiles with bye weeks, stats and projections, ADPs, strength of schedule, enhanced search results with data to compare, and a slick interface. We hope you enjoy!
How It Works. Our RotoBaller staff puts together their preseason fantasy football rankings and projections based on their research, and update it constantly throughout the preseason. 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 that are ranked.
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 to select the scoring format. There are three small radio buttons (small circles), so click on the scoring format you prefer. The results may vary based on the scoring format you select.
Popular Draft Searches. Curious to see some tough draft decisions for 2026? Below you will find a list of some popular Who Should I Draft? searches that RotoBaller readers are looking at. Click any of the links to see the result and recommendation.
Popular Player Comparison Searches - Who To Draft
Below are some popular searches and comparisons from our Who To Draft tool for 2026 drafts for Gunnar Helm, Colby Parkinson, Kyle Pitts Sr., T.J. Hockenson, Dalton Kincaid, Terrance Ferguson, Mark Andrews, AJ Barner, Chig Okonkwo, Travis Kelce:
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