Tight end can be one of the easiest positions to gain an advantage at in fantasy football. Finding a breakout outside the elite tier allows you to load up on running backs and wide receivers early, while drafting the wrong tight end can leave you chasing production on the waiver wire all season.
That’s why I’m looking beyond last year’s final rankings when evaluating the position in 2026. Kyle Pitts, Juwan Johnson, and Greg Dulcich all have opportunities to outperform their current prices, while George Kittle, Jake Ferguson, and Mark Andrews carry considerably more risk than I’m willing to take at ADP. Here are three tight ends I’m targeting and three I’m avoiding in fantasy football drafts.
TARGET: Kyle Pitts, Atlanta Falcons
Kyle Pitts finally delivered the breakout fantasy managers had been waiting for last season, setting career highs with 118 targets, 88 receptions, and five touchdowns while producing 928 receiving yards. He finished as a top-five tight end in fantasy points per game while ranking second at the position in receptions and receiving yards and fourth in yards after the catch. Pitts was especially dominant whenever Drake London was unavailable, commanding a 26.7% target share while averaging 84.4 receiving yards, 2.81 yards per route run, and 19 fantasy points per game. Those numbers would have put Pitts firmly in the conversation for the overall TE1 if maintained across an entire season.
London’s presence means we shouldn’t project that type of volume every week, but Pitts remains the clear No. 2 option in an Atlanta passing attack that doesn’t have much established competition behind its top two weapons. Kevin Stefanski’s arrival gives Pitts another reason for optimism, and his early chemistry with Tua Tagovailoa has already been encouraging. Pitts caught three passes on four targets in his preseason debut, with all four targets coming from Tua across Atlanta’s first two drives. ADP now has Pitts up to TE7, but I’m still willing to pay that price for a 25-year-old tight end who already finished near the top of the position and could command another 100-plus targets.
AVOID: George Kittle, San Francisco 49ers
George Kittle remained one of the best tight ends in football whenever he was available last season. Despite playing only 11 regular-season games, Kittle caught 57 passes for 628 yards and seven touchdowns while finishing second among tight ends in fantasy points per game. His underlying numbers were just as impressive, ranking fourth at the position in target share, third in receiving yards per game, and second in first downs per route run. The problem has nothing to do with whether Kittle can still play. He tore his Achilles during San Francisco’s playoff run and is attempting to return from one of football’s most significant injuries at 32 years old.
There has been an important positive development since training camp began: Kittle was activated from the PUP list on August 23 and has returned to practice, meaning he won’t automatically miss the first four games. That’s considerably better than the outlook earlier this summer, but it doesn’t eliminate the risk of drafting a 32-year-old tight end coming off a January Achilles tear. Kittle could still be limited early while San Francisco manages his workload, and there’s no guarantee his trademark explosiveness immediately returns. If he’s healthy by the middle of the season, he could become a difference-maker again, but I’d rather use my draft capital on a tight end whose early-season availability and workload aren’t major questions.
TARGET: Juwan Johnson, New Orleans Saints
Juwan Johnson is coming off easily the best season of his career, yet fantasy managers are still treating him like a borderline TE2. Johnson set career highs with 102 targets, 77 receptions, and 889 receiving yards while finishing as a top-10 fantasy tight end. His underlying usage was equally encouraging, as he ranked seventh among tight ends in receiving yards per game and 11th in first-read share. Johnson became particularly reliable once Tyler Shough took over the offense, averaging 9.6 half-PPR fantasy points per game from Weeks 9 through 17 despite failing to receive a single end-zone target during that stretch.
That’s what makes Johnson’s current TE16 price appealing. He doesn’t need another career year to outperform it, and there is room for his touchdown production to increase after scoring only three times on 102 targets last season. New Orleans ranked fourth in pass attempts per game, while Jordyn Tyson’s hamstring injury should create additional opportunities for Johnson early in the season. The Saints added more competition this offseason, so Johnson may not repeat 102 targets, but we’ve already seen that he can produce TE1 numbers in this offense. If you’re waiting at tight end, Johnson provides one of the better combinations of established volume and inexpensive draft cost.
AVOID: Jake Ferguson, Dallas Cowboys
Jake Ferguson’s TE8 finish looks much better on paper than his actual season did once Dallas’ receiving corps returned to full strength. Ferguson caught 82 passes for 600 yards and eight touchdowns, but a significant portion of that production came while CeeDee Lamb was injured. Ferguson was the TE1 through the opening seven weeks before completely falling off once Lamb returned and George Pickens established himself as another featured option. Over the final 10 games, Ferguson averaged only 5.4 half-PPR points and finished as the TE22 during that stretch.
That creates a difficult path toward consistently beating his ADP in 2026. Lamb and Pickens are both healthy, leaving Ferguson as the third option in a passing attack where he needs volume because he doesn’t create many explosive plays on his own. He averaged fewer than six yards per target for the second consecutive season, while his eight touchdowns represented a massive increase after failing to score at all in 2024. Ferguson certainly has upside if Lamb or Pickens misses time, and average ADP views that injury-insurance value more favorably than I do. But I’m not drafting a tight end based on needing an injury ahead of him. With Dallas healthy, Ferguson looks much more like a touchdown-dependent TE2 than a player I want to rely on every week.
TARGET: Greg Dulcich, Miami Dolphins
Greg Dulcich might be my favorite late-round tight end target in fantasy football this season. His final numbers of 26 receptions for 335 yards and one touchdown across 10 games don’t look impressive, but his efficiency was elite whenever he actually ran routes. Dulcich ranked fifth among tight ends in targets per route run, second in yards per route run and yards after the catch per reception, and sixth in fantasy points per route. He also finished last season playing his best football, catching 16 of 18 targets for 222 yards over Miami’s final five games.
Now he enters 2026 with easily the best opportunity of his career. Tyreek Hill was released and Jaylen Waddle was traded, leaving Miami without a proven veteran wide receiver and creating a massive opening in the target hierarchy. Dulcich entered camp atop the depth chart and has continued building chemistry with Malik Willis, including connecting on a 30-yard completion during an August practice. Rookie Will Kacmarek adds competition, and durability remains the obvious concern for a player who has never appeared in more than 10 games in a season. That’s also why Dulcich remains essentially free at TE26 as his current average draft position. At that price, I’m willing to bet on the efficiency and opportunity. If he finally stays healthy, Dulcich has legitimate top-12 upside.
AVOID: Mark Andrews, Baltimore Ravens
Mark Andrews is one of the more difficult tight ends to evaluate this season because his opportunity should improve significantly, but I’m not convinced the player himself will return to his previous level. Andrews managed only 48 receptions for 422 yards and five touchdowns last season while posting some of the worst efficiency numbers of his career. He averaged just 6.0 yards per target and 8.8 yards per reception while ranking 41st among qualifying tight ends in yards per route run. His 62.9% route share certainly contributed to the decline, but at 31 years old, it’s fair to question how much of last year’s drop was caused by Baltimore’s rotation and how much was simply age-related regression.
The counterargument is stronger now than it was earlier this offseason. Isaiah Likely and Charlie Kolar are gone, Lamar Jackson is healthy, and new offensive coordinator Declan Doyle comes from coaching backgrounds that have consistently involved tight ends. ADP has responded by moving Andrews back up to TE13, and there’s a realistic scenario where increased routes allow him to bounce back. That’s exactly where I become less interested, though. At a cheaper TE2 price, I’d gladly take the chance that Andrews has one more productive season left. Once his cost climbs toward the TE1 range, fantasy managers are paying for a rebound in both opportunity and efficiency from a 31-year-old who just posted career lows. I’d rather target younger options with similar upside later in drafts.
Tight End Is a Position Where Price Matters
Pitts, Johnson, and Dulcich don’t all need to become elite tight ends for these picks to work. Pitts already demonstrated that he can produce near the top of the position, Johnson is being drafted below a level he already reached last season, and Dulcich costs almost nothing despite possessing some of the best per-route efficiency numbers at the position.
Kittle, Ferguson, and Andrews are different bets. Kittle is attempting an unusually fast return from a torn Achilles, Ferguson’s production dropped dramatically when Dallas’ offense was healthy, and Andrews needs to prove last season’s efficiency decline wasn’t permanent. All three could still have productive seasons, but at their current prices, I’m more comfortable letting someone else take those risks.
