Fantasy football tight end rankings

Week 5 TE rankings

The top 12 for week 5, ordered by market-based projected points rather than by where anyone was drafted. All week 5 TE rankings.

#	Player	Proj. pts	Matchup	Bye	Market
1	Trey McBrideTE ARI	19.3	vs. DETmost TE pts allowed	14	80.6 rec yds, 7.6 catches, 45% TD
2	Brock BowersTE LV	16.8	@ NE30th most TE pts allowed	13	71.5 rec yds, 6.4 catches, 41% TD
3	Sam LaPortaTE DET	12.4	@ ARI3rd most TE pts allowed	6	51.7 rec yds, 4.6 catches, 36% TD
4	George KittleTE SF	12.4	@ SEA18th most TE pts allowed	-	53.5 rec yds, 4.5 catches, 34% TD
5	Tyler WarrenTE IND	12.3	@ PIT17th most TE pts allowed	13	48.4 rec yds, 5.3 catches, 30% TD
6	Dalton KincaidTE BUF	11.7	@ LAR29th most TE pts allowed	7	50.6 rec yds, 4.3 catches, 32% TD
7	Tucker KraftTE GB	11.6	vs. CHI28th most TE pts allowed	11	50 rec yds, 4.4 catches, 30% TD
8	Isaiah LikelyTE NYG	10.6	@ WAS6th most TE pts allowed	8	41.5 rec yds, 4.5 catches, 29% TD
9	Juwan JohnsonTE NO	10.3	vs. MIN31st most TE pts allowed	-	42.6 rec yds, 4.4 catches, 24% TD
10	Harold FanninTE CLE	10.0	@ NYJ19th most TE pts allowed	-	35.5 rec yds, 4.4 catches, 30% TD
11	Dalton SchultzTE HOU	10.0	@ TEN20th most TE pts allowed	-	37.4 rec yds, 4.3 catches, 27% TD
12	Hunter HenryTE NE	9.5	vs. LV13th most TE pts allowed	-	37.4 rec yds, 3.5 catches, 32% TD

Matchup: where the opponent ranks in fantasy points allowed per game to that position, 1 being the most. While the 2026 sample is short, it is blended with 2025.

What changes in this view

Tight end is the thinnest starting position in fantasy football. A small number of tight ends are used like wide receivers, and everyone after them is a low, flat scorer, which is why drafts either take one early or wait a long time.

This view keeps only tight ends and re-numbers them 1 upward in PPR scoring, where a catch is worth a point and receiving tight ends separate from blocking ones most clearly.

How to draft tight ends this season

Tight end is the only position where the shape of the list matters more than the order of it. Every other position has a long, smooth slope: the twentieth wide receiver is worth clearly less than the tenth, who is worth clearly less than the first. Tight end is a short cliff followed by a flat plain. A small number of tight ends run routes on most passing plays and are targeted like a second or third receiver. Everyone after them is on the field mainly to block, catches a handful of passes a game, and scores a low, flat number that barely separates one from the next.

That shape is what produces the two strategies you see in drafts, and our own draft data shows both plainly. Either you pay the cliff price and take one of the receiving tight ends several rounds before you would take a comparable wide receiver, or you refuse to pay it and take the twelfth tight end near the end of the draft, accepting a low score in exchange for spending those early picks on running backs and receivers. What almost never works is the middle. Reaching a round early for the seventh tight end pays the premium of the first strategy while getting the output of the second.

Reception scoring is the other thing that moves this list, and it moves it more here than anywhere except wide receiver. A point per catch is worth a lot to a tight end who is genuinely a receiver and worth almost nothing to one who blocks, so PPR pulls the top of the list further away from the middle. This board is ordered in PPR because that is what most default leagues use. In standard scoring the cliff is slightly shallower, and a touchdown-scoring blocking tight end closes part of the gap.

One thing this page does not do is invent a projection to fill a hole. Where a sportsbook has posted a receiving yards, receptions or touchdown market on a tight end we price it, de-vig it and show it. Where our odds feed carries no such market, the row carries only what the drafting market says, and we say so on the row rather than guessing.

Where the tier breaks fall, and what they mean

A tier break here is not a round number, it is a genuine gap in the draft market: we cut a new tier where the distance between one tight end and the next is much larger than the typical gap inside the list. At tight end the first break usually lands after the small group of full-time receiving tight ends, and the break after it is the widest on the whole board, because that is exactly the cliff described above. Once you are past the second break, the tiers get long and flat and the choice between two names inside one of them is close to a coin flip. That is the practical use of a tier: it tells you when waiting costs you nothing.

1. Tier 1 (1 player): Trey McBride
2. Tier 2 (1 player): Brock Bowers
3. Tier 3 (3 players): Sam LaPorta, George Kittle, Tyler Warren
4. Tier 4 (2 players): Dalton Kincaid, Tucker Kraft
5. Tier 5 (2 players): Isaiah Likely, Juwan Johnson

Tiers recomputed from the live board on Oct 8, 2026 at 10:51 PM ET, inside this view's own pool.

What the market prices for these tight ends

#	Player	Tier	Bye	Market
1	Trey McBrideTE ARI	1	14	80.6 rec yds, 7.6 catches, 45% TD
2	Brock BowersTE LV	1	13	71.5 rec yds, 6.4 catches, 41% TD
3	Sam LaPortaTE DET	1	6	51.7 rec yds, 4.6 catches, 36% TD
4	George KittleTE SF	1	-	53.5 rec yds, 4.5 catches, 34% TD
5	Tyler WarrenTE IND	1	13	48.4 rec yds, 5.3 catches, 30% TD
6	Dalton KincaidTE BUF	1	7	50.6 rec yds, 4.3 catches, 32% TD
7	Tucker KraftTE GB	1	11	50 rec yds, 4.4 catches, 30% TD
8	Isaiah LikelyTE NYG	1	8	41.5 rec yds, 4.5 catches, 29% TD
9	Juwan JohnsonTE NO	1	-	42.6 rec yds, 4.4 catches, 24% TD
10	Harold FanninTE CLE	1	-	35.5 rec yds, 4.4 catches, 30% TD
11	Dalton SchultzTE HOU	1	-	37.4 rec yds, 4.3 catches, 27% TD
12	Hunter HenryTE NE	1	-	37.4 rec yds, 3.5 catches, 32% TD
13	Colston LovelandTE CHI	1	10	37.5 rec yds, 3.6 catches, 29% TD
14	Brenton StrangeTE JAX	1	-	34.4 rec yds, 3.5 catches, 25% TD
15	Kenyon SadiqTE NYJ	1	-	33.5 rec yds, 28% TD
16	Mark AndrewsTE BAL	1	-	29.6 rec yds, 3.5 catches, 27% TD
17	Jake FergusonTE DAL	1	-	25.5 rec yds, 3.5 catches, 29% TD
18	Michael MayerTE LV	1	-	29.5 rec yds, 3.5 catches, 21% TD
19	Pat FreiermuthTE PIT	1	-	27.6 rec yds, 3.4 catches, 25% TD
20	Cade OttonTE TB	1	-	30.6 rec yds, 3.5 catches, 17% TD
21	Chig OkonkwoTE WAS	1	-	27.6 rec yds, 2.8 catches, 24% TD
22	Tyler HigbeeTE LAR	1	-	25.5 rec yds, 2.5 catches, 30% TD
23	AJ BarnerTE SEA	1	-	23.5 rec yds, 2.6 catches, 25% TD
24	Kyle Pitts Sr.TE ATL	1	11	24.4 rec yds, 2.6 catches, 21% TD
25	Darnell WashingtonTE PIT	1	-	22.5 rec yds, 2.6 catches, 23% TD
26	Greg DulcichTE MIA	1	-	25.6 rec yds, 2.7 catches, 17% TD
27	Evan EngramTE DEN	1	-	17.5 rec yds, 2.5 catches, 17% TD
28	Colby ParkinsonTE LAR	1	-	16.5 rec yds, 1.6 catches, 30% TD
29	Gunnar HelmTE TEN	1	-	17.6 rec yds, 2.5 catches, 15% TD
30	Mason TaylorTE NYJ	1	-	14.5 rec yds, 1.9 catches, 19% TD
31	Cole KmetTE CHI	1	-	10.5 rec yds, 1.5 catches, 14% TD
32	Dawson KnoxTE BUF	1	-	10.5 rec yds, 1.5 catches, 15% TD
33	Matt HibnerTE BAL	1	-	10.5 rec yds, 1.5 catches, 9% TD
34	Jonnu SmithTE GB	1	-	8.5 rec yds, 1.5 catches, 10% TD
35	Elijah HigginsTE ARI	1	-	8.5 rec yds, 1.5 catches, 8% TD
36	Foster MoreauTE HOU	1	-	9.9 rec yds, 12% TD
37	Theo JohnsonTE NYG	1	-	4.5 rec yds, 0.9 catches, 11% TD
39	Brevyn Spann-FordTE DAL	1	-	4.5 rec yds, 0.5 catches, 10% TD
40	Marlin KleinTE HOU	1	-	1.5 rec yds, 0.9 catches, 4% TD
41	Brevin JordanTE HOU	1	-	1.4 rec yds, 0.5 catches, 4% TD

Tight end rankings

• 1. Trey McBrideTE1 · ARI · Tier 1 · bye 14 · 18 draftsno draft data
• 2. Brock BowersTE2 · LV · Tier 2 · bye 13 · 31 draftsno draft data
• 3. Sam LaPortaTE3 · DET · Tier 3 · bye 6 · 6 draftsno draft data
• 4. George KittleTE4 · SF · Tier 3no draft data
• 5. Tyler WarrenTE5 · IND · Tier 3 · bye 13 · 13 draftsno draft data
• 6. Dalton KincaidTE6 · BUF · Tier 4 · bye 7 · 8 draftsno draft data
• 7. Tucker KraftTE7 · GB · Tier 4 · bye 11 · 9 draftsno draft data
• 8. Isaiah LikelyTE8 · NYG · Tier 5 · bye 8 · 8 draftsno draft data
• 9. Juwan JohnsonTE9 · NO · Tier 5no draft data
• 10. Harold FanninTE10 · CLE · Tier 6no draft data
• 11. Dalton SchultzTE11 · HOU · Tier 6no draft data
• 12. Hunter HenryTE12 · NE · Tier 7no draft data
• 13. Colston LovelandTE13 · CHI · Tier 8 · bye 10 · 20 draftsno draft data
• 14. Brenton StrangeTE14 · JAX · Tier 9no draft data
• 15. Kenyon SadiqTE15 · NYJ · Tier 9no draft data
• 16. Mark AndrewsTE16 · BAL · Tier 9no draft data
• 17. Jake FergusonTE17 · DAL · Tier 10no draft data
• 18. Michael MayerTE18 · LV · Tier 10no draft data
• 19. Pat FreiermuthTE19 · PIT · Tier 10no draft data
• 20. Cade OttonTE20 · TB · Tier 10no draft data
• 21. Chig OkonkwoTE21 · WAS · Tier 11no draft data
• 22. Tyler HigbeeTE22 · LAR · Tier 11no draft data
• 23. AJ BarnerTE23 · SEA · Tier 12no draft data
• 24. Kyle Pitts Sr.TE24 · ATL · Tier 12 · bye 11 · 13 draftsno draft data
• 25. Darnell WashingtonTE25 · PIT · Tier 12no draft data
• 26. Greg DulcichTE26 · MIA · Tier 12no draft data
• 27. Evan EngramTE27 · DEN · Tier 13no draft data
• 28. Colby ParkinsonTE28 · LAR · Tier 13no draft data
• 29. Gunnar HelmTE29 · TEN · Tier 13no draft data
• 30. Mason TaylorTE30 · NYJ · Tier 14no draft data
• 31. Cole KmetTE31 · CHI · Tier 15no draft data
• 32. Dawson KnoxTE32 · BUF · Tier 15no draft data
• 33. Matt HibnerTE33 · BAL · Tier 15no draft data
• 34. Jonnu SmithTE34 · GB · Tier 15no draft data
• 35. Elijah HigginsTE35 · ARI · Tier 15no draft data
• 36. Foster MoreauTE36 · HOU · Tier 15no draft data
• 37. Theo JohnsonTE37 · NYG · Tier 16no draft data
• 38. Daniel BellingerTE38 · TEN · Tier 16no draft data
• 39. Brevyn Spann-FordTE39 · DAL · Tier 16no draft data
• 40. Marlin KleinTE40 · HOU · Tier 16no draft data
• 41. Brevin JordanTE41 · HOU · Tier 16no draft data
• 42. Travis KelceTE42 · KC · Tier 17 · bye 5 · 9 draftsno draft data

Other cuts of this board

• Full rankings
• Quarterback rankings
• Running back rankings
• Wide receiver rankings
• Flex rankings
• Superflex rankings
• 2QB rankings
• Dynasty rankings
• PPR rankings
• Half-PPR rankings
• Standard rankings
• Team defense rankings
• Kicker rankings

Use this while you draft

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The pick numbers come from consensus average draft position across thousands of live drafts (Fantasy Football Calculator consensus ADP), covering 256 draftable players in total. Nobody here is given an invented projection.