2026 NFL Draft: Tight End Landing Spots (Fantasy Football)
Considering the last three drafts had rookie-TE fantasy gold, ’26 isn’t packing the same punch. Let’s scour the hills to see what sort of value to expect out of this year’s young bloods.
Editor’s Note: For full, detailed scouting reports on every player we have ranked in our rookie rankings, check out the 2026 Dynasty Pass.
Kenyon Sadiq | Jets | 1.16
Jets are gonna Jets. The proverbial TE1 lands in an interesting spot with NYJ at 16 overall, aligning closely with sportsbooks’ consensus of 14.5 over/under.
New OC Frank Reich is no stranger to deploying multiple TE sets. In his last year in Indy, he used a rotation of Jelani Woods, Kylen Granson, and Mo Alie-Cox. Moving to Carolina the following year, he did the same with Tommy Tremble, Hayden Hurst, and Ian Thomas. The issue is that none of those players went over 40 targets or 303 yards for the entire season. Obviously, Sadiq’s athleticism is otherworldly, so the team likely leans into his skill set even though his college production is weak compared to former first-round TEs.
Fantasy Outlook
Mike Clay dropped an initial projection of 85 targets, 63 receptions, 639 yards, and four TDs. Sadiq likely ranks in the TE17-22 range in redraft, unless NY beat reporters drink too much Kool-Aid and someone tweets a video of him catching a bomb TD (with no defenders) without pads on in training camp. Buyer beware, this is the Jets we are talking about. I mean, I guess they’ll be playing from behind, right?
Everybody and their momma knows Mason Taylor can’t break tackles, allowing opportunity for Sadiq to be top dog in the TE room. Taylor had as many as I did last year: zero. Still, last year’s campaign was decent for the 42nd pick from 2025, and the Jets’ allocation financially to that position is – quite frankly – hilarious. If you listen closely, you will hear the faint sound of a Brock Bowers/Michael Mayer situation clamoring in the distance, but NYJ’s version is fun-sized.
NYJ traded up into the first round for WR Omar Cooper Jr. at 30, signaling this team plans to run an aggressive offense that includes incumbents Garrett Wilson and Adonai Mitchell. If Reich can bring an offense back like his 2018 Colts with Andrew Luck, he will shine. Nostalgia alert: Eric Ebron went for 66/750/13 that year. Geno Smith isn’t exactly in the same stratosphere as Luck, but he is not shy when it comes to putting the ball up (and the coaching staff gives him a long leash).
Geno showed his TEs plenty of love last year, with the bunch seeing 156 targets. Could we see 75 – 95 targets for him this year? That likely depends on whether he enters Week 1 as the TE1 or TE2 for the team.
Best Ball ADP Predraft: Mid 12th round. That likely rises into the mid-11th in May due to draft hype/recency bias and settles around the late 12th to early 13th by kickoff, barring any injuries.
Kenyon Sadiq goes #16 to the Jets.
Sadiq's 2025 Highlights: pic.twitter.com/HZShetlQcR
— Football Performances (@NFLPerformances) April 24, 2026
Eli Stowers | Eagles | 2.22
Oh, baybee. This landing spot is the cleanest for any TE for three reasons:
- Athletic Specimen: Highest TE vertical (45.50), best TE broad jump, and third fastest TE 40 time (4.51).
- Production Profile: Led the NCAA in TE receiving yards in 2025 (769).
- Team Opportunity: Dallas Goedert and Grant Calcaterra are both on one-year deals.
Fantasy Outlook
From a dynasty perspective, this is a great spot for the 6’4, 235 lb Eagle. There is a world where he heads into 2027 as the TE1 for a team that is competent at maximizing TEs via the air attack. Ironically, this feels exactly like what they did in 2018 with selecting Goedert in the second round to replace Zach Ertz. Year over year, Ertz was a top-five TE, and while Goedert is more middling (sans last year’s 11-TD anomaly) compared to Ertz in fantasy, Goedert has easily paid off that pick over the last nine years.
The Eagle runs 12 personnel (two TE sets) on 26% of their plays. He could fall into the TE 20 – 25 his rookie year and sprinkle in a few spike weeks if he finds pay dirt. Bonus fact: he started one game at QB in 2023 for New Mexico State, finishing his career with two passing TDs and zero interceptions.
Predraft Best Ball ADP: Early 16th. This will definitely rise. Expect his ADP to shoot up a few rounds, possibly even as high as the 11th if (when?) AJ Brown gets traded. I have seen multiple industry rookie drafts today with Stowers being picked before Sadiq.
Nathan Boerkircher | Jaguars | 2.24
The Boerk Chop finds a nice home for his skill set in Jacksonville. He is a much better real-life football player than a fantasy asset. He started more college games (52) than he had catches (38) for a .7 catches per game average. In his senior year, he transferred to Texas A&M and got a slight bump, finishing with 19 catches for 198 yards. Fantasy-wise, underwhelming. He is older, too; he turns 25 in September.
Fantasy Outlook
Duval County must love his blocking profile and his ability to play FB, considering the draft capital. For fantasy, it is hard to find fantasy relevance for now since Brenton Strange can catch the ball, and they also drafted production-profile stud Tanner Koziol in the fifth. Multiple teams this year double-tapped the TE position, with most selecting the blocking TE before the receiving one. If you have a deeper rookie draft that goes into the fourth or fifth round, Koziol is the better dart throw (see write-up on him at the bottom).
Predraft Best Ball: Undrafted
Marlin Klein | Texans | 2.27
Like Stowers, this landing spot is pretty hawt. Klein brings excellent blocking ability and ridiculous speed, with a 4.62 40 and a top-end speed of 21.75 mph. Not too shabby for a dude whose main goal is to protect a QB. Originally from Europe, he focused on soccer until his teens, when he chose the better of the two footballs. Like Boerk Chop, his production profile is worrisome. He played 38 games and finished his college career with a meager 38/364/1.
Fantasy Outlook
This is another fantasy TE to be cautious of. The position is evolving, with 12– and 13-personnel rising every year since 2019, but the Texans run 12-personnel at the second-lowest rate in the NFL (7%). Dalton Schultz signed a one-year contract in March, and his only other competition will be Foster Moreau and Cade Stover. There are plenty of team positional opportunities here if he develops into an all-around TE.
Predraft Best Ball ADP: Late 20th
Max Klare | Rams | 2.29
Predraft Darling Max Klare ends up with solid draft capital in a muddy situation in LA. The Rams’ first few picks were certainly a choice, and now he is rubbing elbows with the 2025 TE aDOT leader and fellow second-round pick, Terrance Ferguson, alongside Colby Parkinson, Tyler Higbee, and Davis Allen. All of whom showed flashes at times last year.
Fantasy Outlook
It’s not great, Bob. Parkinson and Higbee are signed through the 2027 season, while Allen and Ferguson are still on rookie contracts. He needs to fight off substantial competition to be relevant. The good news is that McVay and the Rams run 13 personnel wayyyyyyyy more than any other team. They have three TEs on the field 30% of the time. The next closest is the Steelers at 14% for context. Spike weeks will be there, but it will be maddening to try to figure out which Rams TE to start on a regular basis.
Predraft Best Ball ADP: Late 20th. This likely won’t rise unless a starting role is confirmed.
IMAGN IMAGES via Reuters Connect
Sam Roush | Bears | 3.5
Roush is an athletic freak. He brings the best TE 3-cone, third-best vertical, fourth-best broad jump, and bench press, all with a 4.7, 40. Add on a solid production profile, finishing with 119/1201/4, and he certainly feels like a good fit for the league. He has really sweet glasses, too.
Fantasy Outlook
Colston Loveland is currently ranked TE3 across many rankings. With Cole Kmet also signed through 2027, he has an uphill battle in his first two years for playing time.
Predraft Best Ball ADP: Early 21st.
Oscar Delp | Saints | 3.9
Hard to fill the shoes of guys like Brock Bowers, but that’s what Delp did in Georgia, where he was a reliable four-year player, starting the last three and playing 14 games each season. His numbers don’t pop off the page (70/854/9), but he’s durable and consistent. Some people like vanilla ice cream solo, and Delp feels like that.
Fantasy Outlook
Juwan Johnson and Noah Fant are both signed through 2027, and the Saints don’t run a ton of 12 personnel (16%). He will likely need a year or two to be worthy of fantasy goodness.
Predraft Best Ball ADP: Late 20th
Will Kacmarek | Dolphins | 3.23
The Dolphins double-tapped TE, following suit with the Jaguars and taking the blocking TE first. He only had 65 receptions in 55 college games.
Fantasy Outlook
This is a blocking TE. Miami’s fifth-round pick, Seydou Traore, brings a stronger receiving profile, with 131 receptions in college.
Predraft Best Ball ADP: Undrafted
Eli Raridon | Patriots | 3.31
Raridon brings 4.62 speed with a decent senior season in yardage (482) but zero TDs. This is a fella who played basketball and switched sports, à la Antonio Gates. He only played 40 games in college, so there is potential meat on the bone for NE to develop. He will be 22 for his rookie season, but already has two ACL tears in his right knee. Notably, he didn’t miss a game in his final two seasons.
Fantasy Outlook
Father time is on the heels of Hunter Henry, and Raridon’s only other competition is Julian Hill and Jack Westover. If his skill set carries over into the NFL, there is fantasy upside. He played out of the slot on 34% of plays. Josh McDaniels may have a shiny new toy if he continues to stay healthy.
Predraft Best Ball ADP: Late 20th.
Did New England get the best TE in the draft? pic.twitter.com/0FgDp1m9rW
— Reception Perception (@RecepPerception) April 25, 2026
Matthew Hibner | Ravens | 4.33
If you like big pecks, Hibner is your guy. He finished first in bench press with 28 reps, fourth in vertical, and fifth in the 40 (4.57). He transferred to SMU and dropped 55/804/8 over the last two years.
Fantasy Outlook
Keep an eye on Hiber. Great athletic and production profiles with little competition in Baltimore. The Ravens aren’t shy about using TEs, and he is facing only Durham Smyth and fellow fifth-rounder Josh Cuevas (keep an eye on him, too) as competition. Mark Andrews beat out Hayden Hurst when both were selected by BAL. Hibner and Cuevas may imitate that situation.
Predraft Best Ball ADP: Undrafted. This likely rises into the 20th if training camp goes well.
🏃♂️ A vertical threat@MatthewHibner brings size, length, and a natural ability to go get the football. A reliable target with strong hands, he was a consistent weapon during his time in Dallas. #BuiltInTheACC
Full Draft Tape 🔗https://t.co/6geZc6swxa@SMUFB | @SMUMustangs |… pic.twitter.com/V0GO844cyO
— ACC Digital Network (@theACCDN) April 21, 2026
Late Round Notes
| Name | Team | Pick |
| Justin Joly | Broncos | 5.12 |
| Max Bredeson | Vikings | 5.19 |
| Tanner Koziol | Jaguars | 5.24 |
| Riley Nowakowski | Steelers | 5.29 |
| Joe Royers | Browns | 5.32 |
| Josh Cuevas | Ravens | 5.33 |
| Seydou Traore | Dolphins | 5.40 |
| Bauer Sharp | Buccaneers | 6.4 |
| Jack Endries | Bengals | 7.5 |
| Jaren Kanak | Titans | 7.9 |
| Carsen Ryan | Browns | 7.32 |
| Dallen Bentley | Broncos | 7.40 |
Team Opportunity Sleepers
If these players separate in camp, they stand a chance at fantasy relevance due to team positional opportunity.
- Justin Joly
- Tanner Kozial
- Josh Cuevas
- Seydou Traore
- Jack Endries
- Jaren Kanak
- Dallen Bentley
Athletic Sleepers
- Jaren Kanak. 4.52 40 (4th). 1.61 Split (7th). 24 Reps (5th).
- Dallen Bentley: 4.62 40 (8th), 24 on the Bench (5th).
Production Profile Sleepers
- Tanner Koziol: second in the nation in receiving yards (727) and first in receptions (74). That’s 24 more than Kenyon Sadiq, and he did it with one less game.
- Dallen Bentley 620 yards in 2025 (6th), third in TDs (6).
7th Round TE Notes: Since 2000, the seventh round has never produced a TE that returned decent fantasy investment. The Cowboys’ 2015 seventh-round TE Geoff Swaim is (arguably) the most successful, as he played for nine years. Unfortunately, it didn’t come with much fantasy scoring, finishing with 108 games for 111/853/6.