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As we get closer to the start of training camps, NFL teams will continue their ongoing voluntary OTA sessions, capping their offseason programs with mandatory minicamps. While we watch for developments from the ongoing work, I've been revisiting and resetting some important positional issues heading into the summer. First, it was Quarterback Battles, Real and Imagined; two weeks ago, it was Know Your Frienemy; Ambiguous Backfields; and last week, it was All the WR1s and Then Some.
Now, we're on the tight ends, from top to bottom, starting with . . .
The Gold Tier
There's something to be said for weekly leverage over the field at a given position. Based on current Average Draft Position (ADP) data, fantasy investors see two clear-cut options capable of providing that positional dominance:
- TE1 Trey McBride (pick 2.06)
- TE2 Brock Bowers (pick 2.10)
As Footballguy Jason Wood explains, "Statistically, both project massive per-week advantages over the positional baseline, but some managers find the opportunity cost of bypassing an elite receiver or running back too steep to recover from in the middle rounds."
I agree. It's not a matter of expectations for this duo. There's no reason not to believe more high-end production is coming. It's all about the cost and your willingness to pay it.
Let's examine reasons to be comfortable -- or not -- with the Gold Tier.
Paying the Historic Season Premium
Arizona's Trey McBride, coming off a monstrous 315.9-point campaign, will be the first tight end off the board in many drafts this year.
It's not hard to figure out why.
He finished 2025 with 126 receptions, 1,239 yards, and 11 touchdowns. McBride, who finished as TE1 overall, scored 315.9 fantasy points. That's 105.1 points more than Atlanta's Kyle Pitts Sr., who was the next highest scorer at the position.
McBride averaged 18.6 fantasy points per game. His league-high 15 top-12 fantasy weeks were six more than any other player at the position.
He finished third in the NFL with 17 end-zone targets.
Speaking of Targets
Per Next Gen Stats, McBride's 169 targets ranked third in the NFL behind only Ja'Marr Chase and Amon-Ra St. Brown.
It was three more than Puka Nacua's 166.
Over the past two seasons, McBride trails only Chase in targets (317) and receptions (252). He's sixth in receiving yards (2,385) over that span.
The 2025 VBD Poster Boy
The monstrous gap in relative value between McBride and the field at tight end is only part of the story.
McBride's 315.9 total points would have made him the WR4 overall in total fantasy scoring. He would have slotted in right behind Amon-Ra St. Brown (324.0 points) and just ahead of Ja'Marr Chase (315.6 points).
He comfortably outscored elite wide receiver options like George Pickens (289.9 points) and Chris Olave (268.0 points). His per-game scoring would have made him WR5, just behind elite wideout marks like Jaxon Smith-Njigba (21.3 points per game) and Chase (19.7 PPG) and ahead of Pickens, Olave, Drake London, and CeeDee Lamb.
But wait, there's more . . . Only five running backs -- Christian McCaffrey (416.6), Bijan Robinson (374.8), Jahmyr Gibbs (368.9), Jonathan Taylor (362.3), and De'Von Achane (322.8) -- outscored McBride. He would have ranked sixth at the position on a points-per-game basis.
More?
Only five quarterbacks -- Josh Allen (368.6), Matthew Stafford (368.4), Drake Maye (353), Trevor Lawrence (342.2), and Caleb Williams (316.2) -- scored more than McBride. He would have tied Williams for fifth in points per game.
So McBride, who was the 27th player off the board in drafts last summer, finished inside the top 10 of all fantasy scorers.
That's fantastic, but . . .
Caveat Emptor
I'm not a fan of paying the "historic premium" that's inevitable after dominant seasons like McBride's. Seasons are considered "historic" for a reason. They don't happen every year.
So even if I think McBride is still a candidate to finish as TE1 overall again, a lot has to go right -- and I don't see another historic season on the most likely end of the range of outcomes.
One thing that's consistently gone right for McBride? Volume.
What hasn't? Touchdowns.
McBride's 11 touchdowns last year nearly doubled his combined total of six scores over his first three seasons.
I don't see the second-round price tag for potential leverage over the field as being cost-prohibitive, but I don't know that I'll feel great paying it.
The Football Robot
Raiders head coach Klint Kubiak hasn't been in his job long, but as Profootballtalk.com's Josh Alper reported, he's been in it long enough to know who one of the cornerstones of his team will be this season.
Tight end Brock Bowers had 112 catches for 1,194 yards and five touchdowns as a rookie.
But last year, an early-season knee injury forced him to play at less than 100 percent and miss time. The 2024 first-round pick had 64 catches for 680 yards and seven touchdowns in 12 games, but it doesn't sound like any of the knee issues have been troubling Bowers this offseason.
Kubiak called Bowers a "standard bearer" for the organization and had a colorful description of what impressed him most about Bowers on the field.
"He's kind of a football robot, in a good way," Kubiak said at a Wednesday press conference. "He's a football robot from heaven. You know, he's a Cadillac out there. We gotta get the most out of Brock. Wherever he goes, he's been successful."
The Raiders have followed up the Bowers selection by taking running back Ashton Jeanty and quarterback Fernando Mendoza in the first round of the last two drafts.
If all goes as hoped in Vegas, the trio will be the centerpiece of a lot of winning during the Kubiak era.
Another Argument Against Paying the Premium
Remember, Bowers put together one of the greatest introductory seasons for a tight end in NFL history, serving as the focal point of the Raiders' passing game.
He finished the year as TE1 in fantasy with 112 receptions, 1,194 receiving yards, and five touchdowns.
Those 112 catches shattered the all-time NFL record for receptions by a rookie tight end.
Bowers entered his second year with massive expectations, with investors forced to pay his "historic premium."
In this case, Bowers was drafted as TE1 with the 19th pick overall in drafts last summer.
Illustrating the Concerns
While the season started strong, with Bowers delivering 103 yards in Week 1, a PCL sprain limited him for three weeks and ultimately forced him to miss five full games.
Despite the missed time, he was incredibly productive when on the field.
He finished fourth among all tight ends in fantasy points per game and tied for fifth in the entire NFL with 13 end-zone targets.
Will a healthy Bowers immediately regain the TE1 form he demonstrated in 2024?
The Case for a Rebound
NFL.com's Kevin Patra is among those who have suggested that if quarterback Kirk Cousins starts the season under center for the Raiders over Mendoza, it would be a clear win for Bowers.
It's a fair point.
Cousins has a long history of maximizing the talents of his tight ends.
In 2023, the QB's final season in Minnesota, T.J. Hockenson was TE4 when Cousins was injured in Week 8. Kyle Rudolph was TE7 in 2018, Cousins' first season as a Viking. Washington's Jordan Reed was TE2 in 2015, Cousins' first season as an NFL starter, and TE11 in 2016.
Last year, when Cousins took over late in Atlanta, it helped unlock the best of Pitts.
As Patra noted, Bowers' talent surpasses them all.
"I think he may be the best tight end in football," Cousins said of Bowers. "That can allow us to be very creative with how we attack defenses."
What if Cousins doesn't win or hold the job?
In Kubiak's system, Bowers should continue his ascent toward being the top TE in football, regardless of whether it's Cousins or Mendoza under center for the bulk of the season.
Bowers is currently being drafted as TE2 in the second round of early fantasy drafts. That slight discount from McBride, especially taking into account touchdown volatility, makes Bowers very appealing at his current price.
The Rising-Star Tier
There was a time when rookie tight ends were persona non grata in fantasy drafts. That's changed in recent years, and last year's rookie class -- three of whom make up the bulk of this tier -- continued to shine. Based on their current Average Draft Position (ADP), the fantasy hive mind expects their strong performances to carry over to this season.
- TE3 Colston Loveland (pick 4.04)
- TE4 Tyler Warren (pick 5.01)
- TE5 Harold Fannin Jr. (pick 5.10)
- TE6 Tucker Kraft (pick 6.08)
Is there some risk involved with this tier? Sure. We have ascending talent with something to prove -- including one player coming off a torn ACL.
But upside at reasonable prices makes the potential reward worth it.
Hard to Ignore a Strong Finish
While I could argue that Chicago's Colston Loveland wasn't one of the two rookie tight ends who delivered legitimate breakout seasons last year, his strong end-of-season run has the attention of fantasy investors this year.
Over his first six NFL games, Loveland had a measly 11 catches for 116 yards and no touchdowns. But he dominated down the stretch, using a combination of size, athleticism, and target volume to deliver TE2 numbers from Week 9 on.
Over his final four games, including the NFL playoffs, Loveland dominated. He averaged 12.0 targets per game (with more than 10 in each contest) and 19.4 fantasy points.
For perspective, ESPN's Mike Clay noted there have been only 12 instances of a tight end seeing at least 10 targets in four consecutive regular-season games in NFL history (and only one was a rookie).
In 16 appearances, Loveland racked up 58 receptions for 713 yards and six touchdown catches, leading the NFC North champions in each category, demonstrating why he was the first player drafted in the Ben Johnson era.
With Chicago's offense evolving and vacated targets (after DJ Moore was traded to Buffalo) available, Loveland has a real shot to finish as a top-three tight end, and possibly challenge for the overall TE1 spot.
But you're going to pay for it.
Loveland is being drafted as TE3, behind Arizona's Trey McBride and the Raiders' Brock Bowers, early in Round 4.
Vacated Targets Add to the Appeal
The first of the two aforementioned rookie breakouts, the Colts' Tyler Warren, had a solid-but-unspectacular inaugural season.
Yes, Warren, the 14th overall pick in the 2025 draft, went on to make the Pro Bowl on the strength of 76 receptions for 817 yards and four touchdowns, plus another score on the ground.
And I should acknowledge his 817 receiving yards set a franchise rookie record by a tight end and marked the most by a Colt at the position since Dallas Clark's 2009 campaign.
But it might have been more spectacular than solid if Daniel Jones hadn't suffered a season-ending Achilles injury 12 weeks into the season.
Through the 12 games in which Jones was healthy from start to finish, Warren averaged 4.8 receptions and 57.0 receiving yards. In those 12 games, Warren scored five touchdowns and averaged 13.1 fantasy points per game.
In five games without Jones, Warren fell to 6.3 points per game and failed to find the end zone. He scored his final touchdown of the season in Week 13.
Including Week 14 when Jones went down in the first quarter, Warren averaged 3.6 catches and 26.6 yards through the team's final five outings.
So if we're looking for reasons he'll improve this season, I'll remind you that Indy's offense hit 20 points in all but one game with Jones under center, and the veteran quarterback is ahead of schedule in his recovery.
More importantly, Warren, who is already a featured target, might see even more work after Michael Pittman Jr. was traded to the Steelers.
How much more?
According to NFL.com's Matt Okada, "Warren's floor should be close to 120 targets, and he could realistically reach 140-150 in a breakout campaign."
Last year, Warren caught 76 of his 112 targets.
As SI.com's Drake Wally suggested, if this math is applied to 150 targets, then Warren's 67.9 catch rate would hypothetically lead to 102 catches.
Whatever the case, the anticipated workload, especially if Jones is ready to go Week 1 -- which seems possible -- puts Warren in a good spot as TE4 with a fifth-round price tag.
Enough Upside to Overcome Concerns
I get it. There are questions in Cleveland.
They start at quarterback, where Deshaun Watson could be the Week 1 starter. The 30-year-old, who hasn't played since October of 2024, is now healthy and expected to compete with Shedeur Sanders for the starting job.
Add in the arrival of rookie wideouts KC Concepcion and Denzel Boston, and it's fair to wonder if Harold Fannin Jr. can duplicate his remarkable rookie season.
Even with the since-departed David Njoku on board last season, Fannin caught 72 passes for 731 yards with six touchdowns. He ran for another score.
According to Clay, the third-round pick's 108 targets rank eighth all-time by a rookie tight end, and he finished no lower than eighth at the position in catches, yards, touchdowns, and fantasy points last season.
Fannin earned a 27 percent target share in nine healthy games while averaging 7.1 targets per game, ranking second at the position over that period.
But he'll have a new coach and play caller in Todd Monken this year.
When speaking with Zac Jackson, the Browns' beat writer for The Athletic, Monken went into detail about why Fannin reminds him of former Georgia Bulldogs and current Las Vegas Raiders tight end Brock Bowers.
Monken, of course, was Bowers' offensive coordinator at Georgia for two years and helped mold him into a top NFL prospect.
As Fansided's Levi Dombro suggested, both Bowers and Fannin Jr. are incredibly versatile, can do pretty much everything on the football field, and are electric pass-catchers.
So even with Concepcion and Boston on board, look for Monken to keep Fannin at the forefront of this offense.
The second-year man, who broke out as a rookie with a TE6 finish, has been consistently going as TE5 in drafts up to this point. But he's slid a bit on some of the more popular best-ball platforms.
His consensus draft position on Underdog, Drafters, and DraftKings has fallen 8.3 spots over the last month. If that trend continues and carries over to more platforms, I'll eagerly chase Fannin as he falls.