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, starting with the . . .
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.