There are, as ever, three ways to approach tight end in your upcoming fantasy drafts: Make a heavy investment in one of the game’s two elite tight ends, dabble with potentially elite options in the middle rounds, or plug your nose and snag a tight end in the final rounds, someone who might just benefit from an unforeseen role or high play volume, things of that nature.
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Before I get into five late-round tight ends who should have a real shot to become every-week starting plays in 12-team formats, a word on the aforementioned elites and the mountains of fantasy points they hoard for themselves:
Every fantasy manager today is optimized up to their eyeballs so you’re not getting a break on Brock Bowers a year after he proved catastrophic for the poor souls to burned a second-round pick on him.
Five or ten years ago a guy like Bowers — coming off an injury-riddled, somewhat low-efficiency 2025 campaign — would be going in the third or fourth round because a) he sucked last we saw him and b) he’s a god dang tight end. Everyone’s more logged on, more plugged in, savvier and less easily fooled by recency bias. It’s a shame, really, and it means you will get zero point zero discount on Bowers.
And that makes sense. Just last year we saw Kirk Cousins inject life into Kyle Pitts’ fading career. Pitts over the final six games of 2025 led all tight ends in receiving yards, was second in targets, second in fantasy points per route run, and second in expected fantasy points per game. Targeted on an unseemly 29 percent of his pass routes over that glorious stretch, Pitts was cooking thanks to Cousins’ relentless short-area targets. The same fate (probably) awaits the far more explosive Bowers.
Now to McBride, who lit your fantasy leagues on fire in 2025. McBride’s production was statistical forgiveness for all your fantasy football sins a year ago. It was also partly driven by remarkable and likely unsustainable volume.
The Cardinals, once Kyler Murray was politely benched, averaged 68 offensive snaps per game, the third highest average in the NFL over the season’s final 11 weeks. That included a league-leading 46 passes per game. All this juiced McBride’s volume and ended in a legendary campaign for the impressive tight end.
- McBride in 2025 ran 156 more pass routes than any other tight end in the NFL. That’s about four and a half games worth of routes.
- McBride had 39 more targets than any other tight end.
- McBride had 48 more first-read targets than any other tight end, according to Fantasy Points Data.
Combine this with solid if unspectacular efficiency and you get a league-winning player. McBride’s fantasy points per route was in line with Bowers and Sam LaPorta, ranking eighth among tight ends who ran at least 150 routes in 2025. He was tenth in yards per route run alongside Pitts and Harold Fannin.
With the Cardinals scheduled to be abysmal, perhaps McBride will get that sweet, sweet volume once again in 2026. The sort of natural regression that often happens after a team runs an exceptionally high or low number of plays suggests he might not have that going for him this season. I’m not sure that’s being baked into his lofty redraft ADP. This article will self destruct if McBride eclipses 100 yards and two touchdowns in Week 1.
Late-Round Tight Ends To Target
Mark Andrews (BAL)
ADP: 113
Isaiah Likely this offseason predictably followed his biggest booster, John Harabugh, to New York, leaving Andrews as the clear-cut No. 1 tight end in an entirely reinvented and, according to Lamar Jackson, “mind-blowing” Baltimore offense.
Andrews has been down pretty bad over the past couple seasons, in part due to constant nagging injuries. Last year he ranked 35th out of 50 qualifying tight ends in yards per route run, 18th in targets per route run (21 percent), and 47th in yards after the catch per reception. One good number: Only eight tight ends saw a higher rate of first-read targets than Andrews in 2025.
And yet I’m telling you to consider drafting Andrews. Curious!
With Likely gone and Declan Doyle in charge of the Ravens offense, I think there’s a good chance Andrews will eclipse last year’s 63 percent route rate in what should be a slightly more pass-heavy offense. Entering his age-31 season, Andrews probably isn’t washed and should be among the most obvious beneficiaries of Doyle’s offense.
Chig Okonkwo (WAS)
ADP: 122
Some of that volume-based shine came off Okonkwo last week when the wideout-needy Commanders inked Stefon Diggs as the team’s WR2 behind Terry McLaurin. Diggs should soak up targets from Jayden Daniels in the short areas of the field, where Okonkwo had been set to dominate.
Even so, Okonkwo should operate as Washington’s WR3 with a possibility of vaulting to a WR2-type role if Diggs or McLaurin miss any time in 2026. Though his days with the Titans ended with a whimper — Okonkwo was all but benched near the end of the 2025 regular season — he proved to be an efficient target commander during stretches of his time in Tennessee.
Okonkwo has always excelled after the catch. Even in his down 2025 campaign, Okonkwo ranked third among all tight ends in missed tackles forced per reception, trailing only Harold Fannin and Tucker Kraft. He ranked sixth in yards after the catch per reception.
Commanders beat writers and coaches have had nothing but praise to heap onto Chig over the past few months.
“He has rare speed and versatility, and his knack for collecting yards after the catch only adds to his appeal,” The Athletic’s Nicki Jhabvala said back in June, adding that the Commanders could “use a heavy dose of multiple tight end sets” under first-year OC David Blough this season.
Pat Freiermuth (PIT)
ADP: 125
Somebody — or maybe a few somebodies — is going to benefit from the pass volume increase set to hit the Steelers offense in 2026. I think Freiermuth is a good bet to be one of them.
Mike McCarthy likes to establish the pass. No matter how much he talks up the importance of the run game, McCarthy’s offenses usually wind up as high-volume passing units. I don’t think that’ll change in 2026. Several Steelers beat writers have noted Freiermuth’s involvement in the team’s passing attack this offseason.
That includes The Athletic’s Mike DeFabo, who said in July that Freiermuth was running as the Steelers’ “go-to pass-catching tight end.” Fresh off signing a four-year, $42 million contract extension this offseason, I wouldn’t be surprised in the least if the Muth becomes a set-it-and-forget it 12-team fantasy option this year.
Juwan Johnson (NO)
ADP: 131
The conclusion of the Taysom Hill era in New Orleans means Johnson is set to see an increase in snaps, routes, and possibly targets in a Saints offense that could be a little more pass-first than it was in 2025 under rookie Tyler Shough.
Johnson has posted impressive numbers and checked some important metrics boxes over his NFL career. He’s cracked 11 yards per reception in four of his six years with the Saints, and last season posted a career-high 60 percent receiving success rate. In Shough’s starts (Week 9-18), Johnson had the third highest yards per route run among tight ends. He was eighth in fantasy points per route run over the span. The dishonest media wouldn’t tell you about this.
I’m not too worried about TE Oscar Delp, the 73rd pick in the 2026 draft, usurping Johnson as the Saints’ TE1. While Delp reportedly impressed during offseason practices, precious few tight ends -- especially those taken outside the first round -- emerge as viable fantasy options. I’ve seen enough. It’s Juwan Szn.
Greg Dulcich (MIA)
ADP: 133
Though it was a (very) small sample, Dulcich — a spreadsheet hero entering the NFL in 2022 — posted a 2.7 yards per route run last season in Miami, one of the highest among tight ends in 2025.
In the Dolphins’ final three regular season games, Dulcich saw a target on 27 percent of his pass routes while teammate Darren Waller was targeted on 25 percent of his routes. This doesn’t come as a shock if you consider Dulcich was a target commander in college.
Dulcich has missed out on plenty of playing time over his four NFL seasons due to injuries and a total refusal to throw a single block. Coaches don’t like that. There’s also the volume issue: Miami’s offense is probably going to run the fewest plays in the league this season, and will almost certainly be dead last in pass attempts if Malik Willis makes it through the whole season. This leaves precious little volume for every Dolphins pass catcher.
Thankfully Dulcich — reportedly one of Willis’ “primary targets” in offseason practices — won’t have to compete with anyone of note in the miserable Miami offense.
