Colston Loveland begins his quest for top-three status, Kyle Pitts looks to build off last year’s success, and Mark Andrews attempts to get his career back on track.
Other positions: Quarterback | Running Back | Receiver
Updated almost literally immediately: Removed Brock Bowers. My goodness. Michael Mayer moved up to back-end TE2.
Week 1 Tight Ends
| 1 | Trey McBride | ARI | at LAC |
| 2 | Colston Loveland | CHI | at CAR |
| 3 | Tyler Warren | IND | vs. BAL |
| 4 | Sam LaPorta | DET | vs. NO |
| 5 | Tucker Kraft | GB | at MIN |
| 6 | George Kittle | SF | at LAR |
| 7 | Harold Fannin Jr. | CLE | at JAC |
| 8 | Kyle Pitts | ATL | at PIT |
| 9 | Dalton Kincaid | BUF | at HOU |
| 10 | Travis Kelce | KC | vs. DEN |
| 11 | Jake Ferguson | DAL | at NYG |
| 12 | Dallas Goedert | PHI | vs. WAS |
| 13 | Juwan Johnson | NO | at DET |
| 14 | Isaiah Likely | NYG | vs. DAL |
| 15 | Mark Andrews | BAL | at IND |
| 16 | Chig Okonkwo | WAS | at PHI |
| 17 | Hunter Henry | NE | at SEA |
| 18 | Brenton Strange | JAC | vs. CLE |
| 19 | Dalton Schultz | HOU | vs. BUF |
| 20 | Terrance Ferguson | LAR | vs. SF |
| 21 | AJ Barner | SEA | vs. NE |
| 22 | Greg Dulcich | MIA | at LV |
| 23 | Michael Mayer | LV | vs. MIA |
| 24 | Kenyon Sadiq | NYJ | at TEN |
| 25 | T.J. Hockenson | MIN | vs. GB |
| 26 | Darren Waller | CAR | vs. CHI |
| 27 | Pat Freiermuth | PIT | vs. ATL |
| 28 | Cade Otton | TB | at CIN |
| 29 | Gunnar Helm | TEN | vs. NYJ |
| 30 | Evan Engram | DEN | at KC |
| 31 | Oronde Gadsden II | LAC | vs. ARI |
| 32 | Mike Gesicki | CIN | vs. TB |
| 33 | Darnell Washington | PIT | vs. ATL |
TE Notes: Yes, Trey McBride is going to regress. Yes, it could be to his 111/1,146/2 2024. For as amazing as McBride’s 2025 was, we tend to memory hole his ‘24 because of his flukily-low touchdown total. McBride’s odds of finishing ahead of Bowers are much higher than summer best ball drafters would lead you to believe. … Although Bowers and McBride have their own tier at the top to begin the season, both Colston Loveland and Tyler Warren are viable candidates to join them before season’s end. That’s not the most likely outcome, but this is not a situation where the “vets” are just that far ahead. Loveland and Warren are that good. … If they’re flying George Kittle to Australia, I’m going to play him regardless of my age/injury/jet lag questions.
I drafted a lot of Harold Fannin early, a sensible thing to do with a player who scored the sixth most rookie tight end PPR points of all time with Joe Flacco, Dillon Gabriel and Shedeur Sanders as his quarterbacks. Then I remembered not only did his QB situation somehow get worse, he now also has first-rounder KC Concepcion vying for his patented underneath looks. There is little chance Fannin falls outside the top 12 at tight end, but he could be surprisingly hard pressed to repeat last season’s top-eight PPR finish. … As dubious as we are on Kyle Pitts with Kirk Cousins gone and Drake London at full health, it’s not like there are a whole bunch of guys you can jam in front of him in the ranks. Tua Tagovailoa should also do a decent enough El Kirko impression when it comes to getting the ball out quickly to Pitts in the seam. … Longtime readers of this column will know I’ve never been much of a Dalton Kincaid believer. That has finally changed. I think every usage arrow is pointing upward, and that the Bills will prove more committed to the passing game with defensive-minded Sean McDermott no longer setting the tone.
I might be fading Dallas Goedert too far. I just didn’t love the 2025 efficiency — his 1.35 yards per route run placed him 28th amongst tight ends — and I’m not sure a 31-year-old who had previously never scored more than five touchdowns can even approach replicating last year’s 11 in an offense where there is Jalen Hurts and Saquon Barkley to ram it in at the goal line. … Even with Stefon Diggs joining Terry McLaurin in the Commanders’ geriatric receiver corps, I think summer fantasy drafters badly underestimated how many targets Chig Okonkwo is going to command in this shaky skill corps. … Terrance Ferguson is the kind of player who could find himself either much higher or much lower this time next week. We simply have to see the Rams’ intentions when it comes to their million tight ends before taking a proper rankings stand. … Dalton Kincaid led all tight ends in 2025 yards per route run at 2.59. Second amongst seam stretchers to play at least 100 snaps? Greg Dulcich, who just might be the Dolphins’ No. 1 pass catcher. We’ve seen “plans” like this fail over and over again, but Dulcich is a TE2 dart very much worth throwing.
Week 1 Kickers
| 1 | Brandon Aubrey | DAL | at NYG |
| 2 | Cameron Dicker | LAC | vs. ARI |
| 3 | Cam Little | JAC | vs. CLE |
| 4 | Ka’imi Fairbairn | HOU | vs. BUF |
| 5 | Jason Myers | SEA | vs. NE |
| 6 | Evan McPherson | CIN | vs. TB |
| 7 | Jake Bates | DET | vs. NO |
| 8 | Harrison Mevis | LAR | vs. SF |
| 9 | Chris Boswell | PIT | vs. ATL |
| 10 | Cairo Santos | CHI | at CAR |
| 11 | Chase McLaughlin | TB | at CIN |
| 12 | Wil Lutz | DEN | at KC |
| 13 | Eddy Pineiro | SF | at LAR |
| 14 | Tyler Loop | BAL | at IND |
| 15 | Tyler Bass | BUF | at HOU |
| 16 | Will Reichard | MIN | vs. GB |
| 17 | Jake Elliott | PHI | vs. WAS |
| 18 | Harrison Butker | KC | vs. DEN |
| 19 | Andy Borregales | NE | at SEA |
| 20 | Spencer Shrader | IND | vs. BAL |
| 21 | Daniel Carlson | NO | at DET |
| 22 | Chad Ryland | ARI | at LAC |
| 23 | Drew Stevens | WAS | at PHI |
| 24 | Trey Smack | GB | at MIN |
| 25 | Ryan Fitzgerald | CAR | vs. CHI |
| 26 | Matt Gay | LV | vs. MIA |
| 27 | Dominic Zvada | NYG | vs. DAL |
| 28 | Riley Patterson | MIA | at LV |
| 29 | Blake Grupe | NYJ | at TEN |
| 30 | Joey Slye | TEN | vs. NYJ |
| 31 | Nick Folk | ATL | at PIT |
| 32 | Andre Szmyt | CLE | at JAC |
Week 1 Defense/Special Teams
| 1 | Jacksonville Jaguars | JAC | vs. CLE |
| 2 | Pittsburgh Steelers | PIT | vs. ATL |
| 3 | Los Angeles Chargers | LAC | vs. ARI |
| 4 | Philadelphia Eagles | PHI | vs. WAS |
| 5 | Tennessee Titans | TEN | vs. NYJ |
| 6 | Los Angeles Rams | LAR | vs. SF |
| 7 | Seattle Seahawks | SEA | vs. NE |
| 8 | Chicago Bears | CHI | at CAR |
| 9 | Buffalo Bills | BUF | at HOU |
| 10 | Houston Texans | HOU | vs. BUF |
| 11 | Denver Broncos | DEN | at KC |
| 12 | Minnesota Vikings | MIN | vs. GB |
| 13 | Baltimore Ravens | BAL | at IND |
| 14 | Las Vegas Raiders | LV | vs. MIA |
| 15 | New York Jets | NYJ | at TEN |
| 16 | New England Patriots | NE | at SEA |
| 17 | Detroit Lions | DET | vs. NO |
| 18 | Kansas City Chiefs | KC | vs. DEN |
| 19 | Green Bay Packers | GB | at MIN |
| 20 | Cleveland Browns | CLE | at JAC |
| 21 | Miami Dolphins | MIA | at LV |
| 22 | Dallas Cowboys | DAL | at NYG |
| 23 | San Francisco 49ers | SF | at LAR |
| 24 | Atlanta Falcons | ATL | at PIT |
| 25 | Cincinnati Bengals | CIN | vs. TB |
| 26 | Indianapolis Colts | IND | vs. BAL |
| 27 | Carolina Panthers | CAR | vs. CHI |
| 28 | New Orleans Saints | NO | at DET |
| 29 | Tampa Bay Buccaneers | TB | at CIN |
| 30 | New York Giants | NYG | vs. DAL |
| 31 | Washington Commanders | WAS | at PHI |
| 32 | Arizona Cardinals | ARI | at LAC |
