12-team PPR · 36 players · 4 tiers

Fantasy Football Tight End Rankings 2026 — PPR

These are RotoAlpha's 12-team PPR tight end rankings, where tiers group players with similar Draft Value surplus above replacement level — the higher the tier, the more a player separates himself from a league-average TE.

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Tier 1 (ranks 1–2)

2 players · ranks 1–2 · Draft Value +59.1 to +39.8

Trey McBride (TE1, +59.1) and Brock Bowers (TE2, +39.8) are the only tight ends on this page projecting well above replacement level — and the gap below them is the largest on this entire page at 24.9 Draft Value points. That cliff means leaving Tier 1 empty is the single most costly positional decision a drafter can make here. The 19.3-point internal spread between McBride and Bowers is real, so the order you land them in matters.

#	Player	Overall	Team	Proj	Draft Value
1	Trey McBride	#24	ARI	207.9	+59.1
2	Brock Bowers	#34	LV	188.5	+39.8

↓ 24.9 Draft Value points to Tier 2

Tier 2 (ranks 3–4)

2 players · ranks 3–4 · Draft Value +14.9 to +14.4

Harold Fannin (TE3, +14.9) and Tyler Warren (TE4, +14.4) are separated by just 0.5 Draft Value points — effectively interchangeable in worth. The drop from Tier 1 to here is steep, but the gap below Tier 2 is only 3.8 points, meaning Tier 3 is close enough that missing both of these players is not catastrophic.

#	Player	Overall	Team	Proj	Draft Value
3	Harold Fannin	#54	CLE	163.7	+14.9
4	Tyler Warren	#55	IND	163.1	+14.4

↓ 3.8 Draft Value points to Tier 3

Tier 3 (rank 5)

1 player · ranks 5–5 · Draft Value +10.6 to +10.6

Colston Loveland stands alone at TE5 (+10.6) with a 0.0 internal spread — the tightest spread on this page by definition. His 10.6-point gap to Tier 4 is meaningful: he projects above replacement level while every tight end below him does not. If Tiers 1 and 2 are gone, Loveland is the last player on this list who clears that bar.

#	Player	Overall	Team	Proj	Draft Value
5	Colston Loveland	#60	CHI	159.4	+10.6

↓ 10.6 Draft Value points to Tier 4

Tier 4 (ranks 6–36)

31 players · ranks 6–36 · Draft Value +0.0 to -88.8

All 31 remaining tight ends — from Kyle Pitts (TE6, +0.0) down to Nate Boerkircher (TE36, -88.8) — project at or below replacement level in 12-team PPR. The 88.8-point internal spread reflects a wide range of outcomes within this group, but none of them add surplus value the way the tiers above do. Drafting from this tier is a volume play, not a value one — the position is effectively a wash from TE6 onward.

#	Player	Overall	Team	Proj	Draft Value
6	Kyle Pitts	#74	ATL	148.7	+0.0
7	Travis Kelce	#78	KC	146.1	-2.7
8	Sam LaPorta	#93	DET	142.3	-6.4
9	Oronde Gadsden	#107	LAC	136.2	-12.6
10	George Kittle	#111	SF	133.7	-15.1
11	Tucker Kraft	#113	GB	133.3	-15.4
12	Dallas Goedert	#118	PHI	132.0	-16.7
13	Kenyon Sadiq	#124	NYJ	128.5	-20.2
14	Jake Ferguson	#131	DAL	124.8	-23.9
15	Mark Andrews	#143	BAL	119.3	-29.5
16	Hunter Henry	#152	NE	114.7	-34.1
17	Dalton Kincaid	#161	BUF	111.8	-37.0
18	Dalton Schultz	#164	HOU	109.8	-38.9
19	T.J. Hockenson	#165	MIN	109.4	-39.3
20	Juwan Johnson	#166	NO	108.9	-39.8
21	Isaiah Likely	#171	NYG	107.8	-40.9
22	Brenton Strange	#188	JAX	101.8	-46.9
23	Cade Otton	#195	TB	98.4	-50.3
24	David Njoku	#196	LAC	98.3	-50.5
25	Evan Engram	#210	DEN	93.9	-54.8
26	Pat Freiermuth	#222	PIT	86.7	-62.1
27	Mason Taylor	#229	NYJ	85.1	-63.6
28	Mike Gesicki	#238	CIN	79.4	-69.3
29	AJ Barner	#243	SEA	77.2	-71.5
30	Chig Okonkwo	#244	WAS	76.4	-72.4
31	Cole Kmet	#256	CHI	71.9	-76.8
32	Darren Waller	#261	CAR	69.0	-79.7
33	Theo Johnson	#270	NYG	63.9	-84.8
34	Colby Parkinson	#273	LAR	62.6	-86.1
35	Gunnar Helm	#277	TEN	62.1	-86.7
36	Nate Boerkircher	#289	JAX	59.9	-88.8

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Beyond the numbers

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Ranked by Draft Value — the points a player is worth above the replacement-level starter at his position in a 12-team PPR league · Projections are RotoAlpha's own model, recalculated daily through draft season · All player outlooks · How our projections are built · Pricing