Welcome to the fresh season. The Shuffle Up series reflects how I tier positions as I get ready for my drafts. The salaries are unscientific in nature and meant to illustrate where talent clusters and drops off. Players listed at the same salary are considered even.
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Today we’ll tackle the tight ends. Every so often there’s a drumbeat for eliminating this position, but I hope the sounds are faint entering 2026. I see talent everywhere on the board — young players, mid-career stars, Hall of Fame-bound veterans. There are plenty of adventurers to choose from.
The Big Tickets
Bowers and McBride are both megastars who have to overcome their surroundings — Kirk Cousins will likely be the Las Vegas quarterback for a while, and the Cardinals look like one of the two or three worst teams in football. McBride’s volume was sturdy last year and his touchdown equity rose when Jacoby Brissett took over, but the Cardinals could really collapse if rookie Carson Beck gets some development snaps late in the year. The main reason I’ll likely pass on the two vanity tight ends is respect for the overall board — and the desire to load up my RB and WR rooms early. I don’t like falling behind at those two key spots.
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Loveland was an unstoppable force in the second half of his rookie year, and I understand why he’s become a helium pick in 2026, rising to a Yahoo ADP in the late 30s. Loveland was the TE2 over the final 10 weeks of the year (including Week 18), second to only McBride. To draft a tight end this early, you have to ask if the player can be his team’s target dominator or touchdown-catch leader. Loveland isn’t assured of either thing, but they’re both within his reasonable range of outcomes.
Warren is also a rising sophomore, probably the most important part of the Indianapolis passing game on paper. Michael Pittman Jr. is gone to Pittsburgh and Alec Pierce is coming off ankle surgery — and seems resigned to playing the season at less than 100%. Warren’s 2025 haul (76-817-4) feels like his floor for 2026, with 140 or so targets an attainable goal. Go get him.
Legitimate Building Blocks
Fannin Jr. has a Yahoo ADP in the low 70s, and it makes sense. He finished as the TE6 last year, and fellow tight end David Njoku was not retained. But Cleveland significantly improved its receiver group this year (widening the passing tree), and the quarterback collection is still suspect. So much of fantasy success is tied to environment, and I’m worried the uber-talented Fannin will have a difficult time overcoming his context this fall. The talent leaps off the screen, but he’s not a cheap pick like he was last year.
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Has LaPorta already arrived at his boring-value veteran days? He was the TE1 as a rookie, then slipped to TE6 his second year (crowding) and TE26 last year (injury cost him eight games). But LaPorta was a sturdy TE7 in 2025 if we work off points per game, and the Lions have a lovely setup for the fresh season (solid QB, indoor-heavy and easy schedule, potentially leaky defense). LaPorta’s ADP has settled into the mid 60s, which feels like a buying opportunity.
Kraft and Kittle are both ticklish risk-reward picks, uber-talented stars who are both coming off major injuries (ACL for Kraft, Achilles for Kittle). Kraft’s injury happened in the middle of his breakout 2025 season, while Kittle was hurt in the playoffs. I’ll probably lean away from both of these guys, reluctantly, afraid that they might not be fully healthy until late in the 2026 season — if at all. I also suspect Jake Tonges might be a sneaky-useful replacement for the Niners this year, with Kittle and WR Ricky Pearsall both dealing with physical challenges.
Talk Them Up, Talk Them Down
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Kelce’s catch rate is almost always over 70%, the biggest guy on the field. But he’s not the electric downfield weapon he used to be, and he’s only caught 13 touchdown passes the last three years. Kelce’s reliable usage makes him a boring but helpful pick in any league with a PPR component, but he’s floor-only as we build our 2026 rosters.
Kincaid was an efficiency darling last year, making the most of a tiny 38% snap share. Don’t hold that against the Bills, as they were handling Kincaid carefully as he navigated a pesky knee injury. The Bills did add DJ Moore to their receiver room, but this is still a passing game begging for players to step forward. If Kincaid can stay off the field, Josh Allen and friends can shoot him up into the second tier.
I did a double take when I examined the tight end ADP charts of the past week — is Johnson really the TE26? That’s a slap in the face for last year’s TE10. Sure, the Saints passing game is always going to focus on Chris Olave first, and New Orleans did spend an early pick on rookie WR Jordyn Tyson. But I’m a believer in both head coach Kellen Moore and QB Tyler Shough, and let’s remember the Saints made a financial investment in Johnson before last season. Johnson can give back some of last year’s stats and still be a fantasy value — it’s fun to identify these Regress and Win candidates.
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Some Plausible Upside
Most of the Seattle pass-catchers get ignored after Jaxon Smith-Njigba, and that might be a mistake. Rashid Shaheed should be vastly improved in his first full Seattle season, and tight end Barner also offers sleeper value. Barner scored six times on a modest 68 targets last year, and he also picked up nine first downs (and one touchdown) on a surprising 10 rushing attempts. Perhaps Barner is still a wait-and-see option in standard leagues, but I’ve been targeting him in deeper formats and in leagues where scoring is slanted to tight ends. You can land him around Pick 130 in Yahoo.
Sadiq posted a 51-560-8 line in his final season at Oregon and was a combine smasher in February. We’re seen rookie tight ends hit the ground running in recent years, and while no one expects a Bowers/LaPorta type of debut from Sadiq, he at least deserves to be a late-round flyer in most standard leagues.
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