Latest / Fat Daddy Sports / 2026 Fantasy Football TE Rankings: My Top 12 Tight Ends | Ep. 016
Transcript
- Craig: Well, welcome back to the kitchen here on Fat Daddy Sports. I am your Fat Daddy host, Craig. And hey, we are on a mission right now trying to hit our first 100 subscribers here on Fat Daddy Sports. If you find anything valuable in this video, go ahead and drop a comment, drop a like, and hit that subscribe button. It would really mean a lot to me trying to get to that first 100 subscribers. Today we are taking a look at my top 12 tight ends for the 2026 fantasy football season. We've looked at quarterback, running back, wide receiver. You can find all that on the channel. But today we're talking about everybody's favorite position, the big fellas, the tight ends, a position that has really evolved over the years. And I think this is one of the deepest tight end drafts that we have maybe ever had. You can get one of those early guys or you can wait on one of these other mid round guys. It's a fairly deep position this year. Even if you wait until late in the draft, I think that there's some sleepers that could sneak up into that top 12. But enough talking about it. Let's just jump right in ⁓ to tight end number 12. A guy that is currently going as tight end 10. I have him at tight end 12, and that is Dalton Kincaid in Buffalo. That Buffalo offense is going to be very good this year with DJ Moore in the fold. Kincaid is somebody that I was pretty high on a few years ago, and I think a lot of people were. He's kind of been up and down ever since then. But I think maybe this is the year that he turns it around, can be that ⁓ somewhat reliable, if not an all-time reliable tight end for you from a week to week. ⁓ but if nothing else, he could be a good streaming option there at the end of that tight end one run. somebody that I would, you know, you can get late in the draft. You can wait on tight end and pair him with somebody else. And kind of flip-flop who you want to play each week. Another guy that you can wait on late in the draft, ⁓ this is a guy currently going as tight end number 17, and that is Isaiah Likely, my tight end number eleven in New York. ⁓ he came over from Baltimore with cart Coach Harbaugh for a reason. I think, especially early in the season with the league neighbors still coming back from that injury. Likely is going to be featured a lot in that Giants offense. Somebody who they wanted to use for years in Baltimore, but was just kind of stuck behind Mark Andrews. We saw when Mark Andrews was out, likely stepped into that tight end one role and really produced for the for the Ravens. I think he's going to do the same here in New York. ⁓ not a very stellar tight end room for the Giants. I think Isaiah likely comes right in as tight end one and dominates from day one. Somebody that could be a sleeper in the draft. I could even see him going higher than that. I could see him up as maybe tight end five or six when it's all said and done this year. Somebody that I'm trying to target late in the draft if I don't get one of those early tight ends. Another guy that you can get super late in drafts and buy a major discount on because he is 400 years old. One of my favorite players of all time, and that is Travis Kelsey. No, he's not going to give you that elite tight end production. He's not giving you that top two or three production anymore. But this is a guy that finished as tight end five last year. Obviously, there was a lot of injuries that happened that led to that. But I mean, if he's out on the field, which in his career, Travis Kelsey doesn't miss miss much time, ⁓ he's going to produce for you and he's going to be a weekly guy that you could throw in. It's not always going to be pretty. It's not always going to be sexy, but He's going to get you a pretty safe floor week in and week out. And over the course of the season, if you just don't want to worry about the tight end position a whole lot, I think Travis Kelsey is a great later round guy that you could snag. And even if you get a guy like Travis Kelsey and then pair him with Isaiah Likely in hopes that Likely is that takeoff player that you're hoping for, start Travis Kelsey at the beginning of the year as this Chiefs offense is trying to figure things out with Ken Walker in the mix. And then as likely starts to ascend, you just switch in Isaiah Likely and Kelsey goes to your bench. You're buying a major discount because your league mates are all scared that he's 37 years old at the start of the season. I think Travis Kelsey is a fine option there for a tight end one position. Another guy that you can buy a dip on because of the injury and the age is George Kittle in San Francisco. My tight end nine. Currently going as tight end 11 right now on ADP. There's a lot of concern, but I have none with George Kittle. They're saying that he is looking great. He's going to be out there. week one should get a full season out of George Kittle. He's going to catch a ton of touchdown passes. Mike Evans is there now, could take some of those short yardage touchdowns away from George Kittle. But I think Kittle's going to ⁓ have a very solid year. And when you can get him that late in the draft, I mean, this is a guy that typically was right up there in that fourth, fifth round, maybe even higher than that earlier in his career. But you can get him now in double digit rounds. I think that's a massive discount and one that I'm willing to take on a guy like George Kittle. Coming in at my tight end number eight is the young stud, who still feels like he's twenty one years old because he was so young when he came into the league. But it's Kyle Pitts in Atlanta. Got that big money this offseason. They're Gonna use him a lot this year. I don't think that you pay a guy like that to ⁓ have the career that he's had. They bring in ⁓ Kevin Stefansky, who obviously in Cleveland had a track record of using the tight end. And I think they're going to use him a lot this year. ⁓ you can buy a little bit of a dip on Kyle Pitts. He's going right now as tight end number seven, so a little bit higher than some of the other guys I like around him. I'm not necessarily trying to target Kyle Pitts, but I'm also not mad if I leave the draft with him as my tight end. I think he's going to have a fine year this year. ⁓ should see a lot of targets, especially in the red zone. I could see Kyle Pitts really ⁓ returning on the price that you're paying for him in the drafts this year. Up to my tight end number seven going to Cleveland, a guy who broke onto the scene last year for the Cleveland Browns is Harold Fannon Jr., my tight end number seven. Currently going as tight end five in sleeper drafts. I think I'm a little bit lower on him just because of the scene around him. I do think the Browns' offense is going to be better this year, but I still am a little bit nervous about Harold Fannon Jr. Do I necessarily try to get him in drafts? No. But I again, much like Kyle Pitts, I'm not mad if I do get him. He's just those guys are kind of in that tight end dead zone for me. I either want one of those. First few tight ends, or I'm just punting at the position and I'm waiting ⁓ till later in the draft. Maybe that's not your style. ⁓ maybe you like to get these middle round guys. And if you do, I think Harold Fannon Jr. is a perfect pick for that time frame in the draft. I just personally I either like to be one of the first guys to take a tight end or the last guy to take a tight end. Going to my number six tight end is a guy coming back from some injuries. He's fully healthy. should be ready to rock this year. He's currently going as tight end number eight on sleeper. ⁓ but my tight end number six is Sam Laporta in Detroit playing for that Lions offense. They're going to be dynamite again this year. And I think Laporta's going to take over again as that target number two for the passing game behind Amon and Ross St. Brown. Laporta you can get in like the ninth round right now. I think that's a phenomenal discount. ⁓ one of those guys like I just talked about with Harold Fannon I like to wait on that tight end position. And I'm okay taking Laporta in the ninth round if I can get him there. If he creeps up before your actual draft and he's maybe in the seventh round, that might be a little too rich for where I want to take him. But I think in the ninth round, he's going to pay off big time for you. Speaking of paying off based on ADP, I have at number five Tucker Kraft from the Green Bay Packers. Guy who was lighting it up last year before his injury and just hasn't been viewed the same. I mean, he's coming back from injury. ⁓ he's cleared, he's out there, he's ready to go for week one, but he is still being drafted like he is kind of a schmuck, being drafted in that middle round, like the seventh round or so, sixth to seventh round. I I am trying to get Tucker Kraft where I can. I think he is a phenomenal value. Had he played that whole season, I think he's right up there in that discussion with Bowers and McBride, definitely in that discussion with Warren and Loveland. But because of the injury, you can buy that dip a little bit. And that's really what fantasy football is about, especially in the draft, is getting guys at the right time, capitalizing on where maybe some other people have question marks. And you jump on drafting these guys that have questions, that's where leagues are won, that's where drafts are won. Tucker Kraft is a perfect example of that. Buy that injury dip, buy that concern from your other league mates, and take Tucker Kraft. Coming in at my number four tight end is Tyler Warren. He is currently going as tight end number four. Phenomenal talent, phenomenal start to the season last year with Daniel Jones there in Indianapolis. Jones coming back from that injury should be fully healthy. I expect big things from Tyler Warren. If you don't get one of the big two, big three, Tyler Warren is a phenomenal talent. I would try to get him. And kind of going right there with him in that tier two tight end discussion is Colston Lovelin, my tight end number three in Chicago. He's being drafted as tight end number three as a Michigan Wolverine. I got to see Colston Lovelin firsthand. ⁓ loved him in college. And I think he is drafted to a perfect position. Obviously, the Bears were very high on him, taking him so early in the draft. And I think this year he's going to explode. They're going to use him a lot. Ben Johnson says he wants to be the best offense in the history of the NFL. They are going to try to score points and score points every single drive. And Loveland is going to be the number one target earner on that team. I have really no doubt about that. Burden is already banged up a little bit. Odunze is up and down. I think Loveland is the guy they're going to try to feature in almost every single game. A great pick early in the draft. And going to my tight end two, these guys are the consensus one and two tight ends. You can have them in any order that you want. I personally this year, I'm going to put Trey McBride at number two. Love the talent. I was super high on him. I think last year I had Trey McBride as my tight end number one and Brock Bowers as my wife as my tight end number two. But this year I have Trey McBride at number two Just a little bit ⁓ more concerned with Jacoby Brissett there at quarterback and not Kyler Murray like they had at the start of last year. I do think that Marv is still ⁓ a very underutilized talent there in Arizona. They're gonna try to get him the ball a lot more. Trey McBride's targets have been off the charts over the last couple of years. I still think even with bringing those down a little bit, McBride could still have a massive year this year. ⁓ I just Really like the talent of Bowers. I like the situation that he's in. And so my number one tight end is Brock Bowers. I think with Kirk Cousins there, there's gonna be a ton of dump off passes. And I've already talked about Clint Kubiak when it comes to the running backs and the wide receivers. Clint Kubiak is very good at getting his best player at the ball. We saw it last year with JSN, we saw it with Ken Walker ⁓ on that playoff run and the Super Bowl run. I think Brock Bowers is gonna be this year's ⁓ guy that really breaks out, even though he's already broken out. I think Bowers could have a massive year. They're gonna throw him the football a ton, maybe even see him running the ball. Who knows? They're gonna get it in his hands. He's gonna be a very, very valuable piece to whoever's fantasy team he is on this year. A phenomenal pick in that middle second round. And that is all I've got for you guys. That wraps up my top 12 tight end episode. If you caught anything there that you found valuable, let me know down in the comments. Hit that like button, hit that subscribe button. It would mean a lot as we are trying to hit that first 100 subscribers here on the channel. And until next time, have a good one. See ya.