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With the conclusion of the 2025 fantasy football season, these 2026 fantasy football PPR rankings provide an initial look at how players might be ranked this summer.
Player movement in free agency will significantly impact the rankings, especially at running back. Currently, players expected to be unrestricted free agents are marked as free agents in the team column. This article includes players from the upcoming draft class, including Kenyon Sadiq, who is expected to be a first-round pick, and several players projected to get selected in the third round of the NFL Draft.
Analysis for the top five players can be found at the bottom of the article. You can also click on the analysis column for one of those five players to jump to the analysis on that player.
Last updated: 5 a.m. Tuesday, February 3
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Mock Draft Simulator 2026 NFL Draft Big Board Big Board Builder NCAA Premium Stats SubscribeRankPlayerTeamTierAnalysis1Trey McBrideCardinals1Details2Brock BowersRaiders1Details3Colston LovelandBears2Details4Sam LaPortaLions2Details5Harold Fannin Jr.Browns2Details6Tyler WarrenColts27George Kittle49ers28Tucker KraftPackers29Kyle Pitts Sr.Free Agent210Mark AndrewsRavens311Oronde GadsdenChargers312Kenyon SadiqRookie313Dalton KincaidBills314Dallas GoedertFree Agent315Jake FergusonCowboys416Hunter HenryPatriots417Brenton StrangeJaguars418A.J. BarnerSeahawks419Isaiah LikelyFree Agent420T.J. HockensonVikings421Dalton SchultzTexans522Juwan JohnsonSaints523Chig OkonkwoFree Agent524David NjokuFree Agent525Cade OttonFree Agent526Travis KelceFree Agent527Theo JohnsonGiants528Colby ParkinsonRams529Mason TaylorJets530Gunnar HelmTitans631Ben SinnottCommanders632Eli StowersRookie633Max KlareRookie634Michael TriggRookie635Mike GesickiBengals636Jack EndriesRookie637Justin JolyRookie638Zach ErtzFree Agent639Joe RoyerRookie640Darnell WashingtonSteelers61. Trey McBride, Arizona Cardinals
McBride has a historically great 2025, setting a new single-season record for receptions by a tight end. He averaged 18.6 PPR points per game, sixth among wide receivers. He scored over 100 more points than the next-best tight end.
There is significant room for regression for McBride in 2026 and beyond. Arizona attempted a league-high 649 passes last season. Its defense allowed the fourth-most points at 488. Arizona lost its top two running backs in September in James Conner and Trey Benson, leading Arizona to stray away from the run game for most of the season. Among Arizona’s top eight wide receivers on the active roster and practice squad from the start of the season, five ended the season on injured reserve. Another two were Xavier Weaver and Tejhaun Palmer, who combined for less than 100 receiving yards, leaving Michael Wilson as the only notable healthy wide receiver. This helped McBride maintain an exceptionally high target rate.
Despite the regression, McBride remains the top tight end, at least until we find out more about the Cardinals' offseason. The Cardinals moved on from their previous coaching staff and haven’t added a new starter. The new coach will help decide who will be the starting quarterback going forward. The Cardinals have the third overall pick in the draft, but many expect them to use the pick on a defensive player. Arizona has some cap space, and they could look to upgrade their wide receiver unit.
Even if the Cardinals' offseason doesn’t appear favorable to McBride, the lowest he will fall on the list is the second spot.
2. Brock Bowers, Las Vegas Raiders
There have been 10 players to average at least 14.5 receiving PPR points per game each of the last two seasons, and two of those players are tight ends. Bowers is one of the players to accomplish this despite the Raiders earning a 57.0 team passing grade over the last two seasons, third-worst among teams. None of the other nine receivers accomplished this with a team passing grade in the bottom 12.
The top tight ends are worthy of being ranked here because we can be more confident these tight ends will still be elite fantasy options in a few years from now than any of the running backs or wide receivers not already listed. There is a higher correlation between fantasy points and PFF grades at tight end than at other positions. Bowers, Trey McBride and George Kittle all have 90.0-plus PFF receiving grades over the last two seasons. No tight end has over 50 targets and a grade between 85.0-90.0, leaving a very large gap between those three tight ends and everyone else. Kittle is expected to miss at least the start of the season due to injury, leaving McBride and Bowers as the clear top two.
Similar to McBride, the Raiders moved on from their coaching staff, haven’t added a new coach yet, and the team could add more competition for targets at wide receiver. He will likely have Fernando Mendoza as his quarterback, assuming the Raiders select him with the first overall pick. While this should be an upgrade, most rookie quarterbacks struggle, so it might be some time before Bowers can fully live up to his potential.
3. Colston Loveland, Chicago Bears
Loveland was the rare tight end to be selected among the first 10 picks of the NFL Draft. Loveland had a slow start to his career, finishing with 40 receiving yards or fewer in each of his first six games until he gained 118 yards on six receptions and two touchdowns against the Cincinnati Bengals.
He particularly excelled over the last four weeks of the season, including the playoffs. He received at least nine targets in each of those matchups, averaging 94 yards per game and scoring two touchdowns. He was the only tight end with four games with 90 or more yards this season, including the playoffs, while Trey McBride had three, and several had two.
His strong playoff performance led him to an 86.2 receiving grade on the season, which was the best grade among tight ends with at least 75 targets. Loveland should be able to build off the momentum of 2025, as the only tight end in the top five with both his quarterback and offensive playcaller returning for another season. Ideally, the continuity will help him stand out from the group.
4. Sam LaPorta, Detroit Lions
LaPorta led all tight ends in fantasy points during his 2023 rookie season. He’s remained among the top 10 in fantasy points per game in each of the last two seasons. While he hasn’t played like the elite tier of tight ends, he’s been the best tight end outside of that tier. His 86.9 PFF receiving grade over the last three seasons is fourth-best among tight ends.
LaPorta’s big problem has been his competition for targets. The Lions have Amon-Ra St. Brown and Jameson Williams at wide receiver in addition to Jahmyr Gibbs and David Montgomery at running back. LaPorta earned a target on 20.4% of his routes over the last three seasons, while the four other tight ends in the top five have 23% or higher rates.
The good news is, LaPorta’s target rate could change. The Lions added Drew Petzing as offensive coordinator. Petzing spent 2020-2022 with the Cleveland Browns, where the Browns' tight ends combined for the fourth-most targets, and 2023-2025 with the Arizona Cardinals, where Trey McBride had 57 more targets than any other tight end. It’s unclear how much Petzing will influence the offense compared to head coach Dan Campbell, but the Petzing addition should help LaPorta’s value rather than hurt it.
5. Harold Fannin Jr., Cleveland Browns
There are several options for the fifth spot, including Fannin and fellow sophomore tight end Tyler Warren in addition to veterans who are currently injured in George Kittle and Tucker Kraft, and free agent Kyle Pitts. There is more risk around the three veterans until we know when they will be able to play in addition to where Pitts will play.
Fannin takes the lead over Warren because he earned a better grade as a rookie and has less competition for touches. Fannin’s 76.4 receiving grade ranked fourth-best for tight ends with at least 100 targets last season, ahead of Warren’s 72.0 grade.
The Indianapolis Colts have Michael Pittman Jr. and Josh Downs under contract, while Alec Pierce is a free agent. Conversely, the only other Browns player to reach over 350 yards outside of Fannin was Jerry Jeudy. The Browns could use their first-round pick on a wide receiver, while the Colts could lose Pierce, which could change which receiver has more competition for targets.
The gap between Fannin and the rest of the tight ends widened when the Browns hired Todd Monken as head coach. Monken has spent the last decade as offensive coordinator for the Tampa Bay Buccaneers, Cleveland Browns, Georgia Bulldogs and Baltimore Ravens. In some stops, he’s had great tight ends like Brock Bowers and Mark Andrews, but his other tight end rooms weren’t as strong. Regardless, his three NFL teams ranked among the top four in touchdowns to tight ends, while Georgia had the seventh-most in the Power Five during his time there. Having Monken will help ensure Fannin is a major part of the offense, even if they add significant reinforcements at wide receiver.