Of the first eight tight ends going in early 2026 ADP, the oldest is 26 years old. Let that sit for a second. Trey McBride, Brock Bowers, Colston Loveland, and Tyler Warren are getting drafted like they’re locked in to deliver, and the cost of grabbing one is two or three roster spots you could have spent loading up at running back and receiver. I’m not paying that toll. The depth at the position this year is real, and four or five guys sitting just behind the elite tier give you most of the production for a fraction of the cost. That’s the whole argument for punting tight end, and these are the names I keep landing on.
When looking for value buys behind the elite tier, start with Sam LaPorta, because he’s the easiest one to talk yourself into. He’s still just 25, he already owns a TE1-overall season, and he’s been a monster near the goal line, 20 touchdowns on 252 career targets. The market has cooled on him because his target share dipped behind Detroit’s stacked skill group and the production leaned touchdown-dependent. Fine. But you’re getting a former overall TE1 ceiling around the eighth tight end off the board, and that’s exactly the arbitrage a punt build is built around. What would actually flip me is camp chatter that the receivers and backs are eating his short and red-zone work, and I’ll be watching for it. Absent that, I’m comfortable at TE8 and getting aggressive if he slides to TE10 or later. PPR and best ball are where he shines.
Tucker Kraft is the one I keep circling back to. He emerged as a genuine focal point and a YAC weapon in an ascending Green Bay offense, and there still isn’t an entrenched alpha receiver ahead of him. He’s under 27, he’s cheaper than the McBride/Bowers/Loveland/Warren cluster, and at TE7 or TE8 I’m happy to take the near-TE1 production. Past TE9 I’m pounding the table. The one thing I’m tracking: he’s working back from a knee injury suffered late last season, so his early-season availability is worth confirming before you lock him in. Half-PPR and best ball are the sweet spots.
Kyle Pitts is the upside swing with a steady floor. I know exactly what you’re going to say, because I’ve said it too. Years of unmet hype and shaky quarterback play have turned him into a punchline. But the athletic profile hasn’t gone anywhere, he topped 1,000 yards as a rookie, and he’s still under 27. He bounced back last year with an 88-928-5 line on 118 targets across 17 games, a perfectly usable season nobody remembers because of the name. The quarterback room is the wobble, running through Michael Penix as he works back from a knee, so treat Pitts as a late upside TE2 rather than a TE1 price. If he slides past the top 12 tight ends, that top-five ceiling becomes worth the gamble.
Harold Fannin Jr. broke out as a rookie and just drew public praise from George Kittle himself, which tells you the talent is legit. He’s part of that cited new wave of young tight ends. Cleveland’s quarterback situation is the obvious hesitation, but negative game scripts mean forced passing volume, and forced volume tends to concentrate toward a young go-to target, which makes him a sneaky high-floor PPR play. I want him as a late TE1 or early TE2 value, and I’m aggressive past TE10. The line I draw is taking him ahead of LaPorta or Kraft.
Then there’s Travis Kelce, who the rankings have shuffled behind a pile of younger names and even a surprise sleeper or two. He’s not the player who set records, projections land him around 73 catches, 761 yards and five scores after an 80-894 line last year. But he’s still tied to Mahomes in an elite passing game with a defined role, and Eric Bieniemy is back calling plays. That’s a stable weekly floor at a discounted veteran price. If camp shows reduced route participation I’ll bail, but absent that he’s a fine late TE1 floor pick and a steal past TE10.
If I’m ranking who I’d actually pay up for, it’s Kraft and LaPorta first, both comfortable in the TE7-8 range. Fannin is the value I chase a tick later in PPR. Pitts and Kelce are the cheap darts, one for ceiling, one for floor. You can likely get either one at a discount.