Week 1 Tight End Preview: Is Tucker Kraft a Trust or Bust?
Top Fantasy TEs for Week 1
Let's break down the key usage notes and matchups that are driving our Week 1 TE Rankings.
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1. Trey McBride, Arizona Cardinals
McBride opens against Derwin James and a Chargers defense that ranked sixth in adjusted fantasy points allowed to TEs last year. Perhaps that's a reason to fade McBride in daily contests, but he's not leaving your season-long lineup.
2. Colston Loveland, Chicago Bears
Loveland hit his ceiling late last season, scoring 20+ PPR points in his final two games (and continued that in the Bears' playoff game). Loveland was a top-3 PPR TE four times last season, the second most of those in the league behind Trey McBride. With D.J. Moore gone, Loveland is a must start at TE.
3. Tyler Warren, Indianapolis Colts
Warren had the third highest snap rate among TEs last year at 83.6%. He should benefit from Alec Pierce recovering from an ankle injury, giving more potential targets to Warren. The Ravens were strong against TEs last season, ranking top ten in terms of fantasy points against. Warren still remains a must start this week.
4. Sam LaPorta, Detroit Lions
LaPorta dealt with an August hip issue but opens the season practicing in full. That makes him strong option in a Detroit offense that carries the week's second-highest implied total.
5. Harold Fannin, Cleveland Browns
Jacksonville's 2025 defense ranked among the top 8 in coverage DVOA against every WR spot but just 17th against TEs. That bodes well for Fannin's outlook. And his team's status as an 8.5-point underdog figures to boost the total passing volume.
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6. Kyle Pitts, Atlanta Falcons
QB play is a notable issue here. Tua Tagovailoa struggled in training camp and looked overmatched in preseason play. Then on Thursday, he missed practice time with an oblique injury. It’s particularly concerning after Tua missed time with a back injury in training camp. Even if he’s starting, Atlanta’s scoring potential looks limited against a potential top-five defense in Pittsburgh. The Falcons are implied for only 18.75 points.
7. Juwan Johnson, New Orleans Saints
Johnson quietly racked up the fifth-most receptions among all TEs last season. He should open this year as New Orleans' No. 2 target, with a hamstring injury sidelining rookie WR Jordyn Tyson. New Orleans' status as 7-point underdogs in Detroit this week carries potential to boost the passing volume. Johnson's an attractive Week 1 fantasy play.
8. Travis Kelce, Kansas City Chiefs
Kelce is often a focal point of the Chiefs' passing attack against the Broncos. His receiving lines in their last 3 meetings: 8-64-1, 9-91-1, and 5-36-0.
9. Tucker Kraft, Green Bay Packers
Kraft had a breakout last year but tore his ACL in Week 9. He had 489 receiving yards and 6 TDs before his injury. Kraft averaged 15.3 yards per catch (first among TEs) and 2.33 yards per route run (second). He also posted a 157.2 QB rating when targeted, fourth among TEs. The after-catch work was especially important. Kraft averaged 10.8 yards after catch per reception (first). Kraft is off the injury report, but he could still be limited this week. Treat him as a low-end TE1.
10. Dallas Goedert, Philadelphia Eagles
Goedert's probably gonna have trouble matching last year's top-6 fantasy-scoring average, which leaned heavily on an abnormally high TD rate (18.3%). But Goedert hasn't finished a season lower than 13th in PPR points per game since his rookie year. He opens against a Washington defense that ranked just 27th in pass-defense DVOA last season.
11. Isaiah Likely, New York Giants
Likely makes his debut for the Giants following an influx of positive training camp reports. In Likely's final season with the Ravens, he produced just 5.6 PPR points per game. But his 13.4% target rate leads us to believe Mark Andrews was blocking his breakout possibility. Now, the clear top dog on his team's depth chart, Likely opens Week 1 with a TE1 projection.
12. Mark Andrews, Baltimore Ravens
Isaiah Likely has moved on to the Giants, opening up more potential targets for Andrews under new OC Declan Doyle. Last year, he was TE6 in expected points per game with 10 red zone targets (though he only caught three of those). It remains to be seen how the Ravens will utilize their TEs, but there is some hope for Andrews as a TD-dependent TE1 this week.
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13. Michael Mayer, Las Vegas Raiders
Mayer should step into a full-time role with Brock Bowers sidelined by a knee injury. The Raiders were already short on dependable pass catchers, with Tre Tucker atop the WR depth chart. That opens enough target opportunity for Mayer to threaten TE1 production against Miami’s inexperienced safety trio of Zayne Anderson, Dante Trader Jr., and Michael Taaffe.
14. Jake Ferguson, Dallas Cowboys
Ferguson has been responsible for at least a 16.0% target share each of the past three seasons. But his lack of efficiency was on full display last season, joining Mason Taylor as the only TEs to command at least a 16.0% target share while managing less than 1.00 yard per team pass attempt. Fortunately, his projected volume in a Dak Prescott offense leads him to a fringe TE1 projection this week.
15. Hunter Henry, New England Patriots
Played Wednesday night.
16. Dalton Schultz, Houston Texans
Schultz quietly finished top 6 among TEs last year in targets, catches, and yards. He should be plenty busy again, especially early on this season, with all the questions in Houston's Jayden Higgins-less WR corps. He opens against a Bills defense that ranked No. 1 against TEs last season, including holding Schultz to 1 catch for 8 yards in Week 12. But they'll be running a new scheme this year under first-time DC Jim Leonhard.
17. Brenton Strange, Jacksonville Jaguars
Strange's $12 million-a-year extension this offseason shows that Jacksonville considers him an important offensive piece. But he'll still share the field with Parker Washington, Brian Thomas Jr., and Jakobi Meyers -- plus the RBs. We'll have to see whether Strange can wrangle enough targets to get into our lineups regularly.
18. Dalton Kincaid, Buffalo Bills
We're high on Kincaid's upside this season, but he's a risky Week 1 start. We don't know for sure yet how big his role will be. And he draws a tough Texans defense that ranked 10th against TEs last year.
19. T.J. Hockenson, Minnesota Vikings
Hockenson had a down year last year with the QB issues on the Vikings, along with Hockenson coming back slowly from an ACL injury. He had career lows in receiving yards per game (29.1) and yards per catch (8.6). Adding Kyler Murray should help. The Packers also struggled against TEs last year, giving up the second most yards per target. Hockenson is a TE2 with some upside if he can find the end zone.
20. George Kittle, San Francisco 49ers
Played Thursday night.
21. Cade Otton, Tampa Bay Buccaneers
Otton remained a better real-life player than fantasy asset in 2025, posting a 59-572-1 line. He tallied 18% of his fantasy output in Week 18 alone. There’s a chance his role grows a bit with Mike Evans in San Francisco. But Otton is best used in deep TE-premium formats, even in a potential shootout vs. the Bengals.
22. Chig Okonkwo, Washington Commanders
Okonkwo appeared in line for a potentially significant target boost after he signed with Washington in free agency. But Stefon Diggs' arrival likely caps him as no better than the third target, and this offense finished the past two seasons 25th and 31st in pass attempts. Philly's high-level pass D (fifth in DVOA last year) doesn't help.
23. A.J. Barner, Seattle Seahawks
Played Wednesday night.
24. Pat Freiermuth, Pittsburgh Steelers
Freiermuth posted just a 50% route rate last season, but that number should rise with TE Jonnu Smith no longer in Pittsburgh. A new HC in Mike McCarthy adds extra optimism, although Freiermuth still projects as a secondary target with D.K. Metcalf and Michael Pittman healthy. The TE is best left on benches, despite a nice scoring matchup vs. Atlanta.
25. Terrance Ferguson, Los Angeles Rams
Played Thursday night.
