Why Elite TE Is Beyond Tricky In 2026

It's tough ...

Everyone agrees that Brock Bowers and Trey McBride are the best two tight ends on the board.

But what is very much debatable is whether they should actually be part of your draft plans.

Let me explain …

The case for drafting Bowers & McBride. They are head and shoulders the top 2 tight ends from a projections standpoint:

  • McBride projection: 241.9

  • Bowers projection: 235.9

The TE12 in our projections, Jake Ferguson, projects for nearly 100 less points (152.1) than these two! If you secure one of the top 2 you are essentially waltzing into your weekly matchups with a 5-6-point head start. That’s significant.

The case for fading Elite TE. Here’s the thing, though, whenever I select these guys in my early best ball drafts, I hate how my teams look. By taking a Round 2 TE, you are passing on high-ceiling WRs and RBs—think Drake London or Chase Brown. In a landscape where RBs, in particular, are a scarce resource it is very difficult to catch up at that position once you make the luxury detour for an Elite TE.

Compounding the issue is the fact that there are tight end values across the board. I like Colston Loveland in Round 4. I enjoy the pseudo elite TE prices on Tucker Kraft and Harold Fannin. I gobble up the ageist-generated value on guys like Travis Kelce and Mark Andrews. And I haven’t even mentioned my favorite TE target—George Kittle (an Elite TE in sheep’s ADP).

So when it comes to Bowers and McBride … it really isn’t about them. It’s about how roster construction shakes out.

I guess to put it another way … I’m sorry fellas, it’s not you … it’s me.

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Fantasy

Around The Watercooler

The latest fantasy and NFL gossip, news and memes from our merry band of football nerds …

⚡️ An offense that got supercharged in the offseason, by adding a new coach.

😴 The WR to draft in Jacksonville. Post-hype sleeper?

🤔 Already thinking Week 1 matchups? Some picks to target.

🔴 These players will have you seeing red. As in the zone.

💤 Who gets the most rest in 2026? Cool viz here.

🤷 Which Cardinals WR should you draft? It is shocking we are at this point.

💸 Is this the year for Aaron Rodgers? The odds say … no.

⬆️ Upside is everything with this NFC North team. A couple new faces will lift them up.

🏈 Could not have picked a better landing spot for this veteran WR. Major efficiency boost.

WR Rankings Are Loaded For A Big 2026

Just how loaded is the WR position going into the 2026 season. When looking at our Fantasy Life rankings, 4 of the top 6 WRs have been WR1 overall during the past four seasons. One player who was WR2 last season is Jaxon Smith-Njigba. The one to not have a top-2 finish, Amon-Ra St. Brown, has finished WR4 in each of the past three seasons. Talk about consistency.

In looking at the players beyond top 6, it doesn’t take much to make a case for any of the remaining players in the top 12 to make a leap into the higher tiers. But who gets bumped down without an injury? Adam Pfeifer broke down the players who will be going off the board in the first two rounds of fantasy drafts. ⤵️

Mailbag: How to Draft Malik Nabers Coming off Injury

It really is one of the biggest conundrums of the NFL offseason: How to handle Malik Nabers’ return from ACL surgery? On the one hand, Nabers put up one of the best WR rookie seasons in recent memory: 109-1,204-7 on 170 targets IN 2024. He did so with QBs who are a far cry from the upgrade he got last season in Jaxson Dart. The problem is the ACL injury that he suffered in Week 4 last season, which wrecked so many fantasy teams’ prospects in 2025.

Now reports are putting into question whether he will be full speed going into training camp, and possibly putting into question Nabers’ participation at the start of the 2026 season—he’s dropping in ADP. Kendall Valenzuela tackled that question and others in her weekly mailbag.

Are We Too Low on Brock Purdy?

All Brock Purdy does is ball out. In the past three seasons, the man known as Mr. Irrelevant, Class of 2022, has posted top-12 finishes in fantasy points per game. Is this the year to break the trend of drafting him as a backup? Ian and Dwain break down the 49ers and continue their team preview series. Don’t miss an episode, subscribe today. 👀

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