Justin Boone is a two-time winner of the FantasyPros Most Accurate Expert Award (2019, 2025) and has nine top-10 finishes in the competition.
Below you can see a very early look at his fantasy rankings for the 2026 season. More expanded rankings, including PPR scoring and rookies, will be available in future updates.
Early 2026 Fantasy Rankings
Takeaways from the early TE rankings
Colston Loveland has moved into the TE3 spot overall after finishing the season as hot as any player at his position. The rookie was the TE18 in fppg on the year, but over the final nine weeks of the fantasy season, he emerged as the fifth-highest scoring tight end during that span. At just 21 years old, Loveland posted stat lines of 6-94-1, 10-91-1, 8-137-0 and 4-56-0 over his last month, including the playoffs, with at least 10 targets in each of those outings. It’s clear Ben Johnson plans to make Loveland a focal point of the passing attack and fantasy managers should be excited about that.
George Kittle suffered a torn Achilles in the playoffs, which is especially concerning for a player who will turn 33 years old in October. However, Kittle spoke about the nature of his specific Achilles injury, which was a clear tear that occurred higher up, so they didn’t have to drill into his heel. That will allow more blood flow and a faster recovery. While a normal Achilles tear would keep a player out until November, the general belief is that Kittle has a shot to return sooner than that. I’d still be cautious about drafting Kittle for 2026, but he is back in my rankings now — even though we might not be starting him in Week 1.
Trey McBride stands alone at the top of the tight end rankings and for good reason. The 26-year-old reached a new level of production this season, averaging over 15 fantasy points per game in half PPR and over 18 fppg in PPR. He finished the year more than 80 points ahead of the next closest fantasy TE in half PPR and more than 100 points above second place in PPR. His 242.9 fantasy points would have made him the WR5, RB9 or QB13 in total scoring on the year. We need to see who the Cardinals’ starting quarterback will be in 2026, but McBride is the unquestioned No. 1 option at the position.