Fantasy Finish: Top 12 TEs - 2025 Fantasy Football - 2026 Draft Predictions

A tight end just produced like a top-10 wide receiver, and it changes how we draft. We unpack the top 12 tight ends of 2025 and spotlight the real drivers of value heading into 2026: target volume, first-read share, alignment versatility, and stable quarterback chemistry. From Dalton Schultz’s quiet consistency to Juwan Johnson’s 100-plus targets under an offense that actually feeds tight ends, we map the data to decisions that win drafts.

We take you tier by tier. George Kittle’s per-game dominance meets an Achilles rehab timeline that demands contingency plans. Travis Kelsey remains efficient but touchdown variance finally bites, nudging him from automatic early pick to value-only play. In the middle, Tyler Warren, Jake Ferguson, Hunter Henry, and Harold Fannon Jr. show why patience pays: thin margins separate TE6 to TE12, and one extra catch can swing a week. Brock Bowers sits on a top-three ceiling with a likely rookie quarterback, and Kyle Pitts finally gets the receiver deployment his talent deserves.

Then there’s Trey McBride. With 169 targets, 1,200-plus yards, and 11 touchdowns, he delivered WR-level production from the tight end slot, a genuine positional edge built on elite route participation and trust. The takeaway is simple: either buy the outlier who anchors an offense or wait for smart volume at a discount. We share concrete draft tactics, names to circle, and pitfalls to avoid so you can squeeze the most value from a fickle position.

If you’re ready to rethink tight ends and build a sharper 2026 board, hit play now. If you enjoyed this breakdown, follow the show, share it with your league, and drop a review with your bold TE prediction for next season.

Transcript

Setting The Stage: Why TEs Matter

SPEAKER_01 0:00

Tight ends today, guys. Top 12 tight ends. We've got your fantasy finishes here on the Frankly Fantasy Podcast. Let's roll in and see who the top 12 tight ends of 2025 were. Let's go. Welcome to the show. This is the Franklin Fantasy Football Podcast. We are your host, Frankie and Johnny. Frankie, let's go, baby. We got two 12 tight ends. Another episode of our fantasy finishes for 2025. Let's go, baby. Top 12 tight ends, man. I know most guys are looking at going, tight ends, I don't care about tight ends. Listen, guys, these are difference makers for you, okay? Especially if you're in shallow leagues. 8, 10, 12-man leagues. Tight ends, onesie positions, they're very, very important here, guys. But let's take a look and see how everybody finished here, Frankie. You ready? Let's do it, baby. All right, let's go,

Dalton Schultz At 12: Safety Valve Case

SPEAKER_01 1:08

man. Let's hit with number 12, Dalton Schultz, tight end for the Houston Texans. He was drafted at number 24. Came in at number 12 here, Frankie, with 127 points. All right, Frankie, so Dalton Schultz coming in at 12. Talk to me about Dalton Schultz, not just how the season was for him, but all of these guys. We're going to talk a little bit also about what are we expecting out of them in 2026 and next year's draft. Give me some on Dalton Schultz, baby.

SPEAKER_00 1:35

Guys, you were really happy with Schultzy. Listen, you know, the where he was drafted, John, mid-20s, to then becoming a top 12 tight end. This is something that you and I actually expected and called out earlier before the draft even occurred for 2025 for your fantasy drafts. Guys, looking at what he did, he had 106 targets, 82 receptions, 777 yards, and then three touchdowns. The three touchdowns is where he's lacked in comparison to prior years outside of last year. He actually had an uptick of one touchdown. But prior to that, he was a bit down. But overall, guys, this was fantastic. As a journeyman who started it for the Cowboys and then eventually became um and went to the Houston Texans, he was a pivotal part of this particular offense, especially when Nico Collins was banged up or they were trying to get some of these rookies involved, like Higgins or Noel, and they're looking to get Kirk involved. Schultzy was the um safety blanket for that of CJ Stroud. And man, I'll tell you what, he really looked solid this year. He did.

SPEAKER_01 2:38

I mean, he was really, he was really the safest bet on that Houston Feltons passing offense, you know? Very inconsistent passing offense, but it just seemed that he was the most consistent option there. Uh where are you looking at him for next year then for Dalton Schultz? I mean, is he just kind of in that? There's gonna be a big group of guys, I think, that I'm kind of like, I'm okay with either way. You know, like I put him in that Dallas Goddard, you know, uh type of tier where, you know, these guys are gonna be good. They're gonna perform for you. It might not be tight end one, but is going to be a starting tight end and could be a top five guy. Is Dalton Schultz kind of in that category as well?

SPEAKER_00 3:15

Definitely. Guys, I could see Dalton Schultz staying right around that that eight, nine, 10, 11, 12 mark next year, and certainly has the upside to get him too. I mean, when we start looking at the differentiator or the difference in points, excuse me, from 127, as we mentioned, 127.4 for that of of Dalton Schultz and where kind of that top five range is, guys, he's not that far off. And so for me, John, I think you nailed it, especially when we're seeing is Christian Kirk going to come back? Is he gonna resign? You know, he's a free agent after this year. Again, you have two rookies in Noel and Higgins that they're looking to get up to speed. Of course, you have Nico Collins, but the reality is he's been banged up. It seems like every damn year, man, at some point in time he's getting hurt or missing games. And where the consistency lies is that with Schultz. So, yes, target him, and you can probably get some phenomenal value at that point.

SPEAKER_01 4:05

Yeah, and not only that, his touchdowns, you were right. There were only three touchdowns were super low. Uh, for him to even be a top 12 with three touchdowns, that's impressive. I mean super gotta be six, seven, eight touchdowns to even land in this top, you know, 12 here. So that's super impressive, which gives you hope for next year. If that touchdown total comes up, again, he could be a top five guy.

SPEAKER_00 4:26

And guys, again, we're talking about half PPR here. So if you're in full PPR, knowing the targets that he's getting at 106, and then he ended up having 82 receptions. Fun fact, 82 receptions is the most in his career. And damn it, John, I mean, he was a rookie in 2017, right? So we're almost talking he's been a decade into the league and having arguably wanted his best overall seasons. So I'm excited to see how he continues to perform with Houston next year.

SPEAKER_01 4:52

All right, let's get to our number 11 tight end

George Kittle’s Injury And Outlook

SPEAKER_01 4:55

here. We're talking about our buddy, the guy who's stealing carburetors and stealing copper pipes out of people's houses. My boy from Huntington, Indiana. He's not really, he just looks like he is. Uh, George Kittle. George Kittle was drafted as the number three tight end here. Coming in at 11, scoring 127 points, almost identical, literally two yards more than Dalton Schultz. So these guys are pretty much synonymous here. Um, Frankie, talk to me a little bit about George Kittle, baby.

SPEAKER_00 5:21

Guys, unfortunately, we all saw what happened over this past weekend. Kittle Tor ruptured his eight or his Achilles, and it's gonna certainly affect what next year's outlook looks like for him. So we gotta stay in touch with how the rehab progresses, what he's going to look to do if he's looking to stay on board, or if or if he's looking to maybe retire, depending on whatever it is. I'm not here for speculation. I'm just saying it's something that we need to be in touch with as the year progresses, leading up to 2026 drafts. But here's the deal, guys. George Kittle was banged up this year. Okay, played 10 games, but the games when he did play, guys, he was second in total, in total over all tight ends in points per game, right? In average points per game, 12.8. He's almost 13 points per game. That's phenomenal for your tight end. But again, he's only there for 10 games. Now, looking at what he did from his body of work, 69 targets, 57 receptions, 628 yards. And then he also had seven touchdowns. So, what's crazy is he's almost averaging a touchdown a game for the games that he's playing. And then when you look at his yard per catch, guys, especially for an older cat that's in his 11th year, um, I mean, 11.02 yards per catch. I mean, this is really, really good shit for that of the 49ers and for that of George Kittle. So the only call out here is in my opinion, he is a surefire if he is healthy, top three tight end. He is just he feels it with Brock Purdy. He's in a perfect system with Shanahan. Shanahan and the owners love him. You can see he's a huge piece of this offense, but unfortunately, we got to see how everything pans out. So, as of right now, I'm saying this George Kittle's kind of off my board-ish until we see how his rehab goes, things like that. If if he cannot go, I have Tongis um circled there. Guys, he's really performed. Um, when George Kittle hasn't been there, he's been a really nice blanket, certainly not as productive as Kittle, but certainly somebody that Brock Purdy can look at.

SPEAKER_01 7:22

Agreed, agreed. If he doesn't retire and comes back, I mean, he's gonna be a waiver wire pickup. He's likely to be on the pup to start the season, probably not till October, November to come back. Um, so wouldn't worry about him for next year right now, but keep an eye on him. If he does go on the pup, somebody you can throw in your IR, bring him on. 12.8 points a game out of a tight end. He's pretty sexy. All right, let's get to number 10 here. We've got Jawan Johnson of the New Orleans Saints. Little surprise, uh, top 10 finish here for Juwan Johnson, drafted as the tight end 34. So zero respect whatsoever. Another waiver wire guy jumping into your top 10 here. 135 total points for the season, eight and a half points per

Juwan Johnson’s Target Surge

SPEAKER_01 8:04

game. Talk to me about Juwan Johnson.

SPEAKER_00 8:06

Juwan Johnson had a career year, and he got paid, if you guys remember, last year. And so we see the fruits of that labor coming. He's a young guy, fairly young guy. He's with a rookie quarterback. And yeah, there was some hesitation before before draft day because of Taysom Hill. What's going to happen with him? Is he gonna kind of be the lead tight end or is it gonna be Juwan Johnson? And what's interesting, John, I had Juwan Johnson circled as a guy that I was targeting the entire time. You don't have to waste draft capital on him. You can really take him with your last round pick or pick him up on a waiver before week one. And he was really solid. And what's fascinating about him, he ended up having this particular year 102 targets. 102 targets for Juwan Johnson with a rookie quarterback andor a second-year quarterback with Rattler when he actually started off this season. And to have 102 targets is phenomenal, 77 uh receptions, 889 yards receiving, and three touchdowns, guys. So, what's fascinating here with Juwan Johnson? He's like an extremely poor man's version of a Trey McBride. What I mean by that is prior to the season, Trey McBride was not a touchdown kind of guy. Trey McBride was very much so a PPR magnet. He was getting high target volumes, high receptions, and great receiving yards. He just couldn't get in the end zone. And so that's kind of where Juwan Johnson is at this point in time. If we start seeing that uptick in touchdowns, guys, Juwan Johnson goes from a top 10 tight end to arguably a top six tight end. If you add in another four or five touchdowns throughout the year, which only brings that to seven or eight. I mean, I'm not talking going double-digit touchdowns. I'm just talking, you know, kind of plateauing with where, you know, maybe Harold Fannon is and some of those other guys. So for me, man, I really am optimistic about Juwan Johnson. You have Tyler Shug, who's going to be coming in his second year. Saints already committed to the guy. You got Kellen Moore as the head coach, who's a phenomenal offensive mind, who loves the tight ends as well. That's actually where um Jake Ferguson, et cetera, has really excelled previously when underneath Kellen Moore for the Cowboys. And so for me, man, I like this guy and the value you're probably going to be able to get him for your drafts next year.

SPEAKER_01 10:18

I loved your Trey McBride comparison because looking at the yardage, he was third in yardage out of all tight ends. So you're right, those touchdowns go up to he had three, they go up to five, six, seven. Different. He's a top three guy. Yep. All right, let's get to our number nine tight end.

Hunter Henry And Drake May Synergy

SPEAKER_01 10:36

It is Hunter Henry of the New England Patriots. Yeah, Hunter Henry needs to be sending Drake May, Watchers, and Flowers and everything he could possibly send this guy, man, massaging his feet, anything he could do. Hunter Henry was drafted as the 18th tight end off the board, came in at number nine with 140 points, five more than Juwan Johnson, averaging 8.8 points a game. Talk to me about Hunter.

SPEAKER_00 11:01

Hey, what's crazy about Hunter Henry, guys? He's been in the league since 2015. Yeah. Like, I just he almost looks like he was a young buck out there. And here he's a season vet. I mean, we're talking 11 seasons or 10 seasons. This is amazing. And guys, what's even crazier is this was his highest producing year in his career. Guys, he ended up having 87 targets, which fun fact, that's third in his career. He had 60 receptions, which fun fact is tied for second. He had 768 yards receiving. Fun fact, that's first. That's best in his career. And then he had seven receiving touchdowns, which ends up being third best in his career, all accumulating, amalgamating to 12.8 yards per catch. Let me tell you, man, Drake May with Hunter Henry is something. It is something great and brewing. And I think that Hunter Henry is going to be an anchorpiece moving forward for Drake May. In my opinion, man, knowing the age that Hunter Henry is, look at what Zach Ertz did for Jaden Daniels, right? And I'm looking at it last season, not this past season, but last season when Jay when Jaden Daniels was healthy. That's how I see Hunter Henry moving forward with Drake May. You're not going to ask a ton of him. He's going to be much more of the pass catching type of tight end than a blocker. And then more importantly, in this style of offense that they're running with Josh McDaniels, they're creative as all hell. So then you layer on, okay, well, they have some young receivers, you have Stefan Diggs. Do they get AJ Brown? I don't know. Maybe. Who knows? But all I'm saying is Hunter Henry is a guy that you can get for dirt cheap, absolutely nothing. He probably isn't even going to be a top 12 guy on the ADP list next year. So what I'm saying is, guys, when you're looking at Hunter Henry, when you're looking at Juwan Johnson, when you're looking at Dalton Schultz, you can wait. You can wait for some of these guys that are top 10, top 12 cats. And there's really not a ton separating them again from the top five. So for me, man, hell of a year, Hunter Henry. Love seeing the synergy with Drake May. It's going to be fun 2026.

Brock Bowers’ Ceiling With Rookie QB

SPEAKER_01 13:14

All right, let's get to our number eight tight end here for 2025. It is Brock Bowers, tight end for the Las Vegas Raiders. Brock Bowers had a freak season in 2024. Absolute insane. Came in last year as a number one tight end. This year he's number eight. Total points of 144 points, so about four points more than Hunter Henry's. Surprising. Averaging, though, 12 points per game. And the main point here is that he only played 12 games. Came in at eight here. Frankie, talk about it.

SPEAKER_00 13:45

Brock Bowers is a surefire top three tight end. That's all you guys need to know next year. We're gonna we're talking about a complete gunning. Meaning, Raiders have the first overall pick. I would be shocked if they didn't go quarterback there. Whether it's Dante Moore, whether it's Fernando Mendoza, doesn't matter. Both of those guys have experience in targeting the tight end specifically. And then you layer on whoever that head coach is gonna be. Pete Carroll is not gonna be the guy. So then you're saying, okay, well, what's around Brock Bowers? So you're bringing in a rookie quarterback, you have Ashton Gensy, you have Trey Tucker. They really need a true receiver one. Who's to say they don't go out and get somebody like that in free agency or make a trade, something like that? And for me, man, even if they don't, that raises the stock even higher for Bowers because he's going to be the surefire number one. Think of him as Travis Kelsey years ago, before really the Chiefs had anybody at the receiver perspective. That's where Brock Bowers is. If he plays all year, I mean, John, it's not crazy to say he could be pushing Trey McBride for that number one spot if he plays every particular game and stays healthy in every particular game. And the craziest part is he's on a way shittier team. So for me, man, lock up Brock Bowers. You're probably gonna get some excellent value on him next year, knowing that he only he's been hurt and banged up and he performed his number eight um tight end in half PPR. So if you can get him as like that fifth overall, maybe you see Harold Vannon move up, maybe you see Goddard move up, maybe it's Pitts, something like that. You can get some gold value. I'm telling you, you're gonna be really happy with that.

SPEAKER_01 15:22

I agree.

Tyler Warren’s Near Top‑Five Rookie Year

SPEAKER_01 15:23

All right, let's get to our number seven tight end here, my champion. Yeah. Rookie, let's go. Rookie tight end in the top seven. Tyler Warren of the Indianapolis Colts. Got to love that. Tyler Warren was drafted at number nine, came in at number seven. He definitely performed better than we hoped. 145 points, just one point ahead of Brock Bowers, averaging 9.1 points per game. I know where you're going with this, Frankie. My guy should have been a top five guy. Please explain why he wasn't.

SPEAKER_00 15:54

Guys, Tyler Warren was a surefire top five guy. And I'll tell you why, because when we start getting into the top five, you're gonna see a discrepancy between 150 points, which is where number five is, and 145 points, which is where Tyler Warren is. Guys, we're talking five points over the course of the entire season. So, what I'm saying is Tyler Warren, if Danny Dimes does not get hurt, Tyler Warren is a top five, top three guy. And I don't even think it's like close. Like Danny Dimes targeted the hell out of him. Once he let go, or once it came became Phillip Rivers or um Riley Leonard, or whoever the hell else was at quarterback there, it fell off and it was became more of a receiver threat, or hand the ball off to JT. And reality is defenses started keying on the quarterback. So looking at what Tyler Warren did, guys, 112 targets. Pause 112 targets for a rookie, a rookie tight end. John, in the rookie review, my comp to him was Dallas Clark. Dallas Clark was a perfect comp based on the way Tyler Warren played. And then you look at the receptions. He had 76 receptions, 817 yards, four touchdowns. But here's what else was fascinating he's a dual threat kind of guy, meaning he's also getting rushing um attempts. He had he had six rushing attempts and he also had a rushing touchdown. So for me, man, this guy is super smart, very good from a blocking perspective, great from a pass catching and route running perspective. And again, had Danny Dimes not gotten hurt, he was a damn near top three, top four guy, and it's not even close. So, where you're gonna have to draft Tyler Warren, though, I see a premium on him. This is gonna be a bit different from the other guys because let's say the Colts re-sign Danny Dimes, we know where this is gonna go. So, in my opinion, probably coming into the year, Tyler Warren's probably gonna be around tight end seven, tight end eight, something like that, tight end six. And so you're gonna need to think about okay, am I gonna target somebody like that? Or am I gonna wait a little bit and go for like a Hunter Henry, Juwan Johnson, I mean Zachers or Ronde Gadson, whoever it is. Um, but that's something for you to decide. But either way, he's a guy you want on your team heading into 2026. Absolutely. Absolutely.

SPEAKER_01 18:07

All right, let's get to our number six tight end on the year.

Jake Ferguson And The Tight Cluster

SPEAKER_01 18:12

It's Jake Ferguson, one of our favorites, Turd Ferguson. There he is. Tight end for the Dallas Cowboys. All right, Turd Ferguson was drafted at number 13, came in at number six, 146 points on the year, one point more than Tyler Warren. We talked about this. Yeah, we did. 9.1 points per game, exactly the same as Tyler Warren. I mean, these tight ends, man, there is literally a catch or two that separates this middle group here. Talk about uh Jake Ferguson, buddy.

SPEAKER_00 18:41

Guys, Jake Ferguson had a career year, and it's crazy. Like this was a year, this was quietly the year of tight ends. And we're not talking the big three. We're talking consistently, John, from like two down to fucking 10. I mean, we're talking this was the year. When you look at Jake Ferguson, he ended up having 102 targets tied for record high. He had 82 receptions, which is through which is 11 more than his second best season, 600 yards receiving, and ended up with eight uh touchdowns. Eight touchdowns, guys. Before that, he had five as his highest, so he almost doubled that. And what we saw, this was with CeeDee Lamb. This is with George Pickens, this is with a very good rushing attack with Javante Williams. And the key is Dak Prescott can absolutely provide not just one, not just two, but absolutely three options, which is very rare for a quarterback. So looking forward, guys, this is what I was talking about early on. If you want to wait in your drafts in 2026, this is the time because you can get immense value from what from what um instead of reaching for a particular tight end, you can wait, sit down and chill out and target some of these other guys that are we're talking, John. You mentioned it, a point difference. Half a point difference from fifth to fourth to sixth to seventh. They're all in the same bucket. So for me, man, Terd Ferguson is one of the guys that I will continue to have circled. Absolutely will target. I want every particular piece I can get on this Dallas Cowboys offense.

SPEAKER_01 20:16

I mean, you think about this, Frankie. Uh, everyone we've talked about from Brock Bowers up, one touchdown puts them at number two or three on this. Craziest. I mean during the the entirety of the season, too. So that's how close this list is, man. It's tight. It's tight. It's tight. It's tight. All right, let's get another rookie on here. Frankie. Yeah. Let's get to the top five. Okay, we're in the top five. Rookie Harold Fannon Jr. of the Cleveland Browns. I love how they produce a top five tight end. You gotta love that. Harold Fannon Jr. was drafted as the 33rd tight end off the board. He had David Njoku, the chief in front of him, came in at number five, scoring 150

Harold Fannon Jr. Breakout In Cleveland

SPEAKER_01 21:02

fantasy points, averaging 9.4 fantasy points per game and a half PPR. Awesome, unexpected, total surprising season for Harold Fannon Jr. Talk about it.

SPEAKER_00 21:13

Guys, this is what you hope when you take a top three-round type of guy in the actual NFL draft. You hope he comes in and produces. My lord, he didn't just do that, he did much, much more. Guys, Harold Fannon Jr., if you watched him in high school, he's a Northeast Ohio cat. Then he goes to bowling green, breaks every freaking record known to man in that sense, and then you end up coming back in, and then you get him in the third round. And then in case something happens, and Joku's there, and Joku is a stud tight end, but he kept getting hurt, and then all of a sudden this rookie comes in and his lights out. Man, Harold Fannon is going to be phenomenal for years to come. 107 targets, 72 receptions, 731 yards receiving, and six receiving touchdowns. In addition to this, there he also had a very similar stat line to that of um Tyler Warren in the sense of number one, or he had one rushing uh touchdown. So he's getting involved in multiple facets of the offense. In addition, guys, Browns typically were running at 12-13 personnel. For those of you who don't know what that means, that typically means you have two and or three tight ends at one particular point in time. As the season progressed, they moved away from that and they end up going in 11 personnel, one tight end. And the one tight end was Harold Fannon, and he performed beautifully. So, guys, moving forward, this is a guy that you're going to for sure be able to get for cheap. Because as it stands right now, you're still having Joku. So, right, it depending on if Njoku comes back or not, that's uh right now he is, but I could see him moving on, knowing how well Harold Fannon played. If that happens, Harold Fannon's probably going to be drafted around the same kind of thing as what Tyler Warren is. And for me, I think they're pretty interchangeable at this point in time. They're just different kinds of personnel. Tyler Warren's a little bit bigger, Harold Fannon moves a little bit faster. But man oh man, what we're seeing from this rookie class across the board is pure domination from the tight end uh landscape.

SPEAKER_01 23:21

These two rookies that showed up on here are super fun, man. And I think this is a new type of tight end that the league is looking for. You know, these guys are kind of like they're kind of like H backs, you know, totally. They're a little bit different hybrid of tight end. You had the Sam Laporta, the Colston Loveland, the Brock Bowers. They're all in that Trey McBride type style. You know, Harold Fannon Jr. and Tyler Warren, they can be HBACs. They can line up in the in the in the backfield and run the ball. They they just do some really cool shit and have a lot of really cool versatility that I think just adds to the value of these guys. So I love it, man. Beautiful. Football

Ad Read: Underdog Picks

SPEAKER_01 24:00

playoffs are here, and underdog is the best place to get in an all the gridiron action. Playing underdog is super easy, guys. All you do is just pick your favorite players that are gonna go higher or lower on all kinds of stats like touchdowns, rushing yards, receptions, and so much more. Get them right, and you can win up to 5,000 times your cash. Frankie, you got any pick'ems for everybody this week?

SPEAKER_00 24:22

Sure do, Johnny Boy. Guys, there's two pick'ems that we're gonna be riding into the sunset with. The first is we're targeting KW3, Kenneth Walker III, higher than 39.5 rushing yards versus that of the 49ers. And we're gonna pair that with Colston Loveland versus that of the Rams to have higher than 34 and a half receiving yards.

SPEAKER_01 24:42

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Travis Kelsey’s Consistency And Decline Risk

SPEAKER_01 25:20

tight end, Frankie. This is a staple here in the top five, man. Number four tight end is Travis Kelsey, uh Taylor Swift's fiance. You gotta love that. Yeah, I can't wait till we can stop saying that shit of the Kansas City Chiefs. Travis Kelsey, a little disrespect this year. He was drafted as the fifth tight end, came in at number four. So yeah, there you go. He's not ready to let go yet. 152 total points in fantasy. That's two more than Harold Fannon Jr., 9.5 points per game. Talk about Kelsey.

SPEAKER_00 25:50

I mean, John, is it are we at the point to where we're looking at him as a top three tight end, top two tight end of all time? I mean, he's got to be up there with Gronk and Gonzo, right? Uh Tony Gonzalez. And for me, guys, I mean, this is something that we hit pillar of consistency. Since really 2016, he's only been outside of the top five one time. Think about what I just said. That's incredible. Now 10 years. 10 years, nine years, 10 years outside of the top five one time. Guys, in addition to that, when you look at where his fall off has been, it certainly hasn't been in typical quintessential per se production. He's still at 108 targets, 76 receptions, over 800 yards receiving, and his yards per catch phenomenal, 11.2 yards, but it's the touchdowns. And they we've seen a very heavy decrease over the last few years. I mean, when we look at 2020 with 11, 2021, he had nine, 2022, he had 12, and then 23, he had five, last year, three, this year, five. I mean, that's where a lot of the drop-off has been. So for me, man, I don't know if he's gonna come back looking at 2026. He could hang it up this year. And if that happens, dude, I don't know if there's been a more fun tight end, at least in my lifetime, outside of Gronk, to watch. It has been absolutely phenomenal, pillar of consistency, insane competitive um spirit and what he brings each and every day. And from a fantasy perspective, I mean, what I think all of us in the fantasy community can say how fun it's been. If you had that Patrick Mahomes, Travis Kelsey stack and you're freaking out, you know. But moving forward, guys, if he does come back, he's probably gonna be a top 10 guy. I don't see him actually being top five. I think based on what we're seeing, based on Rasheed Rice, based on Xavier Worthy, they're probably gonna get a good running back this point in time.

SPEAKER_01 27:42

Um, and and I just I just don't not having Patrick Mahomes for correct much of the beginning of the season for sure. So correct. Right, you know, that changes things, dude.

SPEAKER_00 27:54

It totally changes things. So for me, guys, I just am looking at this and want to make sure I'm level setting

Dallas Goddard’s TD-Driven Finish

SPEAKER_00 28:00

and being real. Draft him only if there's value there. If he's still listed at number five, why draft him there? Wait, get a better piece that's probably round six or seven, get a better piece way later in the draft. We mentioned Travis Kelsey 152 total points for the year and half PPR, Harold Fannon at 33 at 150, Jake Ferguson at 13 at 146, Tyler Warren 145, Brock Bowers 144, Hunter Henry, 140. Guys, what I'm saying is there is not a big enough drop off to for you to reach just because of the name. So level set your expectation walking into 2026. He's probably still going to be a top 10 guy, but I would bet money on it, he's probably not going to be a top five. So, with that being said, it's been an honor, Travis Kelsey, for these years, but I think it's time to pass the torch.

SPEAKER_01 28:52

It is. And this is the tight end position, is definitely you talked about quarterback seeing a changing of the guard with those guys. There's absolutely a changing of the guard with the tight end. Definitely. No question about it. Kittle Kelsey might not be in the league next year. Right now. I mean, just very interesting change of events here. Let's see who is the new guard now, Frankie. Let's get into the top three here. How about top three? Number three, we've got Dallas Goddard. Dallas Goddard to the Philadelphia Eagles, kind of quietly sneaking into that number three spot. Three points ahead of Travis Kelsey, 155 total points, 10.3 points per game, double digits per game out of your tight end is it's gorgeous. It's gorgeous.

SPEAKER_00 29:37

Talk about him, guys. Dallas Goddard, massive surprise. And I'm gonna be super real and raw with you. Very solid year. 82 targets, 60 receptions, 591 yards receiving, 11 touchdowns. That's repeatable. Let's have an uncomfortable conversation here. Let's do it right now, yeah. Right? Dallas Goddard, I would be shocked if he's in the top 10 next year. And the only way, in my opinion, that I re that I see him repeating this is if AJ Brown is no longer there, right? I think then if he if AJ Brown is no longer there, Dallas Godd is absolutely probably a top five guy, probably top seven guy again. If AJ Brown is there again, they're getting a new OC, right? They're gonna figure that whole thing out. Devonta Smith had a down year, AJ Brown had a down year, Saquon had a down year. Jalen Hurts kind of was probably right around-ish expectation. Um, but Dallas Goddard way above and beyond, and it was strictly due to touchdowns. John, what's your favorite thing? That literally we need to get you a shirt that says it, but I want you to say, what are touchdowns? It is not a sticky stat. Not a sticky stat sticky stat. John Hickey, guys. That's what I'm talking about, right? So Dallas Goddard with 11 touchdowns. I mean, dude, nobody's taking that away from him. Awesome. And if you drafted him, fuck you loved every bit of this. But the reality is looking at 2026, just thinking of a few others, right? We're gonna mention the

Kyle Pitts Redemption And Role Shift

SPEAKER_00 31:05

number one and number two here in a second, but I mean, you could look to see um somebody like Brock Bowers being a top two, top three, as we mentioned, absolutely, which would replace him. We could end up seeing something like a Colston Loveland, maybe maybe breaking in there because we're seeing the fire being ignited in that of Chicago with him, and he's totally supplanted that of Cole Komet. It could be something along the lines of George Kittle comes back. I mean, shit, it could be anything like a Harold Fannon, depending on how things work. He could end up getting there with Tyler Warren. What I'm saying is is knowing that he scored 155 total points, phenomenal. But that was based on 11 touchdowns. You take six of those away. Let's take five of those away. That's 30 points. Okay. Let's just do bare bones, not even including the catches, not even including the yardage, just points for the touchdown. You remove 30 points from Dallas Goddard, that brings him to 125. Guys, to put that in perspective, he's not even top 12.

SPEAKER_01 32:06

Right.

SPEAKER_00 32:06

Not even top 12. And so what I'm saying is great year, prolific year by Goddard, level set expectation. Don't go in just assuming that this is the guy that's going to repeat this, especially when, by the way, man, we haven't talked about it. Tucker Kraft, he should be in the top three, top four, top five. By the way, he ended up having what, John, 12.7 points a game, but only ended up playing eight because he went on IR. Same thing with that of we mentioned Brock Bowers. And the other guy, again, just talking about Kittle being 12.8, man, which was number two points per game. If he's healthy all year, you certainly see him superseding that of Dallas Goddard. So again, draft at your own risk, but there may be better value out there, is what I'm saying.

SPEAKER_01 32:51

Yeah, don't don't draft a guy trying to repeat touchdowns. There's very few people who can do that. Jalen Hurts is a guy that you can do that with. And James Cook. Okay. We get we get proved wrong every single year at that. But I'm not doing that with a tight end. Not on a tight end with so much talent on this team. No, I don't know this was situational right. This this passing offense is struggle, struggled hard. OC is going to be gone. Is he already fired? I'm not even sure yet. It's getting better. Yeah. But Dallas Goddard, he's still a super solid guy. He's got a great relationship and connection with Jalen Hurts. So I think he's definitely got tons of value. I don't see him coming in at three again. You're right. I've got Goddard's kind of in that Jake Ferguson, Hunter Henry, Dalton Schultz category. Those guys are really all kind of the same to me. So if you can, well, he's one of those guys you wait on. If you're not taking a tight end in those middle rounds, six, seven, eight, and you want to grab talent there, which you should wait on them and get grab Goddard, grab Hunter Henry, grab Dalton Schultz, grab Ferguson. Those are the guys that I'll target later in the year. And you could even grab two of those guys and see if any of you know which one hits, play that game, you know. So I'm with you, man. Great season, Dallas Goddard. Don't see it repeating next year. Yeah. All right, let's get to number two here, man. Our number two guy. All right. We got a lot of shit for this one. We gave this guy some love in the offseason pre-draft. That's right. Pre-draft. And took so much shit on YouTube. Some of these guys are brutal. Ruthless. Just the personal attacks are unnecessary. I do look goofy, to be fair. So that's you know, I get that. And we do say man a lot. I get it. I know. But you know, you don't have to go personal, okay? Just argue the points with us. Not that you all right. Kyle Pitts, baby. Let's go. Let's go. Kyle Pitts coming in at number two. Kyle Pitts drafted at number 16, comes in as your tight end two out of the Atlanta Falcons. 158 uh total fantasy points, three more than Goddard, 9.9, almost 10 points per game. Talk to me about Kyle Pitts, baby.

SPEAKER_00 34:55

Hey, sometimes you're right, sometimes you're wrong. Boy, oh boy, were we?

Trey McBride’s Historic Volume

SPEAKER_00 35:02

That's right, man. We talked about it. Why? Why wouldn't you? He's sitting at 16. This is a guy that had nobody behind him. He only had Drake London. You have Bijan Robinson and Tyler Algier. That is it. Darnell Mooney had an absolutely atrocious year this year. And then we knew it with Michael Penix Jr. What did we see towards the back half of the year last year? He started targeting Pitts. And so what I'm getting at is he had 118 targets this year. 118. It's about damn time. 88 receptions, 928 yards receiving, and five touchdowns. Guys, here's what's fascinating. His rookie year, he had one touchdown. Sophomore year, he had two touchdowns. This past year or 2024, he had three or three touchdowns, four touchdowns, and now he had five touchdowns. So he's going up every particular year in a touchdown. Could he have six this coming year? Stats data says it's probably probable. But what I'm getting at is though, guys, he is somebody I actually I have no idea where his ADP is gonna be. It's completely dependent on what happens in this offseason. We saw Raheem Morris get fired. Head coaching um candidates are interviewing as we speak. You know, that you still have Drake London there. We're not sure who's actually gonna be the starting quarterback. If they're gonna move forward with Penix or if they're gonna keep going with Kirk, is Kirk even going to be on this team? So I have no idea where his ADP is gonna be. I would assume it's probably gonna be around 10, something like that. And so, with that being said, surefire value absolutely taking him and not even thinking twice at that ADP. If you're telling me I can wait and I can get somebody that's getting 118 targets or even over 100 targets, and he's tight end number two, guys, and he's only scoring five touchdowns. This is somebody who there is a lot of green space to grow. There's a lot of ability to get even better. So for me, he is somebody that I we are seeing get better each and every year. And he was a top prospect coming out of Florida. John, I remember his rookie year. We were like, dude, I don't know if we've seen anybody like this coming out from a tight end perspective. He's truly, he almost looks like Julio Jones body build, but has the ability, but he's he has like kind of the blocking ability for a tight end, but he's running routes as a as you know, a decent receiver, like a Mike Evans type. Guys, Kyle Pitts is the guy, so it's awesome to see him get better and better. If he's around that ADP of eight, nine, and ten, I'm sure fired taking him and gonna enjoy pitting out next year in 2026. Yeah.

SPEAKER_01 37:37

Well, the nice thing about Kyle Pitts, he played receiver half the time. He sure did. Uh almost 50% of the snaps, he was actually lined up as a receiver. So it's not even really fair. And thank God they did this, man, because it it was it's been brutal having Kyle Pitts. We saw the talent and what the potential could be, but man, this year he was a receiver, basically. I mean, that's how you have to think of this guy. And when you're talking five total touchdowns and he still came in at number two, crazy. Frankie, three of those touchdowns came in week 15. Yeah. Three of the five against me by eight. Oh, yeah, of course I remember that. It's burned in my fucking crawl because it knocked me out of the playoffs. Which you would have gone on to win, by the way. I would have gone on to win the Super Bowl. Yeah. Kyle Pitts. I still love you, buddy. I still love you. I need a little time. I don't want to talk to you, but I need a little time. I need some space. I need a little space. It's not you, it's me. It's not you, it's me. But I'm absolutely targeting this guy. I mean, with a healthy Drake London, he's the really the other target monster on this team. Uh with Bichon, there's so many people you got to worry about that Kyle Pitts is running Russ Shaw all over. Wait, Rushshaw? Rough, Roughsh.

SPEAKER_00 38:45

Oh, you just have a Frankie's.

SPEAKER_01 38:47

I just did a Frankie moment. Roughshawed? No, man. That's a word that's not shard. That is stop it. You're making it worse. He's gonna run all over the goddamn field, is my point, guys. I got I had a Frankie moment. But yeah, I will be targeting Kyle Pitt. He's a guy that I will look in middle rounds and find the time uh to go grab him. You know, is when

Draft Strategy: Waiting On Tight End

SPEAKER_01 39:10

do I go grab him? Is it gonna be round five, six, something along those lines? I'm guessing is where it'll be. Um, he's a guy I may go target depending on my roster construction, for sure. All right, Frankie, let's get to our number one boy here, man. Our number one guy. That's right. Number one with a bullet, as I like to say. We've got Trey McBride drafted as the number two tight end. He came in at number one, man, and I gotta tell you, it wasn't even close, Frank. Trey McBride, number one tight end for the Arizona Cardinals, 242 fantasy points. Let's pause right there. Kyle Pitts was number two, 158. Holy shit. Trey McBride, 242. Okay, we're talking. He beat all the other tight ends by 100 points, Frankie. Just insane, man. I know 15.2. Points per game, 15 points a game for your tight end. He was my tight end, and I loved him all year long. Talk about my boy Trey McBride.

SPEAKER_00 40:10

Guys, Trey McBride was sensational. And here's the thing: here's the call-out that I want to hit on, okay? Week six is when Jacoby Brissett took over. Leading up to week six, he only had one touchdown. Okay. He was getting targeted quite a bit. Didn't he never exceeded over 100 yards one time. He never exceeded really over 78 yards one time in the first six weeks. And then Kyler Murray goes out, Jacoby Brissett comes in and skyrockets Trey McBride. Guys, so much so that Trey McBride, again, you got to think about this. He's been in the league since 2022. So this was his fourth overall year. Last year, he was tight end two or three, depending on where he ended up in your league. This year he was surefire number one. Here's what's absolutely mind-blowing. 169 targets. 169 targets, guys, for a tight end. Okay, and mind you, there's Michael Wilson on this team. There is Marvin Harrison Jr. on this team. There is a rotational uh rotation of multiple backs on this team.

Closing And Upcoming WR Preview

SPEAKER_00 41:20

And guys, to get 169 targets for your tight end is nothing short of miraculous. And it's not like this is a outside of his purview. This is the first time he's ever done this. Guys, last year, 147 targets. 147. This year, 169, 127 receptor, 126 receptions, excuse me, 1,239 yards receiving, and 11 touchdowns. Guys, before that, he had two, three, and one. Jacoby Brissett truly unlocked Trey McBride. So much so, man. I think it might be hard for the Cardinals to actually go away from Brissett. I think this is a guy that really came along and totally ignited this entirety of the offense. If they would have had any sort of anything from a running back perspective, right, remember James Conner went on IR, and then Trey Benson went on IR. Right. And then you got um D Mercado that got banged up, and Bam Knight's getting banged up, and you gotta go with Michael Carter and bring in this dude. They were all over the damn place. But the one thing that remained consistent was Trey McBride. John, I you gotta say it, man.

SPEAKER_01 42:28

When you compare what he did to the receivers, talk about where he would end up. I'm looking at it right now. He would have ended up just ahead of Jamar Chase, right? Am I right? Think about that. That's crazy.

SPEAKER_00 42:44

He would have been the type he would have been the wide receiver six, Frankie. That's a crazy sauce. Guys, to put in perspective, Jamar Chase 231 fantasy points and a half PPR. Okay? And Trey McBride, 242. Guys, George Pickens, receiver four, two hundred and forty-four. Trey McBride was two points, less than two points off of being a top four receiver. And again, we're talking over the course of the entire year. How many targets did you say again for Trey McBride? 169 targets.

SPEAKER_01 43:20

Only two receivers in the entire NFL had more than that, Frank. Jamar Chase. Puka? No. Puka Nakua had 166 targets, dude. He had more targets than Puka Nakua. Wow. And JSN. Uh Amon Ross St. Brown had 172, and Jamar Chase had 185. So he had the third most targets of all receivers. Crazy. Crazy.

SPEAKER_00 43:44

That's crazy. I mean, so John, looking at 2026, man, I mean, knowing that there's going to be, let's let's be honest about ourselves. Because when we start looking at the draft, okay, there's going to be Brock Bowers, there's going to be Trey McBride. Sam Laporta's coming back. Tucker Kraft's coming back. TJ Hawkinson is probably going to have a little bit better of a year, right? Colson Loveland's going to be there. Tyler Warren, Kyle Pitts number two. Is Trey McBride the surefire number one?

SPEAKER_01 44:10

I mean, Brock Bowers was the surefire number one this year. Yeah. You know, Sam Laporta was the surefire number one the year before that. Things, teams change. Tight end is difficult because tight end is fickle. Yeah. I mean, it's it's a very fickle position, and it depends on the scheme and the offensive coordinator, depends on the quarterback tendencies. There's just a lot of factors there. Um, it depends on industry or in uh injury, obviously. Brock Bowers clearly would have been a top five guy or better uh had he, you know, only played, not played 12 games. Sure. Um, so there's a lot of factors involved, but you cannot count out and discount what Trey McBride has done and is doing. Trey McBride has always been, he's over the past couple of years, he's been the Travis Kelsey light. Yeah. He has. Yes. He's almost been that guy. Now that Kelsey's not that guy anymore, I think Trey McBride is. I mean, there's no reason to believe. We're talking the last 10 games of the season, I don't think he had less than eight targets in a game.

SPEAKER_00 45:05

It's incredible.

SPEAKER_01 45:06

You know, I mean, if that kind of thing continues, which there's no reason to believe it won't. You're not looking, you're not looking at a new coach. You're not looking at uh potentially, I bet they bring Brissett back. I bet they get rid of of Kyler Murray and they keep Brissett there and try to build a round until they can draft a quarterback. So if that's the case, yes, I'm taking Trey McBride number one. And yes, I'm taking Trey McBride. I'm looking at him as a receiver.

SPEAKER_00 45:31

Are you looking at him first round? Because you're gonna have to take him back after first.

SPEAKER_01 45:36

For someone to take Trey McBride first round. I agree. There isn't, especially if it's in the back of the first round or on the turn there, because again, he returned wide receiver six value, you know, dude. Ryan wide receiver five and almost four. That's what's crazy. That's what I'm saying. So when you're almost the top receiver in the entire league, you've you've got to look at that in the first round. You know, forget about the position. Go for fantasy points here, guys. Yeah.

SPEAKER_00 46:03

And John, to your point, this is something I've never even seen. Trey McBride never had less than seven targets a game. All season long. All season long. Every single game he played, think about what I'm saying. He never had less than seven targets a game. Guys, it's so ridiculous. He never had less than four receptions a game. This is a tight end. This is like truly incredible season.

SPEAKER_01 46:34

That's where you can put, I think it's gonna be Brock Brown Bowers, Trey McBride. Yeah. Because these two guys are the centerpieces of their teams. You can't really say that about any other tight ends. No. Most of the other tight ends have established guys around them. They get lucky, like got Dallas Goddard did. They got 11 touchdowns. You have to re-you have to get the touchdowns in order for these guys to be Trey McBride. You don't need that man. Not with 169 goddamn targets. The touchdowns, they'll come. And that's what we said last year. I think he only had maybe three touchdowns last year. It was real low. Yeah. And we said, you know what? Look at these statistics. This guy is a fucking receiver. Just what I said about Kyle Pitts. I said, draft this guy because touchdowns can go up, especially if they're getting that many targets. It's statistically impossible for them not to go up. You're going to have more touchdowns there. So, and he did it this year, man. He's right there. Monster season. Monster season. All right, guys. That is your top 12 tight ends. Actually, a lot more fun than I was expecting. A lot more fun. Okay. Yeah, these tight ends are fun to talk about, man. Let's go. All right, guys. Frankie, what else we have happening here, man?

SPEAKER_00 47:40

Guys, next week we're dropping the receivers. We're going to be diving into the top 20 receivers. Tune in because what we're going to do is we're going to tie in how they performed and what's 2026 looking like. And then hold on. We're also going to be checking out the week after, guys, the last week of January. Johnny and I are going to get together and we're going to drop absolute fucking gold for you. What do I mean by that? We're going to dive into where do we start seeing some of these top guys for 26 and what are some of the expectations? Is there some hesitancies? Like, where do we start seeing some of these guys? Maybe some early-on strategies, some early on indicators of ADP. We're going to start breaking that down to give you the taste as we start heading into the combine. And then following that, the NFL draft. And then, fellas and women, we're right back into it, getting you ready for the 2026 fantasy football draft.