Heath Cummings' 2026 Fantasy football TE tiers 2.0: Don't sleep on Dalton Schultz with Jayden Higgins out

In July, Dave Richard, Jamey Eisenberg, and I are all updating our Fantasy Football Tiers for quarterback, running back, wide receiver, and tight end. To try to make mine a little bit different, my tiers are based almost exclusively on my 2026 projections. I say almost, because there is a huge tier of tight ends that I have projected to score in the nine- to 10-point range and I broke those up, putting the guys in that range with more upside in a higher tier.

There are a couple of other tweaks, but for the most part I will tell you below where these guys project and when I would draft them. Brock BowersColston LovelandTrey McBride The first surprise comes right off the top. Why in the world is Loveland already in Tier 1?

Well, because I project him to outscore McBride this year. Loveland averaged 14.2 PPR Fantasy points per game from Week 9 through Week 18 last year. He averaged 18.6 PPR FPPG in his two playoff games.

McBride should still be very good but I expect regression in both volume and touchdowns. I have the tier 1 tight ends projected between 13.7 and 14.6 PPR FPPG, though I expect one of them beats those projections by at least a full point. I was a coward last month.

I put Tyler Warren in this tier because everyone drafts him before LaPorta and Pitts. The Keenan Allen acquisition, and a groin tweak for Warren, gave me the courage to say what I thought all year: LaPorta and Pitts are going to outscore him by at least a point per game. I have them both projected for 13.5 PPR FPPG and worth a pick in Round 5 but I often find LaPorta and Pitts in Round 7 or later.

I expect both to benefit from new tight-end-friendly offensive coordinators but that is not all. LaPorta's rookie year was better than Warren's and Pitts was better than Warren last year. In other words, they are very talented tight ends who also get a boost because their new offensive coordinators have a long history of throwing more than 25% of their team's passes to tight ends.