Tight end is one of the most difficult positions to nail down each week. It’s a position where you can spend all the way up, pay all the way down, or look somewhere in between. Tight ends derive a bunch of their value from scoring touchdowns, which can be difficult to predict on a week-to-week basis.
In this piece, I highlight tight ends who stand out in our large suite of analytical fantasy tools, most specifically, our FantasyLabs Player Models. While the models are built for DFS contests, this is an all-purpose fantasy article with actionable information for all formats.
As news breaks throughout the week and we adjust our projections (powered by the award-winning expert ranker, Sean Koerner), player ratings in our Player Models will change as the projections change. For updates, visit the models directly.
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You can also combine them to create your own aggregate projections:
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George Kittle ($6,000 DraftKings, $6,700 FanDuel)
Kittle has been a notch behind the top tight ends in fantasy this season. He currently ranks fourth at the position in terms of fantasy points per game, but guys like Brock Bowers and Tre McBride are ahead of him by a comfortable margin. Bowers has averaged 4.6 additional fantasy points per game, while McBride has him by 3.1.
However, Kittle stands out as the top dog this week for a couple of reasons. For starters, the 49ers are taking on the Raiders in what should be an elite game environment. The Raiders haven’t been able to stop a nosebleed in recent weeks, giving the 49ers the week’s top implied team total at 30.5 points.
More importantly, Kittle should be a clear focal point of the passing attack. Mike Evans, Deebo Samuel, and Christian Kirk have all been ruled out for this contest, and the team already had a host of wide receivers on the shelf. It leaves Kittle, Christian McCaffrey, and not much else for Brock Purdy to lean on.
Kittle enjoyed a similar set of circumstances in the two games before the team’s Week 8 bye, and he was targeted on 30% of his routes run in those contests (TPRR). He responded with an average of 13.1 fantasy points per game in 0.5-PPR scoring.
Ultimately, Kittle has similar upside to the top guys at the position this week, and he does it at a pretty significant savings. It results in the top projected Plus/Minus at TE on both DraftKings and FanDuel.
Dalton Schultz ($3,200 DraftKings, $5,100 FanDuel)
It’s hard to get too excited about what Schultz brings to the table. He’s been a pretty mediocre option with the team at full strength this season, and that will basically be the case this week. If anything, they should be a bit more formidable as a pass-catching unit this week. Marvin Harrison Jr.’s role should increase following the team’s bye, while Tank Dell could also take on a bigger role moving forward.
So why Schultz in DFS? It’s mainly about his price tag on DraftKings. $3,200 puts him basically into “punt play” territory, and it results in a 93% Bargain Rating. Think about it this way. On FanDuel, Schultz’s price tag puts him in the same territory as guys like Isaiah Likely ($5,400), Dallas Goedert ($5,300), and Travis Kelce ($5,200). On DraftKings, he’s priced in the range of guys like Oronde Gadsden ($3,300), Darren Waller ($3,300), and Mason Taylor ($3,100). That’s a pretty big drop in comps.
Schultz also has respectable underlying metrics. He has a 19% target share for the year, which is tied for the ninth-best mark at the position. That includes a 21% target share in his most recent outing. Schultz hasn’t posted eye-popping numbers, but he has been pretty consistent, scoring at least six DraftKings points in four of his past five games.
Add it all up, and he trails only Kittle in terms of projected Plus/Minus. It’s definitely not a sexy pick, but using Schultz could allow you to grab an extra stud at running back or receiver. That has value.
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Greg Dulcich ($3,100 DraftKings, $4,900 FanDuel)
While Schultz is the “safe” value tight end, Dulcich is more of a home-run swing. His role is a bit more volatile from week to week, but he gets the mack daddy of all matchups vs. the Lions. Detroit’s defense has been a bit improved since getting back Brian Branch, but they’ve still been obliterated by tight ends this season. They’ve allowed the most fantasy points to the position by a massive margin, giving Dulcich an Opponent Plus/Minus of +5.2.
Dulcich’s production is also trending up. He’s had a target share of at least 20% in three straight games, and he’s posted a positive Plus/Minus in each. He’s done that despite failing to score a single touchdown during that stretch.
That combination is extremely appealing at a $3,100 price tag. Dulcich ranks second at the position in Sim Labs optimal lineup rate, with only Kittle posting a better mark. His 7.4% ownership projection on DraftKings is also very reasonable.
Brock Bowers ($7,900 DraftKings, $8,000 FanDuel)
Bowers was expected to have a big season with the Raiders, and he has basically lived up to expectations. His 27% target share isn’t quite as high as some anticipated before the start of the year, but he’s made up for it with big plays. He leads all tight ends with a 34% air yards share, while his 32% end zone share ranks fourth at the position.
Bowers bounced back from two straight subpar performances by getting in the end zone twice last week. He did that vs. a Jets squad that had previously defended the tight end position pretty well. Overall, Bowers has played in six games so far this season, and he’s finished as a top-three scorer at tight end in four of them.
As much as Kittle makes sense from a value standpoint, Bowers is really the only TE capable of breaking a slate. His upside is unparalleled at the position, so he’s always worth considering in tournaments.
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Isaiah Likely ($5,000 DraftKings, $5,400 FanDuel)
Likely feels a bit like the red-headed stepchild among the elite tight ends. He’s sandwiched in between McBride and Kittle in terms of fantasy points per game, yet he doesn’t get nearly the same respect from a pricing standpoint. His 27% target share is tied with Bowers for second-best at the position, and he’s just one percentage point behind McBride.
The big concern is that Likely may see a reduction in value with JJ McCarthy at QB. That was clearly the case in McCarthy’s first start. He had a season-low 12% target share, and he scored just 2.2 fantasy points.
Still, it’s just one game. Before that, Likely had been the top scorer at the position in three of his first six outings. That’s a lot of upside for someone with such an affordable salary. The Giants also get a solid matchup this week vs. the Eagles, who are down to 25th in EPA per pass defensively. It makes Likely a very interesting buy-low target at minimal projected ownership.
Tucker Kraft ($5,500 DraftKings, $5,500 FanDuel)
Kraft was a breakout star at tight end last season before tearing his ACL, racking up the most fantasy points at the position through the first eight weeks. Unfortunately, he was forced to miss the rest of the season, and he started the 2026 campaign slowly. Kraft was merely TE28 through the first three weeks, averaging just 5.0 fantasy points per game.
The good news is that Kraft has started to pick up the pace. He’s averaged better than 11 fantasy points per game over his past five outings, turning in four top-12 finishes at the position. That includes back-to-back top-six finishes in his two most recent games.
With most of the attention going to guys like Kittle and Bowers at the top, Kraft could slide a bit under the radar. Sim Labs believes he’s being undervalued, with his optimal lineup rate exceeding his projected ownership by the fourth-largest amount on DraftKings.
Tyler Higbee ($3,700 DraftKings, $4,700 FanDuel)
I’ve written up Higbee a few times recently, and he’s left me with a bunch of egg on my face. The door was seemingly open for him with Davante Adams and Terrance Ferguson on the shelf, but he has not been able to take advantage.
That said, I’m going back to the well one final time. Ferguson was surprisingly ruled out this week, and it’s possible that Colby Parkinson is also out of the lineup. It would leave Higbee as the clear-cut No. 2 pass-catcher in Los Angeles.
The matchup vs. the Commanders is also elite. Only the Lions have allowed more fantasy points per game to the position this season.
As long as he continues to be on the field at the same rate, he should have opportunities to make plays in this contest. He doesn’t need to do much to pay off his current salary, so I’m ready to be hurt one final time.
Pictured: George Kittle
Photo Credit: Imagn
