3 Second-Year Tight Ends: Fantasy Football Outlook (2026)

The 2025 rookie class produced one of the more electric groups of instant fantasy football contributors in recent memory, and now every one of these players enters 2026 with a full season of NFL tape, an offseason to build on their role, and, in most cases, a clearer runway to more usage. Below is the 2026 fantasy football outlook for second-year tight ends.

2026 Fantasy Football Draft Advice: Second-Year Tight Ends

Let’s take a look at the most fantasy football-relevant second-year tight ends in fantasy football drafts. Check out their current rankings and fantasy football outlook for 2026.

Tight Ends

All three of these tight ends flashed real receiving upside as rookies, and tight end is a position where the Year 2 leap is one of the most reliable breakout patterns in fantasy.

Colston Loveland (CHI) — TE3, Overall RK41, Bye: 10

The 10th overall pick of the 2025 NFL Draft, Colston Loveland put together an impressive rookie season that got better and better as it wore on. Loveland finished TE12 in half-point PPR scoring as a rookie with 58 catches for 713 yards and six touchdowns. From Week 9 on, Loveland was TE2 in fantasy scoring behind only Trey McBride. Over Chicago’s last four games – two in the regular season, two in the playoffs – Bears head coach Ben Johnson fully unleashed Loveland. The rookie tight end had 10 or more targets in each of those games, averaging 12.0 targets, 7.0 catches and 94.5 receiving yards over that stretch, with a pair of TDs. In the Bears’ playoff win over the Packers, Loveland was targeted 15 times and had eight catches for 137 yards. The 6-6, 241-pound Loveland is a matchup nightmare with his size and speed. Loveland is the consensus TE3 for 2026 fantasy drafts behind only Brock Bowers and Trey McBride.

Tyler Warren (IND) — TE4, Overall RK56, Bye: 13

Tyler Warren‘s rookie season got off to a fast start, but his production slowed down markedly late in the season, leaving us with a challenging evaluation for 2026. Over his first 10 games of 2025, Warren averaged 5.0 catches, 61.7 receiving yards and 11.1 half-point PPR fantasy points per game, with four touchdowns. Over his last seven games, Warren averaged 3.7 catches, 28.6 receiving yards and 5.6 half-point PPR fantasy points per game, with one touchdown. The net result: 76 catches for 817 yards and four touchdowns (plus one TD run) and a TE5 fantasy finish. Daniel Jones‘ late-season injuries might partly account for Warren’s late-season slowdown, and Jones’ health status might still be an issue early in the 2026 season. But the Colts traded away WR Michael Pittman in the offseason and didn’t make any significant pass-catching acquisitions in free agency or the draft, bolstering Warren’s 2026 target outlook. Warren might not be one of the elite fantasy TEs in 2026, but he should still be one of the first five tight ends off the board in this year’s drafts.

Harold Fannin Jr. (CLE) — TE6, Overall RK80, Bye: 11

A third-round pick in last year’s NFL Draft, Harold Fannin was surprisingly impactful as a rookie, racking up 72 catches for 731 yards and six touchdowns to finish TE6 in half-point PPR fantasy scoring. Perhaps we shouldn’t have been surprised by Fannin’s first-year success. He had 117 catches for 1,555 yards in his final college season at Bowling Green, leading all FBS pass catchers in both categories. The Browns have an unappealing QB situation, and the arrival of rookie WRs KC Concepcion and Denzel Boston could cut into Fannin’s target share. But the Browns’ new head coach, Todd Monken, has historically been a very TE-friendly playcaller. Fannin should be regarded as a midrange TE1 in 2026 fantasy drafts.