3 Fantasy Football Tight End Breakouts with Sights on the Top-5 in Rankings

Tight ends, which have tremendous 2026 fantasy football upside, feature Dalton Kincaid and 2 others.

Bills tight end Dalton Kincaid races into the end zone to score the opening touchdown of the game in first quarter against the Jets during the first half of their last regular season game at Highmark Stadium in Orchard Park Sunday, Jan. 4, 2026. The Bills won 35-8. | USA TODAY Network via Reuters Connect

Sleeper picks... we love 'em! Where might they be found? Well, hiding in the bushes. Luckily for us, the tight end position has less depth than the others. That makes sleeper picks easier to find. The below may not fully be 'sleeper' picks, but they are labeled as breakout tight ends in 2026 fantasy football. They definitely have top-5 ability, far beyond what they have accomplished in years past.

Dalton Kincaid

Kincaid rates highly in our projections solely because the Bills will be among the NFL's best offenses. They have been just that since Joe Brady came in, and now, he remain elevated as the head coach.

The unfortunate reality for Kincaid has been that he has been hurt. In Kincaid's three-year NFL career, he has 6 separate injuries that have derailed his upside. He is now healthy entering 2026 and is the Bills' TE1, ahead of Dawson Knox.

The No. 2 pass-catcher on the Bills might be viewed as Khalil Shakir. In fact, it likely is, based on target share. Kincaid gains his value from his explosion. Kincaid ranked 2nd in the NFL in 2026 yards-per-catch among tight ends (14.6).

While we project Kincaid to have 3.6 receptions per game, we project him to have nearly 50 yards per game on a red-zone target share that should demand at least 7 touchdowns all season. He is above consensus as our TE5 in all formats.

See our projections here: 2026 PPR Projections, All Positions.

Isaiah Likely

Giants appear intent on featuring Isaiah Likely as the No. 2 option behind Malik Nabers, per @Connor_J_Hughes.

He's moved throughout the formation and displayed clear chemistry with Jaxson Dart. pic.twitter.com/EbzJiqxawF

— Underdog NFL (@UnderdogNFL) August 3, 2026

The Giants have repeatedly said that Likely is in town with a purpose. He was signed from John Harbaugh's former team, the Baltimore Ravens, for a reason. That reason is to have the tight end highly involved in the passing game.

In a depth chart that is mediocre behind Malik Nabers, Likely is easily argued as the second-best Giants pass-catcher, ahead of Darius Slayton, Calvin Austin III, and Odell Beckham Jr. Our projections show this to be the case, with Likely projecting to own 17% of this team's receiving yardage all season long.

The realistic expectation for Likely will be to see 4-6 touchdowns on 35-40 yards per game. However, his ceiling is much higher. If Nabers misses more than his 1-2 expected games, and/or if the Giants find a year-two boost from Jaxson Dart, Likely can easily go on to have 50+ yards per game and 8+ touchdowns.

It seems like he is only trending upwards while the Theo Johnson hype is rendered obsolete after a promising 2025 season. The coaching change hurts Johnson. In our projections, he is the TE17 in PPR formats, but easily worth the value at his TE2 ADP; a late-round option.

Colston Loveland

The take on Loveland being a breakout candidate isn't a hot one. It is commonly expected, with Loveland having a top-4 tight end ADP. Nonetheless, it would label him a breakout in year two. Loveland's 2025 rookie season came on in the second half, and he finished outside the top-10 tight ends on a year-long basis.

Loveland's hype is not misplaced. The Bears are a fringe top-10 offense. They highly value the tight end, and they may get into many shootouts, favoring a higher-than-average pass rate, likely beyond 57%.

Now, will Loveland lead the Bears in pass-catching? No. In fact, he probably is their third option behind both Rome Odunze and Luther Burden III. Per our numbers crunch, that matters none. All three young assets project over a 20% target share, dominating this receiving game. Loveland himself is expected to have a 20-23% share of yards, and we have him as the leading receiver in receiving touchdowns: 8.2, ahead of Odunze's 7.5 and Burden's 6.6.