Fantasy Football Week 2 Tight End Projections: Isaiah Likely, Dalton Kincaid Surge in Rankings
Tight ends are hard to come by in fantasy football. There are only a handful of weekly elite options, such as Trey McBride, Tyler Warren, and Brock Bowers, who is currently injured and not viable. Sharp analysis is very important at the position. On a weekly basis, a start-or-sit can make or break the week. Therefore, use these Week 2 tight end projections for a winning week.
Top-12 Tight Ends
There may not be a week when Trey McBride is not the TE1. He had 12 targets (34% of the team's targets), 9 receptions, 95 yards, and 1 touchdown in Week 1.
Dalton Kincaid comes in as the TE2 of the week. He was among my ride-or-dies of the season after finishing 2025 2nd in yards per reception at his position, all while never being 100%. Kincaid went out and got himself 130 yards against the Texans last week. I would debate that Kincaid is the top pass-catcher for Josh Allen over DJ Moore.
With Jake Tonges on the IR, I hand about 2% more of the passing-yard share to Kittle. While that amounts to roughly 5 more yards per game, it adds up to nearly one more reception per game and a few spots in the rankings. Kittle now gets an awful Dolphins team this Sunday.
Isaiah Likely ran 91.6% of his routes from a WR spot last night and had a first read target share of 31.8% per @FantasyPtsData.
— Andrew Cooper (@CoopAFiasco) September 14, 2026
He was basically used like prime Mark Andrews or Zach Ertz.
Isaiah Likely did what some expected — he was the Giants' top pass-catcher in Week 1. Likely had 8 targets, 8 receptions, 78 yards, and 2 touchdowns. John Harbaugh loves his former Raven, and so did Jaxson Dart in Week 1, so the volume is now elevated, projected at over a 20% per-game yard share.
Best Upside Plays
I really didn't think that Goedert could maintain the 11-touchdown pace that he had in 2025. It seems like the rapport between Goedert and Jalen Hurts may transcend a new offensive play-caller. Goedert scored twice on a 24% target share in Week 1.
I would not start David Njoku this week, but I would keep an eye on him. He is worth a bench spot. Njoku had 12 more routes run than Oronde Gadsden II in Week 1. Njoku might be the guy, and especially if Ladd McConkey is out in Week 2, Njoku does become a viable start. As of now, he is the TE18.
Sleeper of the Week
TJ Hockenson might be back to his old self. He ran 23 routes on Sunday, or 3rd-most on the Vikings. Hockenson then had 4 targets (19% of the team's targets), 4 receptions, 36 yards, and 1 touchdown.
Many of Hockenson's recent failures have been mainly due to injury, with a splash of poor quarterback play. Carson Wentz is not a world-beater, but he knows how to pan through his reads. I do expect Hockenson to retain a 16-20% target share with peak weeks so long as Wentz keeps throwing the football.
Hockenson gets the Bears, who allowed 37 points a week ago. They are much more concerned with winning on offense than on defense, and the Bears are purely a mid-level unit.
Week 1 Projected Leaders
- Targets: Trey McBride (9.9)
- Receptions: Trey McBride (6.9)
- Yards: Trey McBride (69.4)
- Touchdowns: Trey McBride (0.6)
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Thomas Carelli is a sportswriter based on Northern New Jersey. He is a massive New York Jets and Mets fan, but that is not where is sports fandom stops. He loves to watch and play golf, all things football, baseball, and much more. If he can watch it, he will. Thomas graduated from William Paterson University in 2018 with a Bachelor's Degree in Sport Management. He spent 4 years working at a local golf course, volunteered past PGA events, and spent some part-time experience with the New York Jets events team. His passions for sport runs deep and his articles show for it.