Chig Okonkwo Features 3 Tight End Breakouts in 2026 Fantasy Football

A strong case is being made for top-10 seasons out of these "sleeper" tight ends in 2026 fantasy football.

Oct 1, 2023; Nashville, Tennessee, USA; Tennessee Titans tight end Chigoziem Okonkwo (85) waits to take the field before the game against the Cincinnati Bengals at Nissan Stadium. Mandatory Credit: Christopher Hanewinckel-USA TODAY Sports | USA TODAY Sports via Reuters Connect

There are underrated superstars sitting in the depths of our current fantasy football rankings. Just as diamonds are mined, we have to put in the work to find who those stars may be. There is sharp reasoning, there is statistical output, and there is so much more we can find to make a strong case for a league-winning asset coming alive. At tight end, these are 3 players who foresee big things in 2026.

Chig Okonkwo

Terry McLaurin on new Commanders TE Chig Okonkwo, via @JFowlerESPN:

"He's a tight end who really runs routes like a receiver."

— Underdog NFL (@UnderdogNFL) August 4, 2026

Last year's TE21 has signed a contract to become the Washington Commanders' TE1. Oknokwo joins this depth chart with plans to be the team's No. 3 pass-catcher. There is certainly a world where Okonkwo ranks second on the team in receiving yardage share.

We have Oknokwo projecting to have 15-18% of this receiving offense. The Commanders are a team that brought Zach Ertz to TE7 in 2024, the last time Jayden Daniels was fully healthy.

Okonkwo is projected to be the TE13 in our own analysis. Better yet, he is going as the TE17 in average draft position.

Isaiah Likely

I have been beating this drum for weeks now. Dan Duggan of The Athletic provided great insights this past week, which show he is likely to command a >20% target share at Giants training camp.

The value of training camp stats day-to-day is debatable, but over a large sample size they help to illustrate who is being productive (and, perhaps more importantly, with which unit). So here are the stats for the Giants' passing game through the 10 practices in West Virginia in…

— Dan Duggan (@DDuggan21) August 10, 2026

John Harbaugh brings in Likely as a familiar face from his Ravens days. Matt Nagy calls plays as a coordinator that historically favor the tight end, especially in a down-the-field pass-catching role. In 2017, Nagy had Travis Kelce become the TE2 in fantasy football. In 2019, he had Trey Burton finish top-10, as did Jimmy Graham in 2020 on a points-per-game basis.

Likely to be the Giants' No. 2 pass-catcher. For that reason, we anticipate his yard share to be near 20%, ahead of Malachi Fields and Darius Slayton.

Dalton Kincaid

Kincaid is certainly among my top tight end values in 2026. Kincaid's current ADP is TE12. Our projection is much more optimistic, per our August 12 update.

I thought I had uncovered all the Dalton Kincaid hype stats.

I was wrong.

Among 53 TEs with 150+ routes last year, Kincaid ranked:

1st in @FantasyPtsData separation score
1st in win rate

— Jared Smola (@SmolaDS) August 13, 2026

In 2025, Kincaid ranked as the No. 2 tight end in yards per catch (14.6). Entering 2026, it is very possible that Kincaid jumps Khalil Shakir to be 2nd on the team in receiving yard share. Kincaid has struggled to stay healthy in years past, and that is why his output has truly lacked anything elite. He enters 2026 in good health, and now we hope it stays that way.

The Bills are the NFL's top-rated offense. Given our 19% yardage share projection, that shall net big results for Kincaid. Numerically, Kincaid's projection foresees 46 yards, 3.6 receptions, and 0.51 touchdowns per game. In fact, Kincaid is projected to have the 4th-most touchdowns of all tight ends (8.7).