Rankings
Top 20 Tight Ends: Dynasty Value Score
Six names crack this board that didn't make our season-projection top 20 at all. That gap says a lot about what dynasty value actually measures at tight end.
By Kenny Flermoen · August 3, 2026
This is the companion to our 2026 TE season projections — same idea, re-ranked by Dynasty Value Score (DVS) instead of next year's point total. DVS blends trailing production, age, NFL draft capital, and the 2026 projection into one 0–10,000 score, weighted differently depending on how many seasons a player has played.
Top 20 TE by Dynasty Value Score
| Rank | Player | Team | DVS | Age |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Brock Bowers | LV | 9,555 | 23 |
| 2 | Sam LaPorta | DET | 9,554 | 25 |
| 3 | Trey McBride | ARI | 9,226 | 26 |
| 4 | T.J. Hockenson | MIN | 9,137 | 29 |
| 5 | Mark Andrews | BAL | 8,845 | 30 |
| 6 | Tyler Warren | IND | 8,788 | 24 |
| 7 | Kyle Pitts | ATL | 8,742 | 25 |
| 8 | Dalton Kincaid | BUF | 8,688 | 26 |
| 9 | George Kittle | SF | 8,653 | 32 |
| 10 | Hunter Henry | NE | 8,495 | 31 |
| 11 | Juwan Johnson | NO | 8,433 | 29 |
| 12 | Evan Engram | DEN | 8,400 | 31 |
| 13 | Colston Loveland | CHI | 8,322 | 22 |
| 14 | Dalton Schultz | HOU | 8,306 | 30 |
| 15 | Jake Ferguson | DAL | 8,299 | 27 |
| 16 | Pat Freiermuth | PIT | 8,260 | 27 |
| 17 | Cade Otton | TB | 8,174 | 27 |
| 18 | Harold Fannin Jr. | CLE | 8,118 | 22 |
| 19 | Kenyon Sadiq | NYJ | 8,040 | 21 |
| 20 | Tucker Kraft | GB | 7,998 | 25 |
Base dynasty format — no Superflex or TE Premium adjustment. DVS is a trade-value score, not a 2026 scoring projection.
Two veterans the points board sold short
T.J. Hockensonranked 17th in our season-projection post; he's 4th here. His 2025 was genuinely rough on the surface — 51 catches, 438 yards, three touchdowns, and a shoulder injury that ended his season two games early, on top of a Vikings passing attack that got some of the worst quarterback play in the league. But he's still the No. 8 overall pick from a real 95-catch peak season, and DVS credits that track record over one bad offensive environment. A healthier situation around him in 2026 — Kyler Murray now at quarterback — is exactly the kind of thing that could make this ranking look right in hindsight.
Mark Andrewsshows a similar gap — 20th in projected points, 5th here. He fractured his fibula in Week 11 last season and finished with career-low efficiency even before the injury. But he signed a three-year extension with Baltimore this offseason, locking in his role beyond just 2026, and his production score reflects several seasons of real TE1 output before last year's decline. DVS is betting on the résumé here, not on last season's box score.
A strong current season doesn't fully offset a mid-round draft slot
Tucker Kraft and Harold Fannin Jr.both drop hard from their projection rank — Kraft from 6th to 20th, Fannin from 5th to 18th. It's tempting to blame Kraft's ACL tear for his fall, but his production score here is actually elite, nearly matching his season-projection ranking's own optimism. What holds both players down is draft capital: Kraft went in the third round, Fannin in the third round as a rookie with just one accrued season on the books. DVS weighs draft slot heavily enough that even excellent current production can't fully make up the gap against players who came off the board earlier.
Six names that never showed up on the points board at all
Dalton Kincaid, Evan Engram, Dalton Schultz, Jake Ferguson, Pat Freiermuth, and Cade Ottonall rank inside this top 20 despite missing our season-projection board entirely. None of them project as a clear top-tier scorer for 2026 — their target competition or offensive role isn't strong enough for that. But all six have real draft capital and multiple seasons of established, if not spectacular, production, and DVS credits that combination even when a single-season point total wouldn't. This is the clearest illustration on this whole board of what the two rankings are actually measuring: one needs a big role next year, the other rewards a track record that's likely to hold some value no matter what role shows up.
Model any of these players against your own roster on the Dynasty Trade Calculator — toggle Superflex and TE Premium to see how the format changes the board.
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FAQ
- How is Dynasty Value Score different from the season-projection rankings?
- Season projections rank who scores the most points in 2026. DVS ranks who's worth the most in a trade — it blends trailing production, age, draft capital, and next year's projection into one score, weighted differently depending on how many NFL seasons a player has played.
- Why do some tight ends rank here without appearing in the season-projection top 20?
- A player doesn't need a clear path to a huge 2026 role to have real dynasty value. Draft capital and a track record of established production carry weight in DVS even when a player's immediate target competition caps his projected points.
- Why does one down year not sink Hockenson or Andrews further?
- DVS weighs trailing production across multiple seasons, not just the most recent one. A single rough or injury-shortened year matters less than a broader body of work, especially for players with strong draft pedigree behind them.