We wrap up the TRUTH series with the grossiest: TEs. Let’s dive into some overarching data and what we learned. Be sure to check out the TRUTH series for other positions: QBs (Kurt Mullens), RBs (Kemper Trull), and WRs (Javaier Manzanera).
Connect with the show:
Watch the boys try not to vomit throughout the episode (especially #2) here:
TE Overview
64 different TEs finished as the TE12 or better each week during the season. This shows how low a bar is set to get in the top dozen. For reference: that’s 25 more than the QB position.
12 personnel increased over the last four years from 17% to 19% to 20%, finishing at 22%, likely adjusting to the defensive fronts offenses are facing.
2025 scored the most points at the TE position in the last seven years.
| Year | Total TE Fantasy Points | ||
| 2019 | 5,049 | ||
| 2020 | 5,234 | ||
| 2021 | 5,289 | ||
| 2022 | 5,242 | ||
| 2023 | 5,176 | ||
| 2024 | 5,348 | ||
| 2025 | 5,856 | ||
Before we start, here’s how we identify performances (week 1 – 17, .5 PPR scoring).
Great Games: 15+ fantasy points
Good Games: 8+ fantasy points
Bust Games: < 5 fantasy points
Missed Games (injury): do not count against consistency
Kyle Terada-Imagn Images
1. Trey McBride | Cardinals
Age: 26.2 | ADP: 3.06/TE2
Consistency Rank: 1 | 1st Half: 1/2nd Half: 1
| Great Games | Good Games | Bust Games |
| 41% | 88% | 6% |
What. A. Season. McBride put together an all-timer, smashing the previous TE reception record…by 10, finishing with 126. Even more impressive, he outscored the TE2 by 5 FPPG and over 92 total points. His wings were clipped in the first five games with Kyler Murray, averaging only 9.6 fantasy points (where the Cardinals, strangely, found themselves playing from ahead often). Enter Jacoby Brissett, and the stats/game scripts flipped. Doubling his output to 17.1 points per game en route to setting an NFL record for routes run by a TE at 667 (with 63% of those coming from the slot).
His TD luck did a full 180 from the previous season, tallying 11 with a bizarrely efficient seven coming from the 11-to-20 range, tying Eric Ebron (ha!) for an NFL high since 2012 from that area. Considering his 27% target share is larger than his 26.2 age, there’s plenty to be optimistic about moving forward.
Expect more balance on the Cardinals, though. The ridiculously (unreal?) stats he put up will likely lead to regression next year, because many things broke right for him. These include: not having to play with Kyler Murray (didn’t start a game after Week 5), and most of the team being hurt (Marv, James Conner, the RBs, etc.).
2. Kyle Pitts Sr. | Falcons
Age: 25.2 | ADP: 10.12/TE13
Consistency Rank: 7 | 1st Half: 11/2nd Half: 10
| Great Games | Good Games | Bust Games |
| 18% | 53% | 29% |
TE2 finish? Or the most deceptive silver medal we’ve ever seen in fantasy football? Your call, but his 9.8 FPPG is the lowest ever for a TE2 finish. Throwback mention: Jason Witten finished with 10 FPPG in 2008. He did finish on fire, averaging 6.5 catches and 78 receiving yards in the last six games.
The late-season eruption can thank Week 15’s TNF Bonanza (3/168/3). That’s some heavy lifting, considering his average drops to 7.9 FPPG without it. That puts him in Dalton Schultz/Brenton Strange territory. Still, he led the Falcons in routes, targets, receptions, and yards, while commanding the highest target share of any TE when three WRs were on the field (24%).
The biggest question for the 25.2-year-old: Will he get a bag this offseason? The Falcons can franchise him for $16M per Spotrac.
3. Travis Kelce | Chiefs
Age: 36.2 | ADP: 6.04/TE5
Consistency Rank: 8 | 1st Half: 7/2nd Half: 14
| Great Games | Good Games | Bust Games |
| 18% | 53% | 24% |
TE3 is a nice finish, but a distinct sense of winding down hit while watching him. He played all 17 games, but it’s hard to ignore regression signals:
- Lowest percentage of Great Games (18%) since the TRUTH series began (2017)
- Target share dropped from 24% to 20%
- Receptions fell from 97 to 78
- Red Zone targets plummeted from 26 to 11
The Chiefs have plenty of question marks moving forward, considering they are DEAD LAST in 2026 Cap Space (-$57.5m) and Patrick Mahomes will rehab an ACL tear from Week 15 this offseason.
4. Dallas Goedert | Eagles
Age: 31.1 | ADP: 13.07/TE16
Consistency Rank: 4 | 1st Half: 5/2nd Half: 11
| Great Games | Good Games | Bust Games |
| 27% | 60% | 27% |
TDs are pretty helpful in fantasy, and Goedert’s finish depended on them entirely.
- The Good: 11 TDs is a career high and led all pass-catchers with nine TDs vs MAN coverage.
- The Bad: Career lows in YPRR (1.37), Yards Per Reception (9.8), and YAC (4.1)
- The Ugly: On eight contested catch opportunities, he caught ZERO.
The offseason for Goedert will be an interesting one, but the real question is, do we care where he lands after struggling outside of the TD department?
5. Tyler Warren | Colts
Age: 23.7 | ADP: 8.04/TE9
Consistency Rank: 16 | 1st Half: 18/2nd Half: 25
| Great Games | Good Games | Bust Games |
| 12% | 47% | 35% |
Oh, hi there, Tyler Warren! Our man joined an elite club of just four rookies since 200 to surpass 70 catches and 800 yards. He smashed with Daniel Jones, averaging nearly five catches and 57 yards per game for a startable 10.7 FPPG. He had the 2nd most, 1st-Read Targets and YAC/Rec amongst ALL TEs.
But once Daniel Jones went down, so did Warren, dropping to 3.5 receptions/27 yards on average per game. Really weird splits too, 62% of his total fantasy production came in the first half of games (second-highest rate of any pass-catcher in the league).
The talent is there to be a top-5 TE, but he’s tethered to one of the league’s muddiest QB situations. Be on the lookout for a price drop if that situation doesn’t go in his favor.
Scott Galvin-Imagn Images
6. Harold Fannin Jr. | Browns
Age: 21.5 | ADP: Undrafted
Consistency Rank: 6 | 1st Half: 14/2nd Half: 5
| Great Games | Good Games | Bust Games |
| 19% | 56% | 19% |
Fantasy UDFA to One of the Most Successful Rookie TE Seasons: The Harold Fannin Jr. Story. He set the all-time record for receptions by a TE before the age of 22 while becoming only the second rookie since 2000 to go 70/700/6. His 26% target share and 14 missed tackles ranked second among all TEs in the league. He even had a rushing score.
His production actually improved against tougher competition, too, scoring over 3 more points per game against top-16 defenses than against bottom-half defenses on his way to a TE5 finish in the second half of the season. The field is taking note, as he’s going in the early 7th round in Best Ball drafts as TE6. David Njoku enters free agency…
7. Hunter Henry | Patriots
Age: 31.1 | ADP: Undrafted
Consistency Rank: 14 | 1st Half: 24/2nd Half: 7
| Great Games | Good Games | Bust Games |
| 12% | 47% | 29% |
UNTER pieced together one of the most efficient seasons of his career, tying his personal best finish at the TE7. Another UDFA success story, he played better against bad defenses (10.2 FPPG) vs good defenses (5.3). Managers who cherry-picked his favorable spots struck gold.
What stands out was the 40% first-read and 29% target share in the red zone; only Amon-Ra St. Brown, Brock Bowers, and Trey McBride had a higher % in that area. He’s got one more year on his current contract; however, his $11.7m cap hit and $2.5m dead cap might put him in cap casualty territory.
8. Jake Ferguson | Cowboys
Age: 27.0 | ADP: 12.11/TE15
Consistency Rank: 9 | 1st Half: 6/2nd Half: 16
| Great Games | Good Games | Bust Games |
| 12% | 53% | 29% |
Trust issues? Then Jake Ferguson is NOT your dude. Eight top-10 finishes, second only to Trey McBride. Sweet! But those were front-loaded and masked a disastrous collapse down the stretch. From Week 8 onward, he failed to score double-digit fantasy points in a single game. Not sweet.
The 102 targets aren’t too shabby, and he secured a four-year extension in July. He might be stuck in Turd Ferg territory if the Cowboys re-sign George Pickens.
Bob DeChiara-Imagn Images
9. Brock Bowers | Raiders
Age: 23.1 | ADP: 2.11/TE1
Consistency Rank: 5 | 1st Half: 19/2nd Half: 4
| Great Games | Good Games | Bust Games |
| 17% | 58% | 8% |
Tied for the most overall TE1 finishes on the week with three, Brock proved the generational hype. It almost feels like the late 2nd round pick was warranted. He took a massive leap in red zone efficiency with six TDs in just 12 games, compared to one in his rookie season.
But missing five games with a knee injury and playing for a team that averaged 11.5 points per game on the road isn’t a recipe for full-season success. We’ll see what (likely) 1.01 rookie QB Fernando Mendoza does when he joins the team next year.
10. Juwan Johnson | Saints
Age: 29.3 | ADP: Undrafted
Consistency Rank: 13 | 1st Half: 12/2nd Half: 13
| Great Games | Good Games | Bust Games |
| 6% | 47% | 24% |
Juwan Johnson is the latest beneficiary of Kellen Moore’s slot machine, after following other successful players like CeeDee Lamb, Keenan Allen, and DeVonta Smith. He put together a decent season with the 8th most slot routes of any player in the NFL. Moore’s system excels in the middle of the field: ranking first in Completion % Over Expectation and second in passing yards in the slot.
The scheme helped Johnson rack up over 100 targets and nearly 900 yards. He did the opposite of Dallas Goedert, scoring only three times. He’s got two more years on his contract and looks like another value TE for 2026.
12. Colston Loveland | Bears
Age: 21.8 | ADP: 10.01/TE12
Consistency Rank: 23 | 1st Half: 35/2nd Half: 8
| Great Games | Good Games | Bust Games |
| 19% | 38% | 50% |
For the first eight weeks, Colston was non-existent, scoring fewer points than Jeremy Ruckert (TE for the Jets). Then the Bengals, and their Santa Claus-like defense vs TEs, changed that in Week 9. From then on, only Trey McBride scored more fantasy points. He became a real chess piece, lining up in line, the slot, and out wide. He came through in the clutch: 42% of his fantasy points came in the fourth quarter, good for the third-highest rate of any pass catcher in the league.
But, looking closer, he led all TEs in fourth-quarter receiving yards. So, were they playing catch-up? Or will he be a go-to guy in the clutch? With a crowded receiver room, be wary of what happens when Rome Odunze, Luther Burden III, and DJ Moore are all healthy.
Troy Taormina-Imagn Images
13. George Kittle | 49ers
Age: 32.2 | ADP: 4.02/TE3
Consistency Rank: 3 |1st Half: 15/2nd Half: 2
| Great Games | Good Games | Bust Games |
| 36% | 73% | 27% |
In the first four years of his career, he found the end zone every 26 targets/255 receiving yards. But over the last five seasons, he’s improved to a toudie every 11/116. He dealt with multiple injuries, missing six games, but destroyed the bottom 16 defenses, averaging 15.4 fantasy points per game.
Can he continue to defy Father Time? Thankfully, he’s under contract for four more years. Here’s hoping the Achilles tear rehab goes smoothly and we get back the player we all know and love.
21. Tucker Kraft | Packers
Age: 25.2 | ADP: 9.08/TE11
Consistency Rank: 2 | 1st Half: 3/2nd Half: n/a
| Great Games | Good Games | Bust Games |
| 25% | 75% | 25% |
A LEGENDARY season was in the works until Week 9 threw us an ACL tear. He averaged 12.6 FPPG, which ranked second at the position, and still scored more TDs than Kyle Pitts or Travis Kelce in only eight games. His efficiency numbers were off the charts, as he ranked first in passer rating when targeted and second in yards per target while posting one of the best seven-week starts to a season we’ve seen over the last decade.
He dominated in MAN coverage: leading all TEs in TPRR, YPRR, and 1st Read %. He scored more receiving TDs against MAN (4) than CeeDee Lamb, Nico Collins, Michael Wilson & Ja’Marr Chase had on the season…COMBINED. Heading into the final year of his rookie deal, he costs only $3.6m. Keep an eye on what GB does.
from Fantasy Footballers Podcast https://ift.tt/pTHKB7z
Reviewed by Admin
on
February 06, 2026
Rating:
No comments: