Fantasy Football Roundtable: Here are some of our favorite breakout candidates at TE for 2026

Will this be the year the tight end position finally lives up to its potential? For years we've hoped for a deep group of TEs riddled with talent at every draft point, only to end up with the same elite group and then a bunch of "play and pray" options. But maybe this season will be different. Our Yahoo analysts take a look at the tight end position and share their breakout candidate for 2026.

Breakouts tend to exist at the intersection of talent and situation. And for Brenton Strange, the talent piece of the equation isn't hard to see. Since joining the Jaguars in '23, Strange's routes and target share have been on an upward trajectory. The Penn State product barely saw the field his rookie season (2.2% target rate), but he evolved into one of Trevor Lawrence's go-to options as Jacksonville marched toward the playoffs.

After returning from a hip injury sustained in Week 5, Strange supplanted Brian Thomas Jr. as the "WR3" (16.6% share) and even led the team in red-zone targets (14). Plus, the added cardio has allowed us to only see more of his athletic ability, as his yards per route run (ninth among all TEs in '25 – minimum 10 games played) and YAC per reception picked up between Years 2 and 3.

But I'll admit Strange's situation is, well, strange! The Jaguars traded for and compensated Jakobi Meyers for bringing the passing game to life and got a breakout performance from their sixth-round WR out of the same draft class. Oh, and Thomas Jr. and Travis Hunter are still there. The "lot of mouths to feed" argument will keep Strange's draft-cost down, but let's not forget his productivity and utility within this offense. — Chris Allen

After the Rashid Shaheed trade, Johnson was the TE5 in yards per game and TE8 in receptions per game from Week 10 on. With Jordyn Tyson out until the Week 6-9 range, Johnson should start out strong, as this is the same Saints receiving corps as it was during that explosive sample. The Saints have the advantages of playing against the NFC South, playing indoors and operating in the No. 1 neutral pace offense. Johnson is also good! Watch him!

He's a converted receiver who runs intermediate and downfield routes far better than many TE starters. Elite beat reporter Nick Underhill quote tweeted the Yahoo ADP board I posted on X to say that Johnson was ranked way too low. He's reportedly lighting up camp again. If you want Tucker Kraft or George Kittle for what they'll do further away from their injuries, then Johnson is a great pairing. — Hayden Winks

One day it's going to happen. Kincaid has been consistentlygood since his rookie season, but the closest to great he's been was the early portion of last season before his injury. The only flaw, and it's a major one, is his snap share with Dawson Knox, and Jackson Hawes often being preferred in the run game. On a per-route basis, Kincaid is the literal TE1 in fantasy.

His yards per route last season was third in the entire NFL to Puka Nacua and Jaxon Smith-Njigba, yet he ran only 42% of the routes after the PCL. Prior to his injury his route share was above 60%; not great, but enough to make him a mid-level TE1. If he is fully healthy entering Year 4, being a top-10 fantasy TE is closer to the floor with the potential of much more if only a slight increase to 65-70% of the routes in Buffalo occurs. — Joel Smyth

Likely provided flashes of an intriguing fantasy ceiling on multiple occasions while serving as Mark Andrews' backup on the Ravens. Now, the 26-year-old has followed head coach John Harbaugh to New York, where he'll be a featured part of the Giants' passing attack. Everyone around the organization has identified Likely as the de facto No. 2 receiver behind star wideout Malik Nabers, who's made an impressive recovery from a torn ACL and now appears to be on track for Week 1.

Jaxson Dart's ability to make plays off script meshes with his new tight end, who's been excelling in that area even going back to college. Likely will also give Dart a weapon in the red zone and another downfield threat, while fighting for extra yards after every catch. Unlike some of the other more highly-touted breakout options, there's almost no risk associated with selecting Likely, given his late-round ADP. — Justin Boone