Biggest Potential Winners and Losers in the 2026 NFL Draft - Tight End

Tight end is a tricky position. Not just in real life, where they need to learn multiple roles, but also for fantasy football. To have upside, we need our guy to be the best pass-catching tight end in the room. We also need him to be a top two target on the team. It would be nice if the scheme were friendly and the quarterback was at least decent.

Because of that, this time of year is the most perilous for tight ends. So far, the tight ends in this article have largely survived free agency (though there are still some threats looming there). And soon we’ll face the NFL Draft, the annual influx of new talent hoping to push out incumbent players. These are perilous times for guys operating on the fringe.

That said, there is also a world of upside to be had if players do survive the offseason process. And that’s what we are looking at with this series. Today, we are diving into the tight end position to see who could be a big winner or a massive loser for fantasy football based on how the 2026 NFL Draft pans out. So let’s did in!

Oronde Gadsden, TE, Los Angeles Chargers

Fantasy Football Draft Winner Scenario

I don’t think folks realize how great a spot Gadsden could potentially be in. Mike McDaniel’s offense heavily features a fullback and blocking tight ends, which can consolidate the snaps among the actual pass-catchers. They let him bring Alec Ingold along as well as an inline tight end, Charlie Kolar. The Chargers seem to be committed to running the scheme the way McDaniel wants.

And that scheme has been quite friendly to tight ends. Over the last two seasons, McDaniel has had both Darren Waller and Jonnu Smith run 70% of their routes from a wide receiver spot. That really makes it more of a two-wide receiver offense than a three-wide one. There are even rumors that Quentin Johnston could be a draft-day trade with an extension or at least a fifth-year option decision looming. The ceiling is high for Gadsden.

Fantasy Football Draft Loser Scenario

The floor, however, is still scary. We have to remember that Gadsden is still a fifth-round pick, after all. Teams don’t often view those investments the way we do. Where we say, “that was good”, they often say, “that was good - what if we invest more there?” We often see this at running back with Day Three picks, like with the successful rookie campaign for Tyler Allgeier. Given the coveted role, the Chargers could bring in competition from someone like Kenyon Sadiq or Eli Stowers in the draft. 

On top of that, free agency is still ongoing. The Chargers lost Odafe Owen in free agency and are attempting to collect a compensatory pick for him. If you sign players now, it affects that formula, but after the draft, it does not. Darren Waller and Jonnu Smith have obviously worked with Mike McDaniel before and are still floating around out there. 

Mason Taylor, TE, New York Jets

Fantasy Football Draft Winner Scenario

Mason Taylor is quietly in a good position for fantasy football going into 2026 as it stands. We know historically that, to have meaningful upside, you need to be a top two target on your team. Right now, the Jets have Garrett Wilson, but after him, it’s wide open. Adonai Mitchell is not necessarily a target hog, plus it’s fairly rare for RBs to get 100+ targets, even if it’s Breece Hall. 

We’ve also discussed in our Best Tight End Draft Landing Spots article that OC Frank Reich has some notable tight end seasons on his resume. Not just in terms of usage (with them often playing a lot of WR snaps), but he’s had at least three guys finish top ~6 as the article points out. I mean, his scheme was able to get Jack Doyle voted to a Pro Bowl at one point.

Fantasy Football Draft Loser Scenario

There is a reason that the Jets are listed as a “Best Possible Landing Spot” for a tight end. And it’s exactly what we described above - after Garrett Wilson, there is no clear number two target. Last year, Mason Taylor was the top target due to injury, but he didn’t exactly light the world on fire with his opportunity. And he was also asked to play inline often,

One of the most popular setups in the modern NFL is to use a “big slot” tight end with another tight end serving as the inline player. The Eagles did it for years with Zach Ertz and Dallas Goedert. The Chiefs have Travis Kelce/Noah Gray, and the Ravens have used Mark Andrews with a number of inline guys. Yes, they used a second-round pick on Mason Taylor, but the Raiders used a second on Michael Mayer and the Cardinals used a third on Tip Reiman to play that role next to Brock Bowers and Trey McBride, respectively. And that’s just tight end - if the Jets take a WR, it also pushes Taylor to the third target. The Jets have picks at 2, 16, 33, and 44, so it’s a landmine.

Greg Dulcich, TE, Miami Dolphins

Fantasy Football Draft Winner Scenario

Greg Dulcich truthers are sitting at the table with a hot coffee in waiting mode, much like the famous SpongeBob meme. And, with the meme, there aren’t many smiles. Dulcich had big hypothetical upside as the “Joker” for Sean Payton, but that didn’t pan out. He was released and scooped up by the Giants, but couldn’t catch on there. He got what could be his last shot with the Dolphins.

And, when Darren Waller was hurt last year, he got decent deployment and even had a couple of five-catch games. The Dolphins brought him back instead of Jonnu Smith or Darren Waller. They also released Tyreek Hill and traded Jaylen Waddle. The path to opportunity is wide open, believe it or not.

Fantasy Football Draft Loser Scenario

This one doesn’t need much explanation. EVERYONE is projecting the Dolphins to select a pass-catcher with one of their two first-round picks. And it’s widely understood that the tight end position is considered one of their top draft needs for the 2026 NFL Draft. But they wouldn’t even need to necessarily pick a tight end to hurt the fantasy chances of Dulcich.

We don’t know if Malik Willis can support one fantasy-relevant pass-catcher, let alone two. Plus De’Von Achane is a target machine. And, if Vegas sports books are to be believed, this is set to be one of, if not the very worst, teams in the league. If they draft one high-end wide receiver, the upside for Dulcich is immediately diminished. If they draft a wide receiver and a tight end, the dream is probably dead. Not to mention, OC Bobby Slowik has a history with guys like Jauan Jennings, Deebo Samuel, and Brandon Aiyuk from his time in San Francisco.