Having a top tight end honestly does feel like a cheat code, as it's not always easy to find a quality tight end in the NFL. What we have begun to see more and more are tight ends that thrive as receivers and don't add much as blockers, and vice versa - tight ends that are really only there to block.
Whether a tight end is more of an "F" or a true in-line, "Y" player, the good ones are obvious, and the best ones are typically always on top offenses in the league. We've power-ranked just about every position this offseason and are going to continue with some tight ends.
Let's power-rank the best AFC tight ends for the 2026 season, using production from 2025 but also taking into account each player's skill set.
Power-ranking the best AFC tight ends for 2026 as the offseason rolls on
10. Pat Freiermuth, Pittsburgh Steelers
Pat Freiermuth can do a bit of everything and has been consistently solid for the Pittsburgh Steelers. Beginning his career back in 2021, he's missed just seven games and has finished with no fewer than 486 receiving yards in a season.
He's also had at least two touchdown receptions in each year of his career, has caught 73.3 percent of his targets, and has four separate seasons of a success rate of at least 53 percent, so he's an efficient target when he's thrown the ball, having been responsible for 145 total first downs.
Not necessarily a special player, though, Freiermuth has kind of been a part of some 'committee' rooms in Pittsburgh over the years. He was drafted in the second round out of Penn State and is given a solid No. 10 ranking ahead of the 2026 season. He'll only turn 28 years old during 2026 and should have several more quality years of football under his belt.
9. Oronde Gadsden, Los Angeles Chargers
Playing in 15 games as a rookie in 2025, Oronde Gadsden hauled in 49 receptions for 664 yards and three touchdowns, averaging a solid 44.3 yards per game, and also catching 71 percent of his targets.
For a 22-year-old, rookie tight end, that production has to be talked about. Not much of a blocker, Gadsden is going to continue to thrive as a pass-catcher, as his father was a wide receiver in the NFL in the 90s and early 2000s.
The Los Angeles Chargers did add to the tight end room this offseason, as Gadsden isn't a slam-dunk, top-tier player, but he was quite good in 2025 and could again be a key target for Justin Herbert in 2026.
8. Hunter Henry, New England Patriots
Having, perhaps, the best year of his career in 2025, Hunter Henry has just kept it up for a decade now. In 2025, he caught 60 passes for 768 yards and seven touchdowns, setting a career-high in yards. He had a killer success rate of 59.8 percent, and he caught 69 percent of his passes.
Not even 32 years old yet, Henry's style of play has been sustainable for this long, and if 2025 is any indication, he'll have another strong year in 2026.
He also started a full 17 games for the first time in his career, so the durability even got better.
7. Dalton Kincaid, Buffalo Bills
Dalton Kincaid has missed nine regular-season games in the 2024 and 2025 seasons, but he's still been a productive player. Through three years, Kincaid is averaging 702 yards and four touchdowns across a full 17-game season, also hauling in nearly 73 percent of his targets.
This is going to be a big year for Kincaid, as there has been some notable change with the Buffalo Bills, and Kincaid being able to stay on the field for an entire season would really thrust this offense into a new level of success.
6. Harold Fannin, Cleveland Browns
Not even 22 years old yet, Harold Fannin is the type of player who could end up being a true x-factor for the Cleveland Browns. Despite dealing with below-average quarterback play in 2025, Fannin still managed to finish with 731 yards and six touchdowns as a rookie.
He was targeted 107 times and caught 67.3 percent of those targets. It does seem like people really overthought Fannin in last year's NFL Draft, but General Manager Andrew Berry was able to land the stud.
Fannin, with better quarterback play - even average play - could be a 1,000-yard player for the team. The time to 'buy' Fannin is now, as he is a star in the making.
5. Dalton Schultz, Houston Texans
Dalton Schultz is No. 5 in our tight end power rankings for the 2026 season. Schultz has been such a solid player for years now. With the Houston Texans, Schultz hauled in 82 passes for 777 yards and three touchdowns in 2025.
And since the start of the 2020 seasons, back when he was with the Dallas Cowboys, Schultz has been over the 500-yard mark in each of those seasons, also having multiple touchdowns in each of those years as well.
In 2025, he caught a career-high 77.4 percent of his targets and is only set to play in his age-30 season in 2026.
4. Mark Andrews, Baltimore Ravens
A three-time Pro Bowler with the Baltimore Ravens, Mark Andrews is No. 4 in our power rankings. A true two-phase tight end, Andrew had a career-high 1,361 yards in 2021, which honestly feels like a fake number. He's also had two separate seasons of double-digit touchdowns.
Through eight years in the NFL, Andrews is averaging 836 yards and eight touchdowns across a full 17-game slate. He's not missed a game the past two seasons, either, and is still among the best at what he does in the NFL.
3. Travis Kelce, Kansas City Chiefs
An all-time great tight end, Travis Kelce is No . 3 in our power rankings, as he's clearly not the player he once was, but he's still a top target for the Kansas City Chiefs. One of the best receiving tight ends of all-time, Kelce made his mark as a pass-catcher.
And it always felt like he was so clever in being able to find the soft spots in defesnes over the years. How many times have we watched the Chiefs and Kelce is standing in the middle of the field with no one around him?
Kelce was a fine blocker and could contribute in that phase, but that's not what made him great. He's got seven 1,000-yard seasons, 11 Pro Bowls, and four All-Pros. He also has 1,080 regular-season receptions.
2. Tyler Warren, Indianapolis Colts
Tyler Warren is going to be a very good player for a very long time in the NFL. An ideal franchise tight end and true two-phase player, Warren boasted his receiving upside immediately during his rookie season, hauling in 76 receptions for 817 yards and four touchdowns, but he also came into the NFL with a strong blocking ability as well.
There really isn't much Warren cannot do, in my opinion. According to Pro Football Reference, his passer rating when targeted in 2025 was 93.5, so he was an efficient target as well and is only set to play in his age-24 season, so he could be very good for another decade-plus.
1. Brock Bowers, Las Vegas Raiders
Already a two-time Pro Bowler and an All-Pro in just two seasons, Brock Bowers tops our AFC tight end power rankings for the 2026 season.
Despite playing in just 12 games in 2025, Bowers managed to haul in 64 receptions for 680 yards and seven touchdowns. Through two seasons, he's averaging 1,099 yards and seven touchdowns across a full 17-game slate, which are borderline WR1 numbers.
He's a special talent and is the best in the AFC ahead of 2026.