{"id":920483,"date":"2026-07-17T06:12:16","date_gmt":"2026-07-17T11:12:16","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/newsycanuse.com\/index.php\/2026\/07\/17\/2026-fantasy-football-tight-end-sleepers-dalton-kincaid-brenton-strange-lead-best-late-round-te-targets\/"},"modified":"2026-07-17T06:12:16","modified_gmt":"2026-07-17T11:12:16","slug":"2026-fantasy-football-tight-end-sleepers-dalton-kincaid-brenton-strange-lead-best-late-round-te-targets","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/newsycanuse.com\/index.php\/2026\/07\/17\/2026-fantasy-football-tight-end-sleepers-dalton-kincaid-brenton-strange-lead-best-late-round-te-targets\/","title":{"rendered":"2026 Fantasy Football Tight End Sleepers: Dalton Kincaid, Brenton Strange Lead Best Late-Round TE Targets"},"content":{"rendered":"

Football <\/p>\n

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The elite fantasy football tight ends come off the board quickly, but that doesn\u2019t mean you have to spend an early-round pick to find production. Every season, late-round tight ends outperform their draft position thanks to increased roles, improved offenses, or more volume. Whether you\u2019re waiting until the final rounds to fill the position or looking for a breakout candidate with league-winning upside, these six tight end sleepers have the talent and opportunity to deliver value in 2026 fantasy football drafts.<\/p>\n

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Watch What\u2019s Trending Now!<\/p>\n<\/div>\n

Football Dalton Kincaid<\/h2>\n
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The Buffalo Bills<\/strong><\/a>, despite having Josh Allen<\/strong>, aren\u2019t among the premier passing teams in the NFL in terms of yardage. But they ranked sixth in EPA\/Pass. Under Joe Brady<\/strong>, the team has become more efficient on offense in the league with an emphasis on an elite rushing attack. James Cook<\/strong> has become the centerpiece of the offense, but this past offseason, the team traded for DJ Moore<\/strong> to boost the passing game.<\/p>\n

With more playmakers down the field, it should open up Dalton Kincaid<\/strong>, whose current ADP is 127. Kincaid finished 2025 with 571 receiving yards and five touchdowns, and he has the lowest target total in his career. It\u2019s why people are lower on him going into 2026, but two stats jump out. He had an ADOT of 9.49 and a yards per route run total of 2.77, which led all tight ends.<\/p>\n

Kincaid is a downfield threat; it\u2019s what the Bills drafted him to be. His target share is the concern, but there\u2019s optimism with a fully healthy season and real impact from receivers on the inside; Allen could turn to Kincaid more often in 2026. When he does, good things typically happen.<\/p>\n

Football Jake Ferguson<\/h2>\n
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Dallas Cowboys<\/strong><\/a> tight end Jake Ferguson<\/strong> finished as TE5 last season in PPR leagues despite having a target share of 16.80 percent, which ranked 17th for tight ends. The Cowboys have a ton of volume in the passing game, as they ranked third in the NFL, running 655 passing plays in total in 2025. How could they not with players like Dak Prescott<\/strong>, Ceedee Lamb,<\/strong> and George Pickens<\/strong>?<\/p>\n

The downside to taking a player like Ferguson is that he won\u2019t get consistent targets. He\u2019s not the primary weapon or focal point of the offense; he\u2019s the safety blanket and will primarily be used on underneath routes. It is reflected in his ADOT, which was 4.66 last season. Still, he ran over 500 routes last season, so he\u2019s bound to get yardage in some games just due to the sheer volume of the Cowboys\u2019 passing.<\/p>\n

Ferguson\u2019s ADP is 129, and while he shouldn\u2019t be taken in the early or mid rounds, he\u2019s a late-round sleeper that has the upside due to his offense\u2019s volume to be a solid starter for your tight end position.<\/p>\n

Football Oronde Gadsden II<\/h2>\n
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Los Angeles Chargers<\/strong> <\/a>tight end Oronde Gadsden II<\/strong> is the definition of high upside in fantasy. He averaged 4.6 targets a game last season for the Chargers, but averaged 13.6 per reception, which was third among qualified tight ends.<\/p>\n

Entering 2025, Gadsden wasn\u2019t expected to be a contributor to the Chargers\u2019 offense, but a breakout game in Week 7 against the\u00a0Indianapolis Colts<\/strong><\/a> drew attention to him. He had 164 yards and one touchdown and ended 2025 with 664 yards and three touchdowns.<\/p>\n

There isn\u2019t enough to pound the table for Gadsden to be your lone tight end on the roster, but in the late rounds, he\u2019s worthy of a stash on any roster. With the hiring of Mike McDaniel<\/strong>, there\u2019s plenty of optimism about how the Chargers\u2019 offense will operate. With Gadsden\u2019s ability to run routes, he could see an expanded role this upcoming season.<\/p>\n

Football Kenyon Sadiq<\/h2>\n
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There are no stats to prove Kenyon Sadiq<\/strong> is a sleeper candidate, as he\u2019s a rookie. But from watching his college film, man, does he have the skill set to thrive in today\u2019s NFL. Sadiq will find the field even in 12 personnel sets due to his ability to block in the running game. The New York Jets<\/strong><\/a> took him with the 16th overall pick, and in Frank Reich\u2019s<\/strong> offense, expect to see a ton of quick, easy completions.<\/p>\n

With Geno Smith<\/strong> leading the offense, he\u2019ll know how to get the ball to his playmakers, and there\u2019s no doubt Sadiq is one of them. Sadiq is currently being taken at 161 and as TE21. I\u2019d rather have Sadiq over players like Chig Okonkwo<\/strong> and Hunter Henry<\/strong>, who are currently going before him. The upside of receiving makes him more valuable.<\/p>\n

Football Dalton Schultz<\/h2>\n
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Houston Texans<\/strong><\/a> tight end Dalton Schultz<\/strong> is coming off a career-high 106-target season in the Texans offense. He was top 10 in target share among tight ends, finishing 2025 with 777 yards and three touchdowns. Schultz is currently TE23, and his ADP is 168, which is way too low for how the Texans use him.<\/p>\n

While he\u2019s not an elite downfield target, he still has an ADOT of 6.22. The Texans expect to have a better passing attack in Year 2 with Jayden Higgins<\/strong> and the potential of Tank Dell<\/strong> returning this season. That could take targets away from Schultz, but there\u2019s no other threat at the tight end position to take snaps away from Schultz in 2026.<\/p>\n

The\u00a0inability to create big plays is a concern, and the addition of\u00a0Max Klare<\/strong><\/span> makes people wary. But Schultz is still TE1 for the Texans. He\u2019ll be on the field for the passing plays, and last season proved CJ Stroud<\/strong> trusts him, which is more important than anything.<\/p>\n

Football Brenton Strange<\/h2>\n
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Jacksonville Jaguars<\/strong><\/a>Brenton Strange<\/strong><\/p>\n

Strange averaged 4.1 yards of separation last season, which ranked fourth among tight ends and had an EPA\/Target of 0.51. Good things happen when the Jaguars target him; they only have to do it more often. Strange had a target percentage of 19.3 percent, which can certainly go up in Year 2 of the Liam Coen<\/strong> offense. If there were one tight end to get off this list, it\u2019d be Strange. The Jaguars\u2019 offense is set to explode in 2026.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n

Read More<\/a> Rebecka Pingree<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

The elite fantasy football tight ends come off the board quickly, but that doesn\u2019t mean you have to spend an early-round pick to find production. Every season, late-round tight ends outperform their draft position thanks to increased roles, improved offenses, or more volume. Whether you\u2019re waiting until the final rounds to fill the position or<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":920484,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[605,3790],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-920483","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","category-fantasy","category-football"],"aioseo_notices":[],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/newsycanuse.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/920483","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/newsycanuse.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/newsycanuse.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/newsycanuse.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/newsycanuse.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=920483"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/newsycanuse.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/920483\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/newsycanuse.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/920484"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/newsycanuse.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=920483"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/newsycanuse.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=920483"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/newsycanuse.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=920483"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}