The last position on our roundtable fades series for the week is tight end. Yahoo is also offering a new TE Premium format this season you can check out more details on here. The TE position can fall off fast if you’re not too careful in your draft, though there are also plenty of opportunities to find gems in the later rounds. Today, analyst Scott Pianowski, Ray Garvin and Hayden Winks share the one tight end they’re fading going into 2026 fantasy football drafts.
Join or create a Yahoo Fantasy Football league for the 2026 NFL season
Advertisement
Trey McBride, Cardinals
McBride will surely have a decent season, but my McBride fade is about the opportunity cost of selecting him. Most of my builds are going to be RB/WR focused in the early rounds, and I don’t like falling one round behind in that RB/WR construction if I dip into the onesie markets too early. We also have to ask ourselves, what positions offer the most affordable options later in a draft? I feel good about the overall depth of the 2026 tight end board, which means I’m comfortable keeping those slots open (hopefully Juwan Johnson will be waiting for me).
Some regression is also likely for McBride this year. The Cardinals were absurdly pass-heavy after Jacoby Brissett took over last season, throwing at a pace of 685 pass attempts over a full schedule. That total would be the sixth-most all-time. Even if Arizona is a bad team again and playing catch-up most of the year, we have to realistically roll the attempts back. There’s also some look-out-below potential with the Arizona offense later in the year, if third-round rookie QB Carson Beck is asked to start.
Perhaps the scariest part of McBride’s profile is the new OC calling the plays – Nathaniel Hackett. The last three offenses run by Hackett have been horror shows, ranking 24th, 31st and 21st in yards and 24th, 29th and 32nd in points. Hackett had previous success tied to all-time great Aaron Rodgers in Green Bay, but it’s been a mess ever since. It could be a long year in Arizona. — Scott Pianowski
Advertisement
George Kittle, 49ers
Kittle is a soon-to-be 33-year-old who had Achilles surgery on Jan. 14. Week 2 will be exactly nine months from that point, and that’s the absolute earliest we see skill players come back from it. Most of the time, there is a real ramp up period in terms of snaps, while efficiency also regresses. That’s the part that is concerning for Kittle. Over the past two seasons, Kittle averaged 6.1 targets per game (TE8) and 10.7 yards per target (TE1). If the Achilles tear means he’s closer to 5.0 targets per game (TE22) and 8.5 YPT (TE5), then he’s only averaging 42.5 yards per game. That feels far more realistic than what a Round 7 price tag suggests. — Hayden Winks
Sam LaPorta, Lions
Sam LaPorta exploded onto the scene as a rookie with 86 catches, 889 yards and 10 touchdowns in 17 games. Since then, though, it’s been regression and now durability concerns are becoming part of the equation.
Advertisement
LaPorta played just nine games last season, finishing with 489 yards, three touchdowns and 11.9 fantasy points per game. Now he’s already dealing with injuries heading into Week 1, which makes me even less interested in paying his current draft cost as the TE6 on Yahoo.
Subscribe to Fantasy Ultra to unlock our Strategy Lab, 150+ page Draft Playbook and more!
Detroit should still have one of the better offenses in football, but there are only so many opportunities to go around. Amon-Ra St. Brown is being drafted as a top-five wide receiver and Jahmyr Gibbs commands a massive role both as a runner and receiver. The law of conservation of targets has to kick in somewhere and I’m not convinced LaPorta gets enough volume to justify where he’s being selected. This isn’t about LaPorta being a bad player. At cost, I’d simply rather attack tight ends going later and invest that draft capital elsewhere. — Ray Garvin
More fades by position
Advertisement
Analysis from the best in the business
The Playbook is powered by some of fantasy football’s most-trusted analysts: Justin Boone (the top-ranked in-season ranker of 2025), Matt Harmon, Josh Norris, Joel Smyth, Scott Pianowski and Hayden Winks. This isn’t one analyst’s opinion. It’s a consensus of the sharpest minds in fantasy football, featuring advice you can rely on.
Get a free preview of what Ultra subscribers get with The Playbook, including a snapshot of our sleepers, breakouts, strategy tips, player profiles and more, right here.
The Ultra Fantasy Playbook is loaded with everything you need to dominate your draft.
Advertisement
What The Playbook includes
-
Positional targets and fades: Each analyst reveals their favorite picks and players to avoid at QB, RB, WR and TE.
-
A sleeper and breakout candidate from all 32 teams: Every roster has one. We find them before your leaguemates do.
-
Deep sleepers: For the managers who want an edge late in drafts, where championships are quietly won.
-
Positional strategies: Deep dives on how to navigate builds for Late-Round QB, Zero RB and other popular strategies.
-
A detailed game plan for every draft pick range: Whether you’re up first or at the turn, we tell you exactly how the board should shape your strategy in each round.
-
Nearly 150 player profiles: Scouting reports on the names who’ll decide your season, including projections as well as ceiling and risk meters.
-
Half-PPR and full-PPR rankings: Consensus outlook built specifically for those scoring formats.
-
Half-PPR and full-PPR positional tiers from each analyst: See the value cliffs at a glance and know exactly when a position run is worth chasing.
-
Unique format advice: Playing in a Superflex or TE Premium league? We have top-50 lists to guide you through the key early rounds.
-
More analysis: Targets on each team, 2026’s top-10 rookies, regression candidates, kicker and D/ST insights are all part of The Playbook.
-
Printable cheat sheets: Draft-day ready, so you’re heads-down on the board and not toggling between 10 browser tabs.
The Yahoo Fantasy Ultra Playbook is built for fantasy managers who want to draft smarter, not just play the game.
An Ultra subscription also unlocks top-notch tools like Yahoo’s Draft Strategy Lab, so you can take your mock draft game to the next level. Filter by each analyst’s rankings or by a draft strategy style, like Robust RB.
How much does Fantasy Ultra cost? It’s available for $79.99 per year, equal to $6.67 per month.
Where can I subscribe? Through eligible paywalls in the Yahoo Fantasy app or by visiting the Fantasy Plus landing page.
Read the full article here
