The 2025-26 NFL season is underway which means we are in the thick of fantasy football season! The fantasy landscape has already changed since the preseason due to breakout players and major injuries across the league. Bye weeks are starting to take place. This means that tight ends like Tucker Kraft and Kyle Pitts will be out this week. It would be irresponsible to start a player with a rough matchup over a player with a more favorable one that is ranked or projected to perform similarly. Here are fantasy football Week 5 tight end rankings.
Must Start- a player who is in your lineup regardless of the matchup or most circumstances. They Will likely finish near the top of the league in points that week and in most weeks.
Starting TE1- a player who makes fantasy owners comfortable starting week after week. Regardless of the matchup, this player has a solid floor.
Touchdown Dependent Starter- a player who may not be a lock to start for a team every week, but will start more times than not because of depth at the position. Their production is based on whether they can get in the end zone or not. It can be the difference between a top 10 performance or a top 25 performance
Deep League Starter- a player whose ceiling isn’t high but should put up enough production to be started in deep leagues. When a player like this is started it is because their production though it will likely be low, will be better than a few options.
Leave on the Bench- a player who should be avoided in all lineups that week. Many times this player could even be left on waivers.
| Category | Name | Opponent | Ranking |
|---|---|---|---|
| Must Start | Trey McBride | vs Tennessee Titans | TE1 |
| Must Start | Brock Bowers* | vs Indianapolis Colts | TE2 |
| Starting TE1 | Tyler Warren | vs Las Vegas Raiders | TE3 |
| Starting TE1 | Jake Ferguson | vs New York Jets | TE4 |
| Starting TE1 | Travis Kelce | vs Jacksonville Jaguars | TE5 |
| Starting TE1 | Sam LaPorta | vs Cincinnati Bengals | TE6 |
| Starting TE1 | Hunter Henry | vs Buffalo Bills | TE7 |
| Starting TE1 | Brenton Strange | vs Kansas City Chiefs | TE8 |
| Starting TE1 | Mark Andrews | vs Houston Texans | TE9 |
| Starting TE1 | Dallas Goedert* | vs Denver Broncos | TE10 |
| Starting TE1 | Dalton Kincaid | vs New England Patriots | TE11 |
| Starting TE1 | T.J. Hockenson | vs Cleveland Browns | TE12 |
| Touchdown Dependent Starter | Juwan Johnson* | vs New York Giants | TE13 |
| Touchdown Dependent Starter | Zach Ertz | vs Los Angeles Chargers | TE14 |
| Touchdown Dependent Starter | David Njoku* | vs Minnesota Vikings | TE15 |
| Touchdown Dependent Starter | Evan Engram | vs Philadelphia Eagles | TE16 |
| Touchdown Dependent Starter | Brenton Strange | vs San Francisco 49ers | TE17 |
| Touchdown Dependent Starter | Noah Fant* | vs Detroit Lions | TE18 |
| Touchdown Dependent Starter | Darren Waller* | vs Carolina Panthers | TE19 |
| Deep League Starter | Harold Fannin Jr. | vs Minnesota Vikings | TE20 |
| Deep League Starter | Dalton Schultz | vs Baltimore Ravens | TE21 |
| Deep League Starter | Theo Johnson | vs New Orleans Saints | TE22 |
| Deep League Starter | Mason Taylor* | vs Dallas Cowboys | TE23 |
| Deep League Starter | Chigoziem Okonkwo | vs Arizona Cardinals | TE24 |
| Leave on the Bench | Jake Tonges | vs Los Angeles Rams | TE25 |
| Leave on the Bench | Cade Otton | vs Seattle Seahawks | TE26 |
| Leave on the Bench | Tommy Tremble | vs Miami Dolphins | TE27 |
| Leave on the Bench | Isaiah Likely | vs Houston Texans | TE28 |
| Leave on the Bench | Oronde Gadsen II | vs Washington Commanders | TE29 |
TE2 Brock Bowers, Las Vegas Raiders
Brock Bowers was limited in practice on Wednesday with a knee injury. This injury is not expected to affect his game status for this week. If Bowers misses Week 5 against the Indianapolis Colts Michael Mayer becomes TE22 between Theo Johnson and Mason Taylor.
TE10 Dallas Goedert, Philadelphia Eagles
Dallas Goedert missed practice on Wednesday with a knee injury. Goedert missed Week 2 because of a knee sprain. If Goedert misses Week 5 against the Denver Broncos Grant Calacaterra will step in as the starting tight end for the Philadelphia Eagles.
TE13 Juwan Johnson, New Orleans Saints
Juwan Johnson missed practice on Wednesday with an ankle injury. There is chance that he misses this week’s game because of the injury. If Johnson misses Week 5 against the New York Giant Jack Stoll will start at tight end for the New Orleans Saints.
TE15 David Njoku, Cleveland Browns
David Njoku was limited in practice on Wednesday with a knee injury. He dealt with this injury going into last week as well. If Njoku misses Week 5 against the Minnesota Vikings Harold Fannin Jr. moves up to TE17 between Brenton Strange and Noah Fant.
TE18 Noah Fant, Cincinnati Bengals
Noah Fant missed last week’s game against the Detroit Lions with a concussion. He could return to play this week. If Fant misses Week 5 against the Detroit Lions Mike Gesicki becomes TE27 between Tommy Tremble and Isaiah Likely.
TE19 Darren Waller, Miami Dolphins
Darren Waller was limited in practice on Wednesday because of his season-long hip injury. Waller made his season debut last week agains the New York Jets. If Waller misses Week 5 against the Carolina Panthers Tanner Conner will likely start at tight end for the Miami Dolphins.
TE23 Mason Taylor, New York Jets
Mason Taylor was limited in practice on Wednesday with an ankle injury. He has been dealing with this injury for a few weeks. If Taylor misses Week 5 against the Dallas Cowboys Jeremy Ruckert will start at tight end for the New York Jets.
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