The final piece of our early 2026 fantasy football positional sleepers series comes from Ian Hartitz, Matthew Freedman and Kendall Valenzuela, who outline their early tight end sleepers for 2026 below.

For more, see our other positional sleepers:

• QB Sleepers for 2026 fantasy football
• RB Sleepers for 2026 fantasy football
• WR Sleepers for 2026 fantasy football

Fantasy Football TE Sleepers For 2026

T.J. Hockenson | MIN

Ian: Hockenson was widely speculated to be a cap casualty this offseason, but instead, he'll be wearing purple and gold for at least one more year after the team restructured his contract.

On the one hand, Hockenson is essentially coming off career-worst counting and efficiency numbers inside a Vikings offense that will presumably continue to primarily flow through Justin Jefferson and Jordan Addison. He gained more than 50 yards just twice and finished as fantasy's TE27 in 2025.

On the other hand, the veteran TE is an extra year removed from 2023's devastating knee injury—a season in which he finished as fantasy's TE2 in PPR points per game despite catching passes from Kirk Cousins, Nick Mullens and Joshua Dobbs. This came in a season in which Jefferson and Addison combined for 208 targets, albeit the former receiver did miss seven games due to injury.

So we're looking at a TE who has finished the last three seasons as fantasy's TE2 … TE18 … and TE27 … and he's now being priced as the TE23 in early drafts! Last year, Hockenson ended August as the consensus TE5 in ADP. Talk about someone being priced closer to their floor than ceiling ahead of a season in which all parties involved *should* see some level of improvement in the QB play department with the addition of Kyler Murray, who, you know, helped Trey McBride work as fantasy's TE2 all the way back in … 2024.

Chigoziem Okonkwo | WAS

Freedman: Here's a list of TEs: Travis Kelce, George Kittle, Dallas Goedert, Dalton Schultz and Chigoziem Okonkwo.

Not a bad group.

Those are the only TEs with 450+ yards receiving each year since 2022, when Okonkwo entered the league as an upside fourth-rounder.

Is 450 yards a notably high threshold? No. But it shows that Okonkwo has been a consistently high-floor producer.

When it comes to sleepers, are we looking for floors? No. We want ceilings.

But most guys with high floors have theoretically elevated ceilings (even if we never see them), and I believe that Okonkwo—with his elite athleticism (4.52-second 40-yard dash at 238 lbs.) and sufficient career efficiency (7.4 yards per target)—could reach his ceiling in his new circumstances.

After toiling with the Titans to open his career, Okonkwo entered free agency this offseason and signed a three-year, $27-million contract with the Commanders.

In Washington, Okonkwo could slide into Zach Ertz's vacated role as the No. 1 TE on the team and the No. 2 pass catcher for 2025 OROY QB Jayden Daniels. 

And what happens if No. 1 WR Terry McLaurin—who missed seven games last year and turns 31 years old in September—declines as a player or suffers a significant injury? Then Okonkwo would have an outside chance to function as the No. 1 receiver for a young, promising QB.

It's not probable, but it's at least possible, and that's more than anyone can say for anyone else this far down the draft board.

Isaiah Likely | NYG

Kendall: New head coach John Harbaugh is making his mark on the New York Giants, and one of his biggest free agency moves was signing former Ravens tight end Isaiah Likely to a three-year deal worth $40 million. 

Likely was behind Mark Andrews his whole career, but this feels like a bet from Harbaugh that, without the All-Pro tight end in his way, we could finally see Likely reach his full potential. 

In four seasons, he has played in 63 games and has recorded 135 receptions for 1,568 yards and 15 touchdowns. He has totaled 740 yards after the catch in those four seasons as well. Now, these aren't necessarily numbers that are jumping off the page, but when talking about "sleeper tight ends," we are focusing on players that could drastically outperform their ADP, and Likely fits that mold.

There are bigger plans for Likely in this new offense. Theo Johnson is still on the team, but Likely fits better as a downfield threat for Jaxson Dart and just overall boasts more upside. It is more than likely we will see both Likely and Johnson on the field together regularly, though. According to ESPN, the Ravens last season (under Harbaugh) used 12 personnel the third most in the NFL at 35.9%. But is it crazy to think Likely could be the No. 2 target on this team?

The Giants also let Wan'Dale Robinson walk in free agency, signaling that a tight end duo could be their future alongside Malik Nabers. There are some questions about whether Nabers will even be ready for Week 1 of the NFL season, which makes drafting Likely even easier for me.

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