2026 NFL Free Agent Rankings: Tight ends

The 2026 free-agency window is open, and the tight-end market offers a blend of proven veterans, rebound candidates and situational specialists. Pro Football Focus has released its positional rankings, and the headline name is Atlanta’s Kyle Pitts. At 25, Pitts is coming off a career renaissance: a 73.6 overall PFF grade—his best since 2021—and a 91.3 receiving mark from Week 13 onward, second among all tight ends. Expect his phone to ring early and often.

Dallas Goedert heads the next tier. The longtime Eagle has posted 70.0-plus overall grades in seven of eight seasons, and while his 2025 line—64 receptions, 624 yards—was modest, a dozen touchdowns and a 135.0 passer rating when targeted underscore his red-zone reliability. Blocking remains a question, but as a move-piece receiver he still carries value.

Travis Kelce’s future appears locked into Kansas City. Though no longer the position’s gold standard, Kelce finished 2025 inside the top 25 in yards per route run, receiving yards and PFF receiving grade, indicators that he can function as an above-average starter for at least one more season.

Baltimore’s Isaiah Likely will enter 2026 at 26 and with a 2024 receiving grade of 77.1 on his résumé; a foot injury derailed his follow-up campaign, making him a buy-low flier with upside. Pittsburgh’s Durham Smith is in the opposite boat—his 46.8 overall grade ranked last among 42 qualifiers—but the memory of his 2024 Dolphins tape (1.95 YPRR, 5.9 YAC per catch) could entice a reclamation project.

David Njoku, freed from competition with rookie Harold Fannin Jr., offers starter-level talent at 29 if medicals check out. Tennessee’s Chigoziem Okonkwo, once an 84.6-grade rookie, still averages 1.46 yards per route run for his career and brings field-stretching speed. Baltimore’s third tight end, Charlie Kolar, parlayed 71.5 run-blocking and 75.0 receiving grades into dark-horse appeal for offenses that prize versatility.

Veteran wild cards include Darren Waller, who flashed an 87.6 receiving grade in nine games after a two-year hiatus, Austin Hooper, who rebuilt his stock in New England with 72.1 and 73.9 overall and receiving grades, and Cade Otton, whose 3,951 snaps over four seasons speak to durability even if production has lagged. At the back end, blocking specialists like 34-year-old Giants vet Chris Manhertz and 26-year-old Ravens depth piece Kolar will attract teams seeking trench help, while 42-year-old Marcedes Lewis and 33-year-old Durham Smith face prove-it paths to roster spots.

With salary-cap space to spend and offensive schemes increasingly reliant on matchup pieces, the 2026 tight-end class blends star power, bounce-back bets and niche role players—an equation that should keep negotiations active well into the spring.