Week 5 Tight End Preview: Will Dalton Kincaid Bounce Back?
Top Fantasy TEs for Week 5
Let's break down the key usage notes and matchups that are driving our Week 5 TE Rankings.
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1. Trey McBride, Arizona Cardinals
According to our adjusted fantasy points allowed, Arizona has faced the league's toughest TE schedule through four weeks. That helps explain why McBride is averaging a career-low 7.3 yards per catch and just 60.5 yards per game, more than 11 yards below his averages from each of the past two years. Even so, he has still seen at least 10 targets and caught at least 7 passes in every game. This week brings a high-upside matchup with the Lions.
2. Brock Bowers, Las Vegas Raiders
Bowers has returned from injury to tally lines of 10-116-1 and 6-86-1. Keep expectations high against New England. The Patriots rank first in adjusted fantasy points allowed to TEs. But Bowers is more WR, and the Patriots might again be without top CB Christian Gonzalez.
3. George Kittle, San Francisco 49ers
If you weren’t convinced that Kittle was back, his 56-yard catch-and-run TD last week should have settled it. Sunday’s matchup vs. Seattle isn’t easy, but the Seahawks have been tougher against WRs than TEs both last year and this year. They ranked 15th in adjusted fantasy points allowed to the position in 2025 and 16th so far this season.
4. Sam LaPorta, Detroit Lions
Jameson Williams' best outing of the season in Week 4 didn't keep LaPorta from setting season highs in targets, catches, and receiving yards. The matchup with Arizona boosts the whole Lions pass offense. Arizona ranks 31st in pass DVOA and 10th against the run.
5. Tyler Warren, Indianapolis Colts
Warren caught all 5 targets for 41 yards in Week 4, finishing as TE21. He’s averaging 6.75 targets per game, fifth among TEs, with a 22% target share. Nearly all of that work has come near the line of scrimmage, though, and his 2.19-yard aDOT limits the yardage. Pittsburgh has been a tough TE matchup, ranking 20th at 9.92 adjusted PPR points allowed per game. Warren’s volume still makes him a must-start TE1.
6. Tucker Kraft, Green Bay Packers
Kraft scored his first TD last week and nearly added a second in a win over Tampa Bay. His 76.7% route rate and 23.3% target share show he has the usage for more stable fantasy production going forward. He belongs in lineups, even against a Bears defense that’s second-best in adjusted fantasy points allowed to TEs.
7. Dalton Kincaid, Buffalo Bills
After producing as the TE2 over the first two weeks with 20.3 PPR points per game and a 25.0% target share, Kincaid has hardly been involved in the offense. He ranks as the TE47 over the last two weeks, with 2.8 PPR points per game and an 8.9% target share. Kincaid gets a slight boost with WR D.J. Moore sidelined and projects as a TE1 in a Week 5 matchup with the Rams.
8. Isaiah Likely, New York Giants
Likely leads all TEs with a 30.4% target share, and that’s climbed to 33.3% in QB Jameis Winston’s 2 starts. That gives him a sturdy fantasy floor, and Sunday’s matchup with the Commanders’ 32nd-ranked TE defense boosts the ceiling.
9. Juwan Johnson, New Orleans Saints
The Vikings arrive as the No. 1 pass defense by DVOA, ranking top-7 in coverage DVOA against WR1s, WR2s, and RBs. But they sit just 18th against TEs. That could make Johnson a key to New Orleans' offensive approach in a difficult matchup. He's coming off two straight 8-target games with 6+ catches in each.
10. Harold Fannin Jr., Cleveland Browns
Fannin caught 3 of 5 targets for 27 yards and a TD in Week 4, finishing as TE12. He has a 20% target share, eighth among TEs, and has already scored 3 TDs this season, helping him average 12.58 PPR points per game (TE10). The Jets have been a tough TE matchup, ranking 22nd at 9.57 adjusted PPR points allowed per game, and the game has a low 40-point total. Fannin is a low-end TE1 whose role keeps him in lineups despite the matchup.
11. Colston Loveland, Chicago Bears
Loveland posted his best game of the season in Week 4: 6 catches for 57 yards on a 26.5% target share. He did that with backup QB Tyson Bagent, who’ll get another start Sunday against Green Bay. The Packers sit mid-pack in adjusted fantasy points allowed to TEs but will now be without stud LB Edgerrin Cooper. It’s a fine matchup for Loveland to deliver useful fantasy numbers.
12. T.J. Hockenson, Minnesota Vikings
Nice to get a proof of life from Hockenson with his 13-119 in Week 4. But that came after games of just 5, 4, and 4 targets, with averages of 3.0 catches and 25.3 yards over that span. Don’t overrate last week’s results when deciding whether to use Hockenson. He at least gets a solid matchup against a Saints D that ranks just 25th in TE-coverage DVOA.
13. Dallas Goedert, Philadelphia Eagles
Goedert returned to limited practices this week, putting him on track to play vs. the Jaguars on Sunday morning. He'll return to a mess of an Eagles offense, but one that could use some pass-catching reliability. Goedert is a solid target bet, although the upside is limited in this offense and facing Jacksonville's 7th-ranked TE defense.
14. Kenyon Sadiq, New York Jets
Sadiq was shut out in Week 4, failing to catch any of his 4 targets. He still has a solid role this season, with a 16.4% target share (TE16) and 6.92 yards after the catch per reception. Cleveland has been the 10th-most favorable TE matchup, allowing 17.17 adjusted PPR points per game. The Jets are 2.5-point home favorites, though the 40-point total limits the scoring outlook. Sadiq is a high-end TE2 with a good chance to bounce back.
15. Dalton Schultz, Houston Texans
Schultz is coming off a season-low 7.7% target share in Week 4, with WR Nico Collins making his return from a hamstring injury. He produced 26 PPR points to finish as the TE1 in Week 2, but he has averaged just 10.4 PPR points across 17 games alongside Collins going back to the start of last season. Schultz projects as a fringe TE1 against the Titans in Week 5.
16. Mark Andrews, Baltimore Ravens
Andrews is one of just three TEs to command at least a 20% target share in every game, yet he ranks as the TE20 with 9.7 PPR points per game because of low passing volume. That won’t improve with backup QB Tyler Huntley filling in for an injured Lamar Jackson. Andrews projects as a middling TE2 in a Week 5 matchup against the Falcons.
17. Pat Freiermuth, Pittsburgh Steelers
Freiermuth caught 3 of 5 targets for 17 yards and a TD in Week 4, finishing as TE18. He has scored 2 TDs this season and is averaging 4.75 targets per game in a Steelers offense that throws on 66.1% of plays. His 8.16-yard aDOT (TE18) also gives him more downfield work than most TEs. Indianapolis is a neutral matchup, ranking 16th at 13.57 adjusted PPR points allowed per game. Freiermuth is a solid TE2 who could sneak into TE1 range with another TD.
18. Michael Mayer, Las Vegas Raiders
Mayer draws a Pats defense that ranks toughest league-wide in adjusted fantasy points allowed. The good news is that, even with a healthy Brock Bowers, Mayer is playing a role that at least gives him a shot at TE1 value. In two games with Bowers active, Mayer has tallied a 74.2% route rate and a 15.3% target share. That has helped him produce the seventh-most yards among TEs over that stretch.
19. Brenton Strange, Jacksonville Jaguars
The Eagles aren't doing a lot right so far, but they remain tough on TE scoring. Only four teams have allowed fewer PPR points to TEs through four weeks.
20. Oronde Gadsden, Los Angeles Chargers
Gadsden caught 5 of 8 targets for 36 yards in Week 4, finishing as TE22. That target total was a big jump from his season average of 3.75 per game. He has 1 TD and is averaging just 5.95 PPR points per game (TE37). Denver sits in the middle as a TE matchup, ranking 14th at 15.27 adjusted PPR points allowed per game. Gadsden is a low-end TE2 who needs that Week 4 volume to stick.
21. Tyler Higbee, Los Angeles Rams
Higbee has led Rams TEs in routes run in back-to-back weeks. He’s accounted for a 74.6% route share since the start of Week 3, the game Terrance Ferguson left with an ankle injury. Over that span, Higbee ranks 13th among TEs in route share and TE6 with 15.9 PPR points. Higbee projects as a TE2 in a Week 5 matchup against the Rams.
22. Hunter Henry, New England Patriots
Henry posted his best numbers to date in Sunday’s win over Buffalo. Even then, his 5 catches for 62 yards came on a less-than-ideal 13.5% target share. He remains a TE2 against a surprisingly effective Vegas defense that sits eighth in pass defense DVOA.
23. Mike Gesicki, Cincinnati Bengals
24. Jake Ferguson, Dallas Cowboys
Played Thursday night.
25. Kyle Pitts, Atlanta Falcons
Pitts’ season-high through the first four games is a 7.7 PPR-point performance that ranked as the TE24 that week. He’s producing as the TE56 on the season with 2.9 PPR points per game. Even in games started by QB Michael Penix, Pitts is still averaging just 4.6 PPR points per game, which ranks 32nd. Pitts projects as a TE3 against the Ravens in Week 5.
