The Blueprint of a Fantasy Football TE1: What the Last 10 Seasons Reveal

Colby Conway
The Blueprint of a Fantasy Football TE1: What the Last 10 Seasons Reveal

Welcome to The Blueprint of a Fantasy Football TE1: What the Last 10 Seasons Reveal!

As we continue our blueprint series on analyzing what it takes to finish as the top-scoring player at a position, we move on to the tight end spot. There are actually some misconceptions about what is needed to finish the year as the top-scoring tight end, especially as the league continues to revolve around throwing the football. By studying the last TE1 finishers, we can identify the common thresholds and trends that consistently separate the position’s highest scorer from the rest of the field, giving fantasy managers a roadmap to uncover the next league-winning tight end.

As always, let’s level-set by taking a look at the last 10 TE1 finishers, as well as their targets, receptions, receiving yards, and receiving touchdowns:

There’s one other layer to this as well, which involves the other notable pass catchers on the team. So, courtesy of FantasyPoints’ Data, here are the target shares for the top three options on the team that had the TE1 that season:

The TE1 blueprint is relatively clear, and contrary to what many may believe, touchdowns aren’t as strong of a factor as one may think in Half-PPR formats. Volume has trumped touchdown upside in many past TE1 seasons, and if the tight end isn’t a top-two target earner on the team, history suggests they simply cannot finish as the TE1. Here’s the TE1 blueprint:

Aside from the likes of Trey McBride, Brock Bowers and Colston Loveland, who are in a clear top two tiers by themselves, here are the guys who check numerous boxes that are imperative to ending the season as the top scoring tight end in fantasy football:

Tyler Warren, Indianapolis Colts

Overall, it was a solid rookie season for Tyler Warren, as he caught 76 of 112 targets for 817 yards and 5 touchdowns (4 receiving, 1 rushing). He finished as the TE6 in Half-PPR scoring for the year, and his 79.9% route participation was the fifth-highest among tight ends, per FantasyPoints Data Suite. However, his season is really a tale of two stories, as his numbers before and after the bye are quite staggering:

Courtesy of FantasyPoints Data

Yes, the numbers are staggering, and let me add to it. He finished inside the top 12 at his position in eight of 10 games before the bye, and failed to do so in any game after the team’s bye in 2025. 

Shane Steichen draws up a good offense, and Daniel Jones looked quite productive in it last season. With Michael Pittman Jr. out of the mix, Warren seems like the pass-catcher best equipped to make the tough catches in the middle of the field and be an effective chain-mover for the offense. He lined up a good bit in the slot, but the numbers there weren’t anything to write home about; however, his 2.84 yards per route run when lined up inline was the highest mark amongst any tight end with at least 75 routes inline, per FantasyPoints Data.

The numbers show that Warren will need to be better on contested catches, as his 31.8% contested-catch rate was the lowest among tight ends with at least 50 targets in 2025, per FantasyPoints Data.  He’s also not an elite separator by the metrics, or at least he wasn’t last season, and his 2.04 yards per route run was far more notable than his 0.72 yards per route run versus man, per FantasyPoints Data.

Warren is an intriguing fantasy asset heading into Year 2 because, with Michael Pittman Jr. out of the mix, he should be one of the top two target earners on the team, which, as we know, is a key criterion for ascending to TE1 overall status. He nearly hit all the necessary thresholds in his first year, and so long as the Colts stay healthy, there’s a lot to like about Warren taking that next step and contending for the overall TE1 title.

✅ 85+ receptions

✅ 120+ targets and 20+ percent target share

✅ Realistic path to 900+ yards

✅ Top 2 target on team

Sam LaPorta, Detroit Lions

Hey, he’s done it before, so it can be done again, right? Despite being limited to just nine games, LaPorta caught 40 of 49 targets for 489 yards and 3 TDs. He was the TE7 in fantasy points per game, and actually had the same fantasy points per route run as Trey McBride (0.38), per FantasyPoints Data. Prior to his injury, he was the TE8, and amongst tight ends with at least 100 routes run, he ranked 10th in air yards share, eighth in target share, fifth in yards per route run, and fifth in yards after the catch per reception, per FantasyPoints’ Data.

Drew Petzing comes over to call plays for the Lions this year, and Petzing comes over from Arizona, where he’s run a very, very fantasy-friendly system for tight ends. Sure, LaPorta isn’t quite Trey McBride, but he is athletic in his own right and, as you read above, he’s great with the ball in his hands. More multi-TE sets for the Lions in 2026 will keep LaPorta on the field more often, and as you saw in my Personnel Matters article, LaPorta has been excellent in his career when multiple tight ends are on the field.

I firmly believe that, in terms of target share, Amon-Ra St. Brown will lead the team, and LaPorta will be second. Jameson Williams will be the boom-or-bust guy, whereas St. Brown and LaPorta will be trusted to move the chains and see steady target volume.

Again, he was limited to just nine games last season, but if you take his numbers from those nine games and extrapolate them over a full 17-game season, it comes out to 75.6 receptions on 92.6 targets for 923.7 yards and 5.7 TDs. If you round down, 75 receptions for 923 yards and 5 TDs comes out to 159.8 fantasy points (Half-PPR), which would have placed as the TE3 last year, trailing only Trey McBride and Kyle Pitts.

He’s very athletic, has scored 20 TDs in 42 career regular season games, and his career 17-game average of 75 receptions on 102 targets for 852 yards and 8 TDs per season is right in line with the necessary TE1 thresholds.

✅ Realistic path to 900+ yards

✅ Top 2 target on team

❓ 85+ receptions

❓120+ targets and 20+ percent target share

Travis Kelce, Kansas City Chiefs

Kelce might be on the last leg of his NFL career, but could there be one last hoorah for an overall TE1 season for the future Hall of Famer? It was a down year for Kelce, the third straight year under 1,000 yards, but he still caught 76 passes on 108 targets for 851 yards and 5 touchdowns. He’s no longer the focal point of the offense, but Patrick Mahomes continues to give him targets, and when you look at last year’s games where Rashee Rice did and did not play, Kelce was actually more productive with Rice. See for yourself, courtesy of FantasyPoints Data:

*Also excluding Weeks 16-18 when Patrick Mahomes was out

Now, let’s address some of the elephants in the room with Kelce:

It should come as no surprise that the separation metrics over the years are far from ideal as well, per FantasyPoints Data:

Mahomes will be back, which is good for Kelce and the offense, and an improved run game featuring Kenneth Walker should further bolster the offense. Kelce remains a zone-beater, posting 2.06 yards per route run against zone coverage in 2025, and he’s savvy enough to find the holes and present Mahomes with a reliable target.

I’ll admit, it’s likely an outside shot that Kelce finishes the year as the overall TE1, but few tight ends have as reliable a floor as Kelce does, and despite what you make of his 2025 season, he was still the TE3 on the season! The end is near for Kelce’s playing career, but he’s locked in as one of the team’s top pass-catchers, and aside from Brock Bowers, Trey McBride, and Colston Loveland, he might be fantasy’s safest bet for 75+ receptions and 120+ targets from the tight end spot.

✅120+ targets and 20+ percent target share

✅ Realistic path to 900+ yards

✅ Top 2 target on team

❓85+ receptions

Let me know what you think about my breakdown of The Blueprint of a Fantasy Football TE1: What the Last 10 Seasons Reveal.

To see how our analysts rank these and other TEs for the upcoming season, click here!

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