Fantasy football Week 5 TE preview: Trey McBride leads volatile position with seven must-start options

Heath Cummings identifies seven must-start tight ends, with T.J. Hockenson and Mike Gesicki among the top Week 5 streamers

Oct 6, 2026 at 6:03 pm ET • 2 min read

Last week, I talked about how awesome the tight end position has been. The position truly does look as deep as ever and we have gotten some brilliant performances. But also, it has been a little crazy. While we still have 10 tight ends averaging more than 12 Fantasy points per game and 17 averaging double digits, several of them have done that on the basis of one spike week. In Week 1, it was Isaiah Likely scoring 27.8 PPR Fantasy points. In Week 2, Dalton Schultz scored 26, and both Dalton Kincaid and Jake Ferguson topped 20. In Week 3, Harold Fannin, Kenyon Sadiq, and Tyler Higbee all exceeded the 20-point mark. Last week, T.J. Hockenson led all tight ends with 24.9 PPR Fantasy points. We're still early enough in the season that one game like that can make you look much more reliable than you are when it comes to points per game.

With that much variance and such a small sample size, I thought it might be worth it to list the tight ends I view as must-start through four weeks. They are Brock Bowers, Trey McBride, Tyler Warren, Isaiah Likely, Sam LaPorta, Juwan Johnson, and George Kittle. Johnson might be the surprise in that group, but he has scored double-digit PPR Fantasy points in all four games this season. Trey McBride is the only other tight end who can make that claim.

I think you could also make the argument for Tucker Kraft, and I might if he gives us good results in Week 5. Harold Fannin and Dalton Kincaid are right on the precipice as well, but I would like to see a little more stability from them. Honestly, if you have one of these 10 tight ends, you're probably not thinking about streaming. If you have two of them, I would be looking to make a trade.

Here's everything else you need to know about tight end in Week 5:

Week 5 TE Preview

TE Preview

Numbers to Know

• 59.3% -- Dalton Kincaid's snap share slipped to 59.3% in Week 4. We like it a lot more when he's closer to 70%.
• 59.5% -- Kyle Pitts has a 59.5% route share, which ranks 25th at tight end. He is unplayable but I am not quite ready to drop him yet.
• 2.84 -- George Kittle's 2.84 yards per route run ranks second amongst starting tight ends. His recovery has been amazing.
• 31.5% -- Isaiah Likely leads all tight ends with a 31.5% target share this season.
• 5 -- Sam LaPorta leads all tight ends with five end zone targets. But Brock Bowers already has four in two games.
• 144 -- Juwan Johnson has run 144 routes this season, which is tied with Trey McBride for second behind Sam LaPorta.
• 30.4% -- T.J. Hockenson has a 30.4% target per route run rate with Justin Jefferson off the field. That falls to 20.9% with Jefferson on the field. 
• 2.19 -- Tyler Warren is averaging 2.19 air yards per target. That's ok in full PPR leagues but limits his upside unless the YAC improves.

TE Preview

Waiver Wire Targets

Week 5 Streamers (TE Preview)

MIN Minnesota • #87 Age: 29 • Experience: 8 yrs. Weekly Breakdown MATCHUP @ NO MIN -2 O/U 42 OPP VS TE 26th TE RNK 10th ROSTERED 32% YTD Stats REC 22 TAR 26 REYDS 195 TD 1 FPTS/G 11.9 If Justin Jefferson remains out, Hockenson is easily the top streamer of the week and a top 10 tight end in my rankings. If Jefferson returns, you may regret spending much FAB on Hockenson at all; he would probably rank closer to TE15. If you don't have waivers run until Wednesday night, I would wait as long as possible to make a decision.

LAC L.A. Chargers • #86 Age: 23 • Experience: 2 yrs. Weekly Breakdown MATCHUP vs DEN DEN -3.5 O/U 42 OPP VS TE 20th TE RNK 24th ROSTERED 18% YTD Stats REC 9 TAR 15 REYDS 86 TD 1 FPTS/G 6 It has been a roller coaster for Gadsden the last couple of weeks. Two weeks ago, some added him and started him because David Njoku and Charlie Kolar were both out. He saw three targets and didn't catch any of them. Last week, when no one started him, Gadsden caught five of eight targets for 36 yards. Now I'm considering streaming him again. Ladd McConkey is not projected to play and the receivers have not been good enough for Justin Herbert. Hopefully, he continues to lean on Gadsden and the second-year tight end flashes some of last year's upside.

CIN Cincinnati • #88 Age: 31 • Experience: 9 yrs. Weekly Breakdown MATCHUP @ MIA CIN -7 O/U 42.5 OPP VS TE 29th TE RNK 12th ROSTERED 20% YTD Stats REC 11 TAR 15 REYDS 155 TD 3 FPTS/G 11.1 It is a week of what-ifs at tight end. If Justin Jefferson returns and the Bengals are without Ja'Marr Chase and Tee Higgins, then Gesicki would be the top tight end streamer. If Chase and Higgins both play, I am not sure I would rank Gesicki in the top 15 tight ends. One thing that is more certain is that this is a fantastic matchup. The Dolphins have given up the third-most fantasy points per game to opposing tight ends. It's also a revenge game for Gesicki if you're into that kind of thing.

TE Preview

DFS Plays

Top DFS Play

Projections powered by Sportsline

ARI Arizona • #85
Age: 26 • Experience: 5 yrs.

Weekly Breakdown
MATCHUP vs DET DET -4.5 O/U 54.5	OPP VS TE 32nd	PROJ PTS 18.6	TE RNK 1st

YTD Stats
REC 33	TAR 46	REYDS 242	TD 2	FPTS/G 17.3

Trey McBride has scored more PPR Fantasy points than any other tight end this season. The Detroit Lions have allowed more Fantasy points to tight ends than any other defense this season. On Sunday, they meet. I want to play McBride and have a big chunk of him in tournament lineups as well. No tight end has more upside this week.

Contrarian DFS Play

Projections powered by Sportsline

MIA Miami • #85
Age: 26 • Experience: 5 yrs.

Weekly Breakdown
MATCHUP vs CIN CIN -7 O/U 42.5	OPP VS TE 27th	PROJ PTS 8	TE RNK NR

YTD Stats
REC 9	TAR 12	REYDS 90	TD 0	FPTS/G 4.5

Dulcich put up a zero last week; you can't get much more contrarian than that. This week, he faces the Bengals. In Week 4, they allowed Brenton Strange to score 16.5 points and in Week 2, they gave up 22 points to Dalton Schultz. Those are the only good games either tight end has had this year. This is only for large tournaments but I wouldn't be surprised if Dulcich has his best game of the year.

TE Preview

Heath's Projections

My full set of Week 5 Fantasy football projections for every position is now available here. Find out which of my favorite plays are projected to score higher than consensus rankings and which don't live up to their draft hype, at least in Week 5. Projected stats for all starting tight ends are updated throughout the week, so check back before you set your lineup for the latest information.