Fantasy football Week 3 TE preview: Colston Loveland and Kyle Pitts are holds, not starts

Heath Cummings breaks down Week 3 TEs, including what to do with Colston Loveland and Kyle Pitts

Sep 22, 2026 at 7:27 pm ET • 2 min read

We told you tight end was deep this year, and so far it has been, just not necessarily in the way we imagined. Twelve tight ends are averaging at least 11 PPR Fantasy points per game. That's awesome. Unfortunately, about half of them were not drafted to be Fantasy starters in August. What that means, obviously, is that some of the guys we did draft to be starters now look like busts. None are bigger busts after two weeks than Colston Loveland and Kyle Pitts.

Pitts is the easiest to make excuses for, so we will start with him. Tua Tagovailoa and Michael Penix both missed the first two weeks of the season. Cooper Rush and Jack Strand combined for 288 passing yards and one touchdown in those two games. Even if Pitts had a 30% share of the receiving yards, he would be disappointing. Instead, Bijan Robinson saw more than half of the targets in Week 1, and Rush gave the ball up to the defense repeatedly in Week 2 before Strand came in and threw a pick-six on his first NFL pass. Disaster. Pitts is both the easiest to explain and the easiest to have hope for. Penix is expected back this week. So while I don't rank Pitts as a starter, I am 100% holding him to see what this offense looks like with an NFL-caliber quarterback.

Pitts has scored 2.5 Fantasy points this season. Incredibly, Loveland has been worse. He has one catch for three yards. And now, like Pitts the first two weeks of the season, it looks like Loveland will be playing with his third-string quarterback in Week 3...against the Philadelphia Eagles. Loveland doesn't even project as a top 20 tight end for me this week, but I also would not consider dropping him. He's still running a route on 79.7% of the Bears' pass attempts, and the tape shows he's still getting open. He's still a remarkably talented and very young tight end. You should add one of the many waiver wire options below and start them over Loveland, but you should not drop him.

Here's everything else you need to know about tight end in Week 2:

Week 2 TE Preview

TE Preview

Numbers to Know

• 71 -- Travis Kelce has back-to-back games with at least 71 receiving yards. He had three games with that many yards in all of 2025.
• 4.69 -- Dalton Kincaid led all tight ends with 2.83 yards per route run last year. He's averaging 4.69 YPRR through two weeks in 2026.
• 4 -- Sam LaPorta has four red zone targets in two games. Trey McBride is the only other tight end with more than three.
• 28% -- Dalton Schultz had a 28% target share in Week 2 without Nico Collins. Schultz is a must-start tight end if Collins is out again.
• 29.5% -- Isaiah Likely has nearly a 30% target share, second only to McBride at tight end.
• 34 -- Tyler Warren has 34 receiving yards in two weeks. He is currently the most touchdown-dependent TE1 in Fantasy Football.
• 17% -- Harold Fannin has a 17% target per route run rate. Last year it was 24.7%.

TE Preview

Waiver Wire Targets

Week 3 Streamers (TE Preview)

HOU Houston • #86 Age: 30 • Experience: 9 yrs. Weekly Breakdown MATCHUP @ IND HOU -2.5 O/U 43.5 OPP VS TE 28th TE RNK 5th ROSTERED 61% 2025 Stats REC 16 TAR 22 REYDS 175 TD 0 FPTS/G 16.8 I have no idea how Schultz is still available on the waiver wire. If Nico Collins is out he projects as my number two tight end this week. He is the clear number one option in the passing game without Collins and the Colts have one of the worst defenses in the NFL. Even if Collins plays, I would start Schultz over Kyle Pitts and Colston Loveland.

LAC L.A. Chargers • #86 Age: 23 • Experience: 2 yrs. Weekly Breakdown MATCHUP @ BUF BUF -7 O/U 50.5 OPP VS TE 23rd TE RNK 18th ROSTERED 11% YTD Stats REC 4 TAR 4 REYDS 50 TD 1 FPTS/G 7.5 The Chargers weren't pleased with Gadsden's blocking so he found himself behind David Njoku and Charlie Kolar to start the year. They both got hurt in Week 2 and Gadsden scored a touchdown. He is there only viable starting tight end right now and this team desperately needs his explosive ability in the passing game. I have Gadsden as a top 12 tight end this week and rest of season.

LAR L.A. Rams • #18 Age: 23 • Experience: 2 yrs. Weekly Breakdown MATCHUP @ DEN LAR -2.5 O/U 45.5 OPP VS TE 9th TE RNK 14th ROSTERED 19% YTD Stats REC 6 TAR 10 REYDS 54 TD 1 FPTS/G 8.7 Ferguson was the second option in the passing game for the Rams on Monday night without Puka Nacua. Despite a couple of miscues, Ferguson still managed to haul in six passes for 54 yards and score a touchdown. Sean McVay said Nacua is questionable for Week 3, and Ferguson needs to be rostered until we find out if Nacua will play.

TE Preview

DFS Plays

Top DFS Play

Projections powered by Sportsline

Contrarian DFS Play

Projections powered by Sportsline

LAC L.A. Chargers • #86
Age: 23 • Experience: 2 yrs.

Weekly Breakdown
MATCHUP @ BUF BUF -7 O/U 50.5	OPP VS TE 23rd	PROJ PTS 8.5	TE RNK 18th

YTD Stats
REC 4	TAR 4	REYDS 50	TD 1	FPTS/G 7.5

I am not sure everyone else will acclimate quickly to the new reality for the Chargers. 28.3% of Justin Herbert's passes have been aimed towards a tight end this season and now Gadsden is the only healthy tight end on the roster. I project him for an 18% target share in Week 3, which should make him a steal at his bargain basement price.

TE Preview

Heath's Projections

My full set of Week 3 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 3. Projected stats for all starting tight ends are updated throughout the week, so check back before you set your lineup for the latest information.