NFL training camp is in full swing, and that means the 2026-27 regular season is just around the corner. Every fanbase loves to compare its favorite players to the rest of the league this time of year, and we at Pro Football Network will give you exactly what you want.
The PFN TE Impact Scoring model puts a numerical value on the performance of every tight end around the NFL. The best part? It’s completely free!
Pro Football Network has these scoring models for every individual position, and we’ll be breaking each of the top performers down before the regular season starts.
There’s been an uptick in personnel involving multiple tight ends across the NFL, and it feels like the position is being valued more than it has been in a long time. These are the 10 best tight ends in the NFL based on last year’s PFN TE Impact Scores.
10) Kyle Pitts, Atlanta Falcons
2025 PFN TE Impact Score: 78.6
A running gag within the fantasy football community is that drafting Kyle Pitts never pans out as well as you’d like it to. 2025 was an exception, though, as he finished second among all NFL tight ends with 88 catches and 928 receiving yards, scoring five touchdowns in the process.
Pitts has always had top-tier potential, and his rookie season in 2021 was proof of that. His 62.0 run-blocking score is the lowest of the top ten tight ends in PFN TE Impact Scoring, which knocks him down a few rungs in the rankings. However, he’s an impact performer in the passing game, and his athleticism makes him an extremely valuable asset.
9) Dalton Schultz, Houston Texans
2025 PFN TE Impact Score: 78.9
Coming off a down year which saw him rank No. 32 in the NFL with a 70.4 PFN TE Impact Score, Dalton Schultz faced tempered expectations heading into 2025. Not only did he bounce back, but his 78.9 score marked the highest he’s had in a single season since 2021.
Schultz came in at No. 16 among tight ends in both his efficiency rating and his blocking rating. His 777 receiving yards ranked sixth at his position, and his 82 receptions tied for third. He’s not always the first name that comes to mind when you think of the best tight ends in the NFL, but he’s quietly been a top performer for some time.
8) Brock Bowers, Las Vegas Raiders
2025 PFN TE Impact Score: 79.0
Admittedly, Brock Bowers’ 2025 campaign was a slight step down from his tremendous rookie year in 2024, both in terms of efficiency and production. Though injuries and poor surrounding quarterback play affected his output last year, Bowers still finished as a top-ten tight end in our database for the second season in a row.
Despite missing five games due to injury, Bowers came in ninth among tight ends with 64 receptions and placed tenth with 680 receiving yards. He remains the top receiving option on the Las Vegas Raiders, and if either Kirk Cousins or Fernando Mendoza can prove to be an upgrade over Geno Smith, there’s reason to believe Bowers can crack the 1,000-yard mark again in 2026.
7) Hunter Henry, New England Patriots
2025 PFN TE Impact Score: 79.7
It’s not often you see a tight end put together the best statistical season of his NFL career past the age of 30. That’s what happened with Hunter Henry in 2025, as his 79.7 PFN TE Impact Score was the best score he’s put up in his ten seasons in the league.
In addition to having his best analytical output in 2025, he also had a career-high 768 receiving yards, proving himself as a key piece of the New England Patriots’ explosive passing attack. He’ll be 32 years old this December, but he’s showing no signs of slowing down. If anything, he’s getting better.
6) Dallas Goedert, Philadelphia Eagles
2025 PFN TE Impact Score: 80.4
The Philadelphia Eagles signed Dallas Goedert to a one-year contract extension this offseason, bringing him back for his ninth season with the team. Though they drafted Eli Stowers in the second round of the 2026 NFL Draft, they don’t need him to contribute much as a rookie, given how good Goedert was last season.
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With a career-high 11 touchdown receptions, Goedert tied with Trey McBride for the most touchdowns among NFL tight ends in 2025. His 0.44 EPA per reception tied for ninth in the league at his position, and his 60 receptions marked the highest total he’s had in a single season since he got drafted in 2018.
5) Travis Kelce, Kansas City Chiefs
2025 PFN TE Impact Score: 80.6
After surpassing the 1,000-yard receiving mark every year from 2017 to 2022, Travis Kelce hasn’t reached that total in any of his last three seasons. One could argue he’s “past his prime” by that logic, but when his standard of regression still results in his surpassing 800 receiving yards each of the last three seasons, it shows just how special Kelce is.
Since his first year of PFN TE Impact Scoring eligibility in 2014, Kelce has finished with a top-ten score in all but one season. He’s the lifeblood of the Kansas City Chiefs’ offense, and even as he slows down with age, his ability to exploit coverage looks and work himself open remains one of the best in the NFL.
4) Tucker Kraft, Green Bay Packers
2025 PFN TE Impact Score: 80.7
Had he not suffered a torn ACL that ended his season after just eight games, Tucker Kraft likely would have been an All-Pro in 2025. His 61.1 receiving yards per game ranked second among all tight ends, and over a full 17-game pace, he would’ve been one of just two tight ends in the league to surpass 1,000 receiving yards last year.
With a whopping 0.89 EPA gained per target, Kraft had the highest average among all NFL tight ends in 2025. He also dominated the YAC leaderboard, averaging a league-high 10.8 yards after catch per reception. For reference, no other tight end in the league last year averaged more than 7.7 YAC per catch. That’s an incredible level of dominance that Kraft will look to replicate in 2026.
3) Colston Loveland, Chicago Bears
2025 PFN TE Impact Score: 81.0
Some were surprised when the Chicago Bears drafted Colston Loveland with the No. 10 overall pick in the 2025 NFL Draft. Not only did he look the part as a rookie, but he showed that he’s already one of the best tight ends in the NFL. His 0.57 EPA gained per target ranked sixth at his position, and his 713 receiving yards ranked ninth, even after a slow start to the season.
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What’s perhaps most exciting about Loveland is how well-rounded he was last year. Not only did he thrive across the middle of the field in the passing game, but he was also a tremendous run blocker. His 82.0 run-blocking score tied for the seventh-best mark among all NFL tight ends last year; that elite two-way value at such a young age gives him one of the highest ceilings of any tight end across the league.
2) George Kittle, San Francisco 49ers
2025 PFN TE Impact Score: 82.4
George Kittle ended up missing six games last year due to injury, because it’s unfortunately on brand for a San Francisco 49ers player to get hurt. That said, he was still incredibly productive when healthy, placing fifth among tight ends with 0.67 EPA gained per target and tying for fifth with seven receiving touchdowns.
Not only was Kittle efficient as a receiver, but his 82.0 run-blocking score tied for the sixth-best among tight ends. That score tied with Loveland for the best blocking output of any tight end in the top ten in PFN TE Impact Scoring. The seven-time Pro Bowler turns 33 in October and is currently on the PUP list, but if there’s anyone who can overcome potential regression, it’s the guy who’s led the NFL in PFN TE Impact Scoring four times in his career.
1) Trey McBride, Arizona Cardinals
2025 PFN TE Impact Score: 92.4
As expected, Trey McBride closes things out as the top-ranked tight end in the NFL by PFN TE Impact Scoring with a stellar 92.4 score. The fact that his score was 10.0 points higher than the second-place finisher shows just how dominant McBride was compared to the competition last season.
McBride hit the tight end triple crown in 2025; he led his position with 126 receptions and 1,239 receiving yards, and his 11 receiving touchdowns tied for the most at his position. His 23.9% target share within the Arizona Cardinals’ offense was the highest share of any tight end in the league, and it was well deserved. He’s an elite route runner at the position with the field-stretching ability and ball skills to make defenses pay dearly.
