Which tight end will finish as the TE1 in fantasy football during the 2026 NFL season: Arizona Cardinals star Trey McBride or Las Vegas Raiders star Brock Bowers?
The answer likely comes down to who you ask. During the latest episode of PFN’s “The Hot List,” fantasy football analyst Kyle Soppe revealed his prediction, planting his flag on Team McBride.
Why Trey McBride Projects As the TE1 in Fantasy Football
McBride is coming off the most productive receiving season a tight end has ever had, with 126 catches for 1,239 yards and 11 touchdowns. He broke Zach Ertz’s single-season reception record with Jacoby Brissett under center for most of the year. Soppe ranked McBride as his No. 1 tight end on “The Hot List.”
“He’s got 237 catches over the last two seasons,” Soppe said. “He’s got more catches over that span than Zay Flowers, Nico Collins, or A.J. Brown have targets. Simmer on that for a minute.”
The combination of high floor and high ceiling is too good to pass up with McBride.
“If you take his worst 17 games since 2024, that’s over 187 points,” Soppe explained. “There were only five tight ends to get to that mark last season, and those are his worst games.”
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At the end of the day, this comes down to volume. McBride commanded a target share that almost no tight end sees, and Brissett kept throwing to him. As Soppe noted, Arizona’s offense “threw the ball 134 more times than the Raiders did a season ago.”
“He is one of one in this offense, “Soppe said. “The volume wins out. Trey McBride sits atop the tight end hierarchy for this year, and probably for the next five or six.”
Brock Bowers Is the ‘Real Deal’ Even As TE2
With that said, Soppe is still high on Bowers, putting him on the same tier as McBride even though he is the TE2.
“He’s the real deal. He can push for No. 1 at the position,” Soppe said. “[PFN fantasy football analyst] Jason Katz thinks he could push for a historic season. I’m not quite there.”
Bowers set rookie records in 2024 with 112 catches for 1,194 yards, then fought a knee injury through 2025, which limited him to 64 grabs for 680 yards and 7 touchdowns.
“It’s more of a bet against the Raiders. I understand the concerns. I understand the upside,” Soppe said. “He’s the only tight end with three 30-point games over the last two seasons. 65% of his games have featured double-digit points.”
Still, Bowers’ raw target volume lagged behind McBride’s, and his health is also a concern. There’s also the uncertainty around No. 1 overall pick Fernando Mendoza, but Soppe noted that things can’t get much worse.
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“Geno Smith last season was QB35 in our QB Impact metric. Breaking news, there’s 32 [starting] quarterbacks in the NFL,” Soppe said. “The quarterback play, say what you will about it, it’s not gonna get worse.”
It wouldn’t shock anyone if Bowers has a monster season and steals the TE1 title, but McBride enters the season as Soppe’s TE1 because of his high ceiling and high floor, target share, and the fact that we’ve already seen him thrive in this offense with Brissett.
