Brock Bowers enters his third NFL season as the consensus top tight end in fantasy football. He has spent his first two years producing in some of the worst offensive conditions imaginable. Las Vegas has a new play-caller and an unsettled situation at quarterback. Should fantasy managers pay up for Bowers in 2026?
Should I Draft Brock Bowers in Fantasy Football?
Start with what Bowers has already accomplished, because the context matters enormously. He has finished as a top-three fantasy tight end in both of his first two seasons, averaging 15.5 and 14.7 fantasy points per game. He did that while playing for a bottom-five-graded offence each year.
The usage has been remarkable throughout. Bowers has caught 6.1 balls per game across 29 career contests. Last season he posted a 23.6% target share and a 22.2% targets-per-route run rate while fighting through a sprained PCL. Those are absurd numbers for a tight end, and both have room to climb.
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Where the real leap lives is in the scoring. Bowers found the end zone just five times on 153 targets as a rookie, then climbed to seven in 2025. That touchdown rate is criminally low for his usage. Simple positive regression there is worth several points per game on its own, and it requires nothing new from the player.
The situation has improved considerably as well. Klint Kubiak is one of the sharpest play-callers in the league, and he knows how to funnel volume to his best pass catcher. We watched him do exactly that with Jaxon Smith-Njigba last season. The Raiders also have no target competition of note, with Tre Tucker and Jalen Nailor leading a thin receiver room.
The quarterback question does not change any of that. Whether Kirk Cousins or Fernando Mendoza is under center, Bowers is the clear No. 1 read in this offense. That is a rare thing for a tight end, and it is what separates him from everyone else at the position.
Game script helps too. Las Vegas should be better in 2026, though not so much better that they sit in positive scripts and stop throwing. That keeps the pass volume flowing in his direction.
Put it together, and Bowers has a realistic shot at 180 targets. For perspective, that is more than Trey McBride saw last season while running 22 games’ worth of routes. Give Bowers that kind of volume with better efficiency and a few more scores, and you get elite WR1 production from the tight end position.
Here is where I land. Bowers is my TE1 and the TE1 by ADP, so there is no disagreement about the player or his standing at the position.
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My general rule is that I do not draft tight ends early, because the opportunity cost of passing on a wide receiver or running back in that range is substantial. Bowers is the lone exception I am willing to entertain. Even so, he has to fall below his ADP before I push the button.
If he slides, take him without hesitation.
Katz’s TE Fantasy Rankings 2026
- Brock Bowers | LV
- Trey McBride | ARI
- Colston Loveland | CHI
- Tyler Warren | IND
- Tucker Kraft | GB
- Sam LaPorta | DET
- George Kittle | SF
- Harold Fannin Jr. | CLE
- Kyle Pitts Sr. | ATL
- Isaiah Likely | NYG
- Travis Kelce | KC
- Dallas Goedert | PHI
- Jake Ferguson | DAL
- Mark Andrews | BAL
- Juwan Johnson | NO
- Dalton Kincaid | BUF
- Chig Okonkwo | WAS
- Brenton Strange | JAX
- Hunter Henry | NE
- Kenyon Sadiq | NYJ
- Dalton Schultz | HOU
- Greg Dulcich | MIA
- AJ Barner | SEA
- T.J. Hockenson | MIN
- Oronde Gadsden II | LAC
- Terrance Ferguson | LAR
- Gunnar Helm | TEN
- Evan Engram | DEN
- Cade Otton | TB
- Colby Parkinson | LAR
