Isaiah Likely is heading to New York after five seasons with the Baltimore Ravens. The fantasy community has grown noticeably more interested in him since the move. There is quite a bit to unpack with the veteran tight end. Should fantasy managers be drafting Likely in 2026?
Should You Draft Isaiah Likely in Fantasy Football?
In PFN’s Free Fantasy Mock Draft Simulator, Likely is going off the board with an ADP of 108.2 as of early September. That’s about an 11th-round pick, depending on how many people are in your league. The PFN consensus between our two fantasy experts, Jason Katz and Kyle Soppe, is coming in at a similar range. They have him at 107 overall on their fantasy football board. That comes out to TE10, with a projection of 10.49 points per game in PPR leagues.
Likely has shown that he can produce at a very high level. In 2024, he was TE13 despite starting only 9 games while competing with Mark Andrews and Charlie Kolar for touches.
Now that he’s with the Giants, in theory there should be a lot more opportunities for him to make big plays in the passing game. It’s not a totally loaded group of wide receivers in New York either. You have Malik Nabers, but he’s coming off an injury, and there’s a lot of unproven talent. Maybe Malachi Fields could be something. But Likely is one of the most proven guys they have on their offense. It feels weird to say that about somebody who’s been a rotational pseudo-starter for Baltimore the last few years.
Maybe as TE10 he might be a little bit rich. I think he has really good upside. I’m not reaching for him because he is unproven as a full-time starter. I guess when you compare him to other tight ends being picked around that range, I’d probably fade the ADP. As TE10, you’re looking at him as a borderline low-end TE1, and I don’t know if there’s going to be that consistency in that Giants offense to get him there. But as a TE2, I’d definitely consider taking him.
Fade ever so slightly on him at 108.2, but I do think there’s a lot of upside there. If you can get him as the 12th or the 13th tight end off the board, I’d do it. It’s a slight fade from where he’s going, but Likely has a lot of potential in fantasy this year. He’s still somebody I’d monitor in your league for sure.
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Isaiah Likely’s Week 1 Fantasy Outlook
Analysis provided by PFN Analyst Kyle Soppe.
I love me some Likely, and a team debut coming against the Cowboys isn’t going to have me stepping on the brakes.
The G-Men scored 71 points against Dallas a season ago, and in the first game, with Malik Nabers healthy, Russell Wilson found a way to funnel 35% of his targets to RB/TE. Likely was the best way to get exposure to this offense, in my humble opinion, and I expect Sunday to be a proof of concept as to what Likely can do with an extended role.
If you use his career games with 20+ routes, a role that I think is close to a lock this season, he would have easily finished as a TE1 in 2025. We don’t know for sure that he’ll be productive in a full-time role, but with this team acquiring him and the upward trajectory of this unit, I’m more than happy to be early rather than late on this profile.
He’s a starter in all formats to open the season in my ranks.
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Where Likely Ranks Among 2026 Tight Ends
- Sam LaPorta | DET
- George Kittle | SF
- Harold Fannin Jr. | CLE
- Kyle Pitts Sr. | ATL
- Dalton Kincaid | BUF
- Isaiah Likely | NYG
- Juwan Johnson | NO
- Jake Ferguson | DAL
- Dallas Goedert | PHI
- Travis Kelce | KC
- Mark Andrews | BAL
Compare him against the rest of the board in PFN's Full PPR Tight End Rankings.
