Fantasy Football Week 2 2026 Start ‘Em Sit ‘Em: Tight End

Week 1 showed why tight end trends stay fluid from game to game. Below is a quick recap of last week's calls before turning to three new starts and three new sits for Week 2.

The start calls were productive overall. Juwan Johnson caught three of seven targets for 54 yards and a touchdown in New Orleans' overtime thriller against Detroit. Travis Kelce made history, hauling in three of five targets for 71 yards, including a 59-yard catch-and-run that pushed him past Jason Witten into second on the NFL's all-time tight end receiving yards list. George Kittle was the one quiet performer, managing just two catches for 12 yards on five targets against the Rams.

The sit calls were more mixed. Jake Ferguson was held to two catches for six yards, exactly as expected against a tough Giants front. T.J. Hockenson caught a touchdown but was limited to four catches for 36 yards. Dalton Kincaid was the miss of the group, breaking out for a career-high 130 yards on five catches, including two fourth-quarter gains of 35-plus yards, as Buffalo leaned heavily on 13-personnel sets.

Week 2 Start ‘Em

Dalton Kincaid, Bills vs. Lions — Kincaid's Week 1 breakout wasn't a fluke of scheme desperation. He played 73% of Buffalo's snaps, the most of any Bills tight end and his highest share since before a 2024 knee injury, and produced 5.65 yards per route run. With Buffalo committing to heavier personnel groupings, Kincaid looks locked into a featured role against Detroit in Week 2.

Isaiah Likely, Giants at Rams — Likely's Giants debut was electric: eight catches on eight targets for 78 yards and two touchdowns against Dallas, drawing comparisons to a young Travis Kelce. With Malik Nabers getting eased back into condition, Likely is drew a ton of looks from Jaxson Dart' in Week 1, and a shootout-projected Monday night matchup against the Rams (48.5-point total) sets up another heavy target share. New York's receiving corps outside Nabers is thin, which only reinforces how central Likely has become to the offense.

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Harold Fannin Jr., Browns at Buccaneers — Fannin was quiet in Week 1, managing just two catches for 21 yards on three targets, but his role shouldn't be judged off one game. He caught 72 passes for 731 yards and six touchdowns as a rookie last season, and Cleveland's offense should look to get him more involved after Sunday's lopsided loss. Target volume for Fannin, not name value, is the reason to trust him again in Week 2. A get-right game script for Cleveland's offense, even in a tough road matchup, should mean more clock-eating, high-target-share snaps for the second-year tight end.

Week 2 Sit ‘Em

Juwan Johnson, Saints at Ravens — Johnson delivered in Week 1, but that came against a Detroit defense. Baltimore represents a considerably tougher draw, and New Orleans is expected to be a significant underdog on the road. Trust the matchup difficulty here over last week's touchdown.

Michael Mayer, Raiders at Chargers — Mayer caught six of seven targets for 32 yards while filling in as Las Vegas's lead tight end with Brock Bowers sidelined, but his 13% target share and 62% snap rate cap his ceiling even in a full workload. The Raiders are 7-point underdogs on the road against a Chargers defense, and touchdown-or-bust volume is not enough to trust in a difficult spot.

Pat Freiermuth, Steelers at Patriots — Freiermuth caught a touchdown in Week 1, but he did so on just five targets in an offense that ran the ball only 21 times to Aaron Rodgers' 40 pass attempts. Pittsburgh's staff has signaled they'll spread work across a three-tight-end rotation with Darnell Washington and Robert Tonyan, capping Freiermuth's target share even when the touchdowns come. Treat him as a touchdown-dependent TE2 against New England.