Tight end starts to feel expensive when the obvious weekly volume is gone. Tucker Kraft, Sam LaPorta, Dalton Kincaid, and Colston Loveland can all be sold as upside plays, but they reach that upside in different ways. The real draft question is simpler: who can help a PPR lineup on a Sunday when he doesn't score?
Our answer is Kraft. Draft him at FFN's TE4 ranking as of August 22 and hold us to a top-six PPR finish. LaPorta belongs in the next tier at TE7. Loveland is an upside second tight end. Kincaid stays outside our top 10 until Buffalo gives him a weekly snap share above 60%.
This isn't a vote against talent. A gifted receiver can beat a linebacker, make a difficult catch, and still leave a fantasy lineup with four points because his offense used him for only a handful of routes. Field time creates opportunities. Targets make that field time useful. The best choice is the player who has recently combined both.
“Kraft or LaPorta if I want one starter?”
Kraft in PPR. His recent role gave him enough field time to remain part of Green Bay's normal offense and enough short-area work to collect points before a touchdown arrived.
Kraft's 2025 record ended in Week 9, but his closing five-game stretch carried starter-level substance. He averaged 5.8 weekly targets and commanded 18.3% of Green Bay's throws.
He also played 83.4% of the offensive snaps. FFN's current depth chart lists him first at tight end, ahead of Luke Musgrave. The evidence doesn't guarantee a featured receiving role, but it describes a player who can stay attached to the easy completions in an offense with several wideouts demanding attention.
Think about third-and-5. Kraft doesn't need the play call to feature him. A linebacker carries a back out of the flat, the outside route clears space, and Kraft settles beyond the sticks. This kind of catch is how a tight end builds a six-reception day without requiring the entire passing game to bend around him.
Kraft played only eight games in the available 2025 record. Limited availability keeps this from becoming a carefree selection. Green Bay can also spread targets across a deep group of pass catchers. Luke Musgrave gives the Packers another credible tight end, so package-based rotation can shave valuable routes.
Still, the role has already shown the right shape. Kraft can lose a few targets to wide receivers and remain useful if his snap rate stays above 70% and he sees at least five looks most weeks. I want that path over a player whose field time or place in the progression has to be rebuilt from scratch.
“Does LaPorta's full-time role make him safer?”
LaPorta is the steadier formation piece. He isn't automatically the steadier fantasy scorer.
LaPorta's five-game 2025 window ended in Week 10, and he was on the field for 92.6% of Detroit's offensive snaps. Detroit could use every part of his game.
The fantasy return was useful without being dominant. He averaged 5.6 weekly targets and held a 19.4% target share.
LaPorta sits at TE7 in FFN's August 22 PPR ranks. He belongs there until the passing game shows that his near-every-down presence also means more first-read opportunities.
LaPorta can play 60 snaps because the offense trusts him to block the edge, occupy a linebacker, sell play action, and clear space for someone else. All of that matters to Detroit. Only some of it puts points in your lineup. His field time protects him from disappearing, but the Lions can still move the ball through other receivers and the backfield while he finishes with five targets.
For a manager who doesn't want to carry two tight ends, that profile is useful. LaPorta gives you a credible weekly floor and access to Detroit's scoring chances. Kraft gets the nod because his recent target rate came with a slightly more affordable fantasy expectation inside our rankings and a stronger path to PPR catches.
The risk is obvious: touchdowns can flip this order quickly. Detroit's red-zone pass rate was 54.0% in 2025, while Green Bay's was 49.7%. Those team tendencies can change in 2026, but they help explain how LaPorta can beat Kraft even without winning the weekly target comparison. If Detroit puts LaPorta near the front of the progression inside the 10, TE7 will look conservative.
“Can Kincaid turn the preseason optimism into a weekly job?”
He can. He hasn't earned our starter call yet.
Kincaid's five late-season games in 2025 produced 3.2 weekly targets and a 29.4% snap share. His share of Buffalo's throws was 11.6%. A player can't supply dependable volume from that assignment, even when his individual routes look good. Too many passing plays happen with him watching from the sideline.
Buffalo's current depth chart lists Kincaid first, with Dawson Knox second. Kincaid isn't fighting to make the team or climb from the bottom of the position group. He needs the offense to use its first tight end more often. The title on a depth chart opens the door; it doesn't count the routes.
Week 18 is a useful football memory. Kincaid received three targets but played only 13% of Buffalo's offensive snaps. The box score alone might look like a quiet receiving day. The snap record shows the larger concern: Buffalo gave him too little time to create a different result.
Watch what happens after the first scripted series. Does Kincaid stay on the field when Buffalo spreads out? Does he release into a route on third down? Does a personnel change send him to the sideline while Knox remains? Those answers matter more than a preseason catch against a favorable coverage.
Keep Kincaid at TE11 for now. Move him into the top 10 only after his snap share clears 60% without his target involvement collapsing. If you draft him before that proof arrives, pair him with a steadier opening-week option instead of asking one August series to solve the position.
One Snap That Changes the Answer
On third-and-7 after the opening script ends, note which Buffalo tight end stays in and runs a route. Kincaid taking that job repeatedly would justify a top-10 upgrade. Leaving the field in that situation keeps him in the wait tier, no matter what happened on an earlier play.
“Is Loveland worth the extra roster spot?”
For draft day, yes. His late-season work gives that bench spot a real route to your lineup.
Over the final month, FFN recorded Loveland at 7.6 weekly targets and 24.8% of Chicago's throws. The offense was giving him receiver-level attention.
Loveland also played 76.0% of the snaps during that stretch. In Week 18, Chicago sent 13 passes his way.
He stayed on the field for 91% of the offensive snaps that afternoon. The usage shows a tight end functioning as a major receiver, not merely slipping out for an occasional designed play.
Chicago's 2026 depth chart lists Loveland first and Cole Kmet second. The competition is credible, so we shouldn't treat one strong finish as a permanent handoff of every valuable route. Chicago also has several pass catchers capable of leading a week. Loveland can play well and still find himself third or fourth in the target order.
FFN still has him at TE15 rather than pricing the Week 18 eruption as his new normal. The projection is aggressive enough to respect the talent, but the ranking leaves room for weekly target distribution to move around. On a roster with a dependable starter, Loveland offers the better bench ceiling than a tight end whose role has already flattened out.
The promotion line is straightforward. Keep him above a 70% snap share and near six weekly targets, and he can move from bench option to starter consideration. A drop toward half the snaps would tell us Chicago is rotating by package and turning him into a touchdown-dependent play.
“How should roster construction settle the choice?”
Managers who want one tight end should choose Kraft first, then LaPorta. Both have recent evidence of staying on the field, and both sit inside FFN's top seven. Kraft offers the stronger PPR reception case. LaPorta offers the sturdier full-time presence and a credible scoring route.
Managers willing to carry two can combine stability with a changing role. LaPorta plus Loveland gives you an opening starter and a bench player capable of forcing his way into the lineup. Kincaid requires a different plan: draft him only when another tight end can cover the first few weeks while Buffalo shows whether the snaps are coming.
Don't use two roster spots on uncertainty for uncertainty's sake. Kincaid and Loveland together may look exciting, but both recommendations depend on role evidence arriving after the draft. One stable option plus one upside option lets you react instead of guessing.
Once waivers open, don't wait for touchdowns to announce that this order changed. A Kincaid snap jump or a Loveland target hold deserves action before the first spike week. Three quiet target games from Kraft matter even if one red-zone catch hides them. Follow the job, and the fantasy points usually stop feeling like a surprise.
Voice Rewriter
- Best fit
- PPR managers choosing a starting tight end.
- Move
- Draft.
- Risk
- Kraft's availability remains uneven or Green Bay rotates him by package.
- Better path
- Choose LaPorta for steadier full-time participation.
- FFN rankingsFFN's August 22 PPR rankings place Tucker Kraft at TE4, Sam LaPorta at TE7, Dalton Kincaid at TE11, and Colston Loveland at TE15.
- player role trendsAcross Tucker Kraft's final five 2025 appearances, he averaged 5.8 targets, held an 18.3% target share, and played 83.4% of Green Bay's offensive snaps.
- player role trendsAcross Dalton Kincaid's final five 2025 appearances, he averaged 3.2 targets and played 29.4% of Buffalo's offensive snaps.
- player role trendsAcross Colston Loveland's final five games of 2025, he averaged 7.6 targets, held a 24.8% target share, and played 76.0% of Chicago's offensive snaps.
- player role trendsAcross Sam LaPorta's five 2025 appearances ending in Week 10, he averaged 5.6 targets, held a 19.4% target share, and played 92.6% of Detroit's offensive snaps.
- depth chartFFN's August 22 depth chart lists Kraft, LaPorta, Kincaid, and Loveland first at tight end for their teams.