Upgrades for Week 1 Tight End Rankings: Colston Loveland Fronts Freedman's TE Favorites

Let's get into the Week 1 TE edition of Freedman's Favorites, where I highlight guys I'm upgrading because of

Favorable betting factors and situational spots
Advantageous defensive matchups (perhaps aided by injury)
Increased usage expectations (again, maybe aided by injury)

For process notes regarding this series, see the end of this piece. Also, check out the rest of my Week 1 favorites and fades.

Week 1 Tight End Rankings

Rank	Player
1	Brock Bowers
2	Trey McBride
3	Colston Loveland
4	Tucker Kraft
5	Tyler Warren
6	Kyle Pitts
7	Harold Fannin
8	Dalton Kincaid
9	George Kittle
10	Sam LaPorta
11	Travis Kelce
12	Dallas Goedert
13	Isaiah Likely
14	Mark Andrews
15	Jake Ferguson

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Week 1 Matchup Upgrades: Dallas Goedert vs. Commanders & Cade Otton at Bengals

There are a few "flow chart" defenses so bad that they provide automatic upgrades to whatever TEs they face. If a guy is playing one of them, I aggressively move him up my ranks. If not, I carry on.

Based on the numbers I see in our Fantasy Life DvP (Defense vs. Position) Matrix as well as RBs Don't Matter and FTN, the Commanders and Bengals last year were two of the biggest flow chart defenses for TE.

Commanders: No. 32 in defensive pass DVOA against TEs (27.3%)
Bengals: No. 1 in largest fantasy boost allowed to TEs (+5.6)

Dallas Goedert (Eagles) vs. Commanders: Goedert is no longer the guy who averaged 766 yards in 2021-22, but he has been efficient enough since 2023 (7.7 yards per target), and last season he scored a position-high 11 TDs. At 31 years old, he's probably in decline, but now he has the chance to operate as the No. 2 pass catcher in the offense with former No. 1 WR A.J. Brown gone. In his one game last year against the Commanders, Goedert had an efficient 3-32-1 receiving on 3 targets (10.7 fantasy points).

Cade Otton (Bucs) at Bengals: Without former No. 1 WR Mike Evans, Otton over the past three years has averaged 6.0 targets per game (vs. 4.7 with Evans). Evans is now permanently gone, and WR Emeka Egbuka (toe) is dealing with an injury. The Bengals have struggled in Week 1 with QB Joe Burrow (1-5 ATS, -67.9% ROI, per Action Network), whereas Bucs HC Todd Bowles has magnificently outperformed (6-2 ATS, 44.8% ROI). I "otton" not say this (nailed it), but if I were desperate I might be willing to start Otton this week in Guillotine Leagues^TM.

Week 1 Scoring Upgrades: Colston Loveland at Panthers & Mark Andrews at Colts

Sometimes upgrades are as simple as: "This team is going to score a lot of points, so I need to bump up the TE."

This week the Bears and Ravens are tied for No. 4 in implied team total (25.5 points).

Upgrades warranted.

Colston Loveland (Bears) at Panthers: Loveland was just a 21-year-old rookie last season, and he didn't become a full-time player until Week 7, but even so he was No. 1 on the Bears with 58-713-6 receiving, and then in two playoff games he had 12-193-0 with an elite 96 Utilization Score (per our Fantasy Life Utilization Report). The breakout is imminent, and the Panthers last year were No. 30 in defensive pass DVOA against TEs (22.0%). It also doesn't hurt that QB Caleb Williams has played his best outside division (15-7-1 ATS, 29.8% ROI).

Mark Andrews (Ravens) at Colts: I'm skeptical about Andrews, who's now 31 years old. He hasn't had more than 70 targets in a season since 2023, and last year he had a career-worst 422 yards receiving. But he's still probably the No. 2 pass catcher for the Ravens, he still has some "Tush Push" functionality (10-48-1 rushing in 2025), and the offseason departures of TEs Isaiah Likely and Charlie Kolar could result in more overall usage for Andrews in 2026. With QB Lamar Jackson, the Ravens on the road tend to outperform expectations (34-22 ATS, 17.7% ROI).

Week 1 Defensive Injury Upgrade: Juwan Johnson at Lions

Here's a TE who gets an upgrade because of defensive injuries.

Juwan Johnson (Saints) at Lions: Ordinarily, the Lions have one of the league's best S duos with SS Brian Branch (Achilles, PUP) and FS Kerby Joseph (knee, PUP) … but both are out to start the year. On top of that, the Saints are without No. 2 WR Jordyn Tyson (hamstring, IR), and the Saints finally parted ways with TE Taysom Hill this offseason, so Johnson could operate as the team's No. 2 pass catcher early in the year.

Week 1 Offensive Injury Upgrades: Isaiah Likely vs. Cowboys & Dalton Schultz vs. Bills

Here are a couple TEs who get upgrades because of offensive injuries.

Isaiah Likely (Giants) vs. Cowboys: No. 1 WR Malik Nabers (knee) is uncertain for Week 1. If he's out, Likely has a shot to be the team's top pass catcher, but even if Nabers is in, Likely could dominate. Stuck in production purgatory for the first four years of his career as the No. 2 TE for the Ravens behind Mark Andrews, Likely has flashed potential to this point (8.9 yards per target since 2023), and now he's the No. 1 TE for the Giants, who could have a pass-leaning game script as underdogs. For what it's worth, Week 1 has historically been the most profitable time to bet divisional underdogs (71-48-2 ATS, 15.9% ROI), and HC John Harbaugh has often started the regular season hot (12-6 ATS in Week 1, 31.5% ROI).

Dalton Schultz (Texans) vs. Bills: Without WRs Tank Dell (knee, IR) and Jayden Higgins (knee, IR), Schultz could be the No. 2 pass catcher for the Texans in this game. I wish I were joking, but Schultz is one of my 2026 fantasy favorites (in the sense that I think he's maybe the last draftable TE who won't destroy your fantasy team and will at least give you something each week.) Just three TEs since 2020 have 500+ yards receiving in each season. Two of them are Travis Kelce and George Kittle. The third is Schultz. I'll stop talking now.

Notes

You can find all of my Week 1 favorites and fades below:

Injuries: Since I write Freedman's Favorites on Monday and Tuesday, I have incomplete injury information. After I submit this article, any updated thoughts I have regarding injuries will manifest in my rankings. For our quick fantasy thoughts every day, subscribe to the Fantasy Life newsletter.

Schedule: This season, I have the following rankings schedule.