2026 Fantasy Football Week 1 Trade Value Chart: Tight Ends

The 2026 Fantasy Football Week 1 Trade Value Chart is built from The Wolf’s 2026 Fantasy Football Rankings & Big Board, which finished 2nd out of 172 experts in FantasyPros’ Multi-Year Draft Accuracy rankings from 2022 to 2024.

These values are tailored to a 12-team, full-PPR, 1QB league and factor in positional scarcity and real-world trade dynamics. That means quarterbacks typically carry less trade value than they would in Superflex formats, while elite running backs and wide receivers remain premium assets.

Whether you’re trying to buy low, sell high, or pull off a league-winning blockbuster, this Fantasy Football Week 1 Trade Value Chart is designed to help you make smarter deals. We’ll update player values every week based on rest-of-season outlooks, highlight the biggest risers and fallers, break down key trade targets, and share trade strategy tips to help you stay ahead of your league mates. Use the position-specific charts below to find fair trade offers and gain an edge throughout the 2026 fantasy football season.

QB | RB | WR | TE

FANTASY FOOTBALL WEEK 1 TRADE VALUE CHART: TIGHT ENDS

Tight End Riser – Terrance Ferguson

Ferguson could see a lot of field time even with Colby Parkinson and rookie Max Klare around, as the Rams utilize a lot of multi-TE sets. As Ferguson enters his second year, he could end up as more of a “WR3” for the Rams than a conventional tight end as he continues to sharpen his elite athletic skill set. With a wide-open receiving room behind Puka Nacua and Davante Adams, there’s enough room in this well-run offense for Parkinson to continue his role last season while also making Ferguson fantasy relevant. That may mean Parkinson eats up a lot of the red zone/goal-line looks again, but if Ferguson can get a slice of that pie, there’s definitely a world where he’s a top-12 fantasy option and could flirt with top-12 even without it.

Tight End Faller – Sam LaPorta

Once the Dynasty TE2, LaPorta’s still-young career has left a little bit to be desired for fantasy managers after a rookie-year breakout. Injuries and Jameson Williams’ ascension have capped expectations for the Iowa product. He has the talent to return to the top-6, but since his rookie season, the arrivals of Brock Bowers, Colston Loveland, and Tyler Warren have made it a tall ask. Let’s see if he can take advantage of the arrival of new OC Drew Petzing, who makes it a point to feature the tight end in his scheme.

Other Tight Ends Of Interest – Chargers TE Room

Oronde Gadsden has the highest expected upside among himself, David Njoku, and Charlie Kolar in a room where playing time could ultimately come down to who is the best blocker in Mike McDaniel‘s offensive scheme, and that still seems unclear.

With the Browns, Njoku was quickly overtaken by then-rookie Harold Fannin Jr., and between that and the fact that he’s now in his 30s, it’s easy to envision him entering the decline phase of his career. Unusual circumstances can produce unusual results, and while Charlie Kolar was seldom used as a receiver with the Baltimore Ravens, that wasn’t his profile coming out of Iowa State, where he caught 106 passes for 1,347 yards and 13 touchdowns over his final two seasons.

It’s not often that three tight ends from the same team become projected starters for three different teams the following season, but with Mark Andrews remaining in Baltimore and Isaiah Likely departing for the Giants, that could absolutely be the case. Kolar is currently projected to open the season as the Chargers’ starting tight end.

There’s a compelling argument that the former receiving standout from Iowa State, who developed into one of the NFL’s highest-graded blocking tight ends last season, has landed in the perfect situation. His skill set and circumstances may have aligned just right, making him one of the most overlooked 2026 fantasy football sleepers.

One of the more interesting tidbits about Kolar comes from Lance Zierlein’s NFL.com scouting report:

“He’ll get better as a blocker — they all do. He’s got great size, great hands and he’s really productive in their passing game. He might end up being another Mark Andrews,” said a Personnel Executive for AFC team.

“They all do.” That applies to Gadsden too, and makes it a total guessing game about whose blocking talents can get them to see the field and when, and keeps all of their current values similar, and them the most vulnerable to change of any TE room in the NFL.

Fantasy Football Trade Strategy Tips

Trade for Team Needs, Not Just the Best Value

In general, trade offers that clearly benefit both teams’ overall value, not just your own, will make a trade partner more cooperative. However, being mindful of depth concerns with all teams involved in a trade will only increase the chance of that cooperation. Be mindful not just of weak positional depth, but also of surplus positional depth across your league’s rosters. You might have a shortlist of players you’d love to be able to trade for, but if what you have to offer isn’t what your trade partner needs, your offers will likely fall on deaf ears. Say you’re weak at RB and have a surplus at WR. Teams that are strong at RB but weak at WR are naturally more eager to haggle.

Why Trade Calculators Aren’t the Final Word

Charts and calculators are a reference that can help find ideal trades, but they’re not gospel, and trying to make your potential trade partner think otherwise could shut the door on negotiations real quick. Even if your charts/calculators show the trade offer to be in your league mate’s favor, they probably have tools and references of their own, and the next time “But the trade calculator says” changes someone’s mind may be the first time.

How to Avoid Low-Ball Trade Offers

Speaking of bad faith, a trade offer that is too clearly in your favor puts you in danger of potential trade partners shutting you out not just for that particular trade negotiation, but any future ones as well. It’s a great feeling to get those kinds of lopsided trade deals, but the ones so bad they only go through 1 percent of the time likely aren’t worth hitting the send button in the first place. At their core, fantasy players aren’t complete masochists; they just want to have fun with it, and somebody sending them insulting offers isn’t fun.

FANTASY FOOTBALL WEEK 1 TRADE VALUE CHART: TIGHT ENDS

QB | RB | WR | TE