Dallas Goedert Must Overcome TD Regression For Top-12 TE Season In Fantasy Football 2026

Is TD regression going to rear its head at Dallas Goedert in 2026? While some may say it will likely happen, when a huge target like A.J. Brown leaves for New England, that opens up some targets. Could a fair numberr go to Goedert? To rookie Eli Stowers? Ian Hartitz breaks it down as part of his Philadelphia Eagles Team Preview. 

Will Dallas Goedert keep getting away with it in 2026?

• TE1: Dallas Goedert (TE13 in Fantasy Life ranks)
• TE2: Eli Stowers (TE25)
• TE3: Grant Calcaterra

Credit to Goedert for scoring 13 touchdowns in 16 games (including playoffs) last season, although the 31-year-old veteran also averaged a career-low 9.9 yards per reception. In fact, 8 of those 13 scores came from inside the 5-yard line, and a look at the film reveals that the level of difficulty wasn't exactly sky-high on many of them.

Hey, somebody had to score those touchdowns; just realize we weren't exactly looking at one of the league's most efficient receiving options at the position outside of the red zone.

Goedert among 28 tight ends with 50+ targets in 2025:

• Yards per route run: 1.39 (18th)
• Yards per reception: 9.8 (16th)
• Yards per target: 7.2 (15th)
• Targets per route run: 19.3% (16th)
• Passer rating when targeted: 132.7 (2nd)

That said: Goedert, like Smith, could benefit from this condensed offense. We've seen the veteran tight end get leaned on more than ever when one of the team's top 2 receivers was sidelined over the years.

Goedert without one of AJB or Smith in 2024-2025:

• Week 2, 2024: 3 receptions-38 yards-0 TD (4 targets)
• Week 3, 2024: 10-170-0 (11)
• Week 4, 2024: 7-62-0 (8)
• Week 12, 2024: 4-19-0 (5)
• Week 13, 2024: 3-35-1 (4)
• Week 18, 2024: 4-55-0 (6), played only 13 snaps
• Week 8, 2025: 3-28-2 (3)

Sure, Goedert ran hot in the touchdown department last season, but there is less competition in that department with Brown out of the picture. This reality also gives Goedert room to grow in the yardage area, and oh yeah, he's carrying only a TE15 ADP in early drafts!

Also note: Eli Stowers posted back-to-back strong seasons as Diego Pavia's tight end at Vanderbilt, catching 111 passes for 1,407 yards and 9 touchdowns after transitioning away from being a quarterback at Texas A&M and New Mexico State. Now, the late position change does leave some questions regarding Stowers' ability to function as a true inline tight end—some teams reportedly viewed him as more of a receiver during the draft process—but there's still a lot to like here from an athletic and receiving standpoint. Don't expect much, if any, fantasy-relevant production in 2026, but there's a high ceiling here if/when Goedert is out of the picture in 2027 and beyond. Stowers deserves to go in the last few picks of Round 1 in rookie drafts.

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