Finding This Year's Harold Fannin: Greg Dulcich And Dalton Kincaid Are Potential Late-Round TE Gems

There’s a reason we always fall into the trap of thinking the tight end position is deep in fantasy football.

Every season, one tight end emerges as the lead option in his team’s passing game, breaking out into a fantasy football star in the process. In 2025, it was clearly Harold Fannin, who wasted no time establishing himself as an NFL tight end. As a 21-year-old rookie, Fannin hauled in 72 passes for 731 yards and 6 touchdowns, while adding 1 more score on the ground. He was targeted 107 times, the sixth most by a rookie tight end since 2000. Despite poor quarterback play and starting the season second on the depth chart, Fannin’s talent shined, propelling him to a top-5 PPG fantasy finish (11.7).

An impressive feat for a Cleveland Browns pass catcher in the year 2025. But especially impressive as a rookie.

Entering the 2026 campaign, someone is going to have a top-10, breakout fantasy campaign at the tight end position. Maybe it’ll be a rookie—Kenyon Sadiq, anyone?—or perhaps it’ll be a veteran who finds himself in an advantageous situation. But that tight end is out there somewhere, and we’re going to do our best to find them.

We’ll highlight three tight ends who make the most sense as potential candidates, closing it out with our official choice to be this year’s Harold Fannin.

Let's go.

Tight Ends Who Could Be This Year’s Harold Fannin

Dalton Kincaid | Buffalo Bills

If we’re being honest, Dalton Kincaid should have already been THE breakout fantasy tight end. He’s a talented player, former first-round draft pick and plays in an elite offense with arguably the best quarterback on the planet. And when you look at some of the advanced data from this past season, you’d be hard-pressed to find any tight end with a more impressive resume than Kincaid:

T-1st in TPRR (24%)
1st in YPRR (2.8)
1st in 1st downs per route run (0.14)
1st in yards per target (11.7)

I don’t know about you, but I’m not sure there is a ranking higher than first. Kincaid’s 24% TPRR actually tied Fannin for the league lead. And on a per-route basis, practically no tight end was more efficient than Kincaid. Every single metric we are looking for was there.

Except one.

When compiling my research, I came across a stunning development. It turns out that your ability to accumulate fantasy points is 100% dependent on actually being on the field. Crazy, I know. Between injury and personnel tendencies in Buffalo, Kincaid just hasn’t been a full-time player yet in his career. Last year, he ran a route on just 51% of dropbacks, which ranked 33rd among qualified tight ends. Kincaid has been battling through PCL issues since 2024, but this offseason, he stated that this is probably the best he’s felt at this point of the offseason. That’s comforting, but HC Joe Brady also said Kincaid may have his playing time managed throughout the year. And when you also have Dawson Knox and Jackson Hawes on the roster, it makes sense. Given his elite per-route metrics, an uptick in routes is a very exciting thought.

If we can get Kincaid to a 75-80% route rate, that might be all it takes for him to flirt with top-5 fantasy status. His advanced metrics are that good, while Josh Allen and the Bills offense create a friendly environment. Kincaid already has a chance to finish second on his team in targets, with an outside shot at first if the routes spike. And that's exactly what we're looking for from breakout tight ends.

Get on the field, stay on the field and we’re in business.

Chig Okonkwo | Washington Commanders

Ah, yes. The classic age-27 breakout season.

But if you take a closer look, you can see it.

Chig Okonkwo has always been a talented player who has flashed in smaller stretches. Since entering the NFL in 2022, Okonkwo ranks fifth among 38 qualified tight ends in YAC/reception (5.7), while sporting the ninth-most total YAC, despite ranking just 18th in receptions during that span. During his time in Tennessee, Okonkwo was only fantasy relevant for periods of time. His career-best target share in a season is 16%, while he’s yet to even reach 8.0 PPR PPG.

So why the appeal?

Okonkwo found a new home this offseason, signing a three-year, $27M deal with the Commanders. If he can assume the role that Zach Ertz leaves behind, Okonkwo is going to be more than fantasy relevant. This past season, Ertz, at 35 years old, was as involved as most tight ends in the league:

79% routes (10th)
20% TPRR (13th)
21% target share (5th)
24% EZ target share (7th)

And sure, Terry McLaurin missed a ton of last season due to injury. But even if you go back to 2024, Ertz still played a huge role, logging 78% of the routes, while posting an 18% TPRR and 19% target share. During that season, Ertz averaged the 11th-most PPR PPG. I mean, seriously. Imagine Okonkwo in the Ertz role, but with actual YAC.

Yes, please.

Okonkwo is currently pretty easily the second option in Washington’s passing attack and if he can avoid the likes of Stefon Diggs or Brandon Aiyuk being acquired by the Commanders, it should stay that way over the course of the season. And with Jayden Daniels back healthy, this Commanders offense should return to being an above-average unit, which would be a welcomed sight for Okonkwo. During his tenure in Tennessee, the Titans ranked 28th, 27th, 27th and 30th in PPG.

As long as new OC David Blough doesn’t deploy a committee at tight end, Okonkwo projects as one of the best late-round tight ends in fantasy.

Greg Dulcich | Miami Dolphins

I know what you’re probably thinking. “But Adam, the Dolphins offense? They’re going to be awful.”

And I see your Miami Dolphins, and raise you the 2025 Cleveland Browns.

Yes, the Dolphins are likely going to be an awful football team this year. But we just saw Fannin break out in a Cleveland offense that averaged 16.4 points per game (31st), 1.29 points per drive (32nd) and ranked 32nd in touchdowns per drive (13.3%). So, yeah, I’m not worried about Miami’s offense being bad this season, at least not for a late-round/undrafted fantasy tight end.

There aren’t many tight ends in fantasy who can realistically lead their team in targets, but Greg Dulcich is one of them. As a rookie in 2022, Dulcich showed some promise with the Broncos, hauling in 33 passes for 411 yards and two scores in 10 games. During that stretch (Weeks 6-16), Dulcich was the TE15 in fantasy, logging 80% of the routes and sporting a 17% target share, while averaging nearly 9.0 fantasy points per game. That’s obviously nothing to write home about, but that is very strong involvement, while competing with Jerry Jeudy and Courtland Sutton for targets. The Dolphins don’t have anyone in their wide receiver room who comes even close to either Sutton or Jeudy. Here’s Dulcich’s current target competition:

Jalen Tolbert
Tutu Atwell
Malik Washington
Chris Bell (rookie, coming off torn ACL)
Caleb Douglas (rookie)
Kevin Coleman (rookie)

And for those looking for a blast from the past, Jalen Reagor and Terrace Marshall are also on the depth chart (for now). Early reports out of Miami indicate that Dulcich has been one of new quarterback Malik Willis’ primary targets. And given the state of the Dolphins’ WR room, Dulcich could easily find himself toward the top of the league in TPRR, which is exactly where Fannin was as a rookie.

This Year’s Harold Fannin is … a tie?

The easy choice would be Kincaid. He’s the best player, in the best situation and has flashed the most fantasy upside. But this time last year hardly anyone was talking about Fannin as a viable fantasy contributor. We all know who Kincaid is and what he can become if the playing time increases, so we’ll remove him from this discussion, though he still very much qualifies as the tight end breakout candidate.

That leaves Okonkwo and Dulcich. If you guaranteed me that Washington didn’t add a veteran wide receiver before the season started, I would lean Okonkwo. A more versatile, explosive player in the fantasy-friendly Ertz role is very exciting, especially with Daniels back under center. Dulcich, meanwhile, is a lock to have virtually zero target competition, and if Willis can build on what he’s done during his handful of starts in Green Bay, there could be a sneaky-good season here. So the question remains: Dulcich or Okonkwo as this year’s Fannin?

Yes.

For now, I’m taking the easy way out and going with both players. We’re not even into July yet, so things can (and likely will) change. But I love the case for both players as late-year tight end breakout candidates.