Fantasy Football 2026 TE1 Debate: Brock Bowers vs. Trey McBride
Justin Carlucci breaks down the arguments for each of Brock Bowers and Trey McBride to be the TE1 in the 2026 fantasy football season.
The tight end position has a clear-cut top tier heading into the 2026 fantasy football summer, and it's a two-man race. According to Underdog ADP, Brock Bowers is currently going No. 20 overall while Trey McBride checks in at 24.5 After that? There's a massive cliff.
Colston Loveland is the consensus TE3, and he's landing at 46.7 on Underdog, two rounds later.
If we're splitting hairs, I'll take Bowers.
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The Fantasy Football TE1 Debate: Brock Bowers or Trey McBride?
The Bowers Case Is Simple
Look at the Raiders' receiving room. Tre Tucker and Jalen Nailor are the top two pass catchers on the depth chart behind Bowers. That's ... it. I'm not here to dissect why the Raiders invested heavily in defense while leaving their passing game looking like a gas station burrito—although, they do hit sometimes. But the reality is crystal clear: Bowers is the unquestioned alpha on this offense. He's multiple tiers above every other pass catcher on the roster, and he should demand a mega target share.
The quarterback situation isn’t ideal. Kirk Cousins bridging things until No. 1 overall pick Fernando Mendoza takes over is admittedly uninspiring. But the coaching angle is what really pushes me over the edge here.
Klint Kubiak is one of the more creative playcallers in the league, and his track record working with tight ends is appealing. When he was with the Seahawks last season during their Super Bowl run, Kubiak transformed what looked like a preseason tight end by committee into AJ Barner becoming an NFL force by the time the postseason rolled around. Elijah Arroyo flashed as well.
Before that, with the Saints in 2024, Juwan Johnson hit the second-highest reception total of his career under Kubiak's guidance, and Taysom Hill remained the ultimate Swiss Army knife weapon. Creativity with tight ends is in this man's DNA.
Kubiak himself called Bowers "a football robot from heaven" this week. That's coachspeak, sure, but that’s about the highest praise one can get. It's only May, and the Bowers hype train might leave the station by early July.
The McBride Concerns
Trey McBride is a stud, full stop. He's a red-zone monster who essentially never left the field in crucial situations last season, and his target share when healthy is great. But the Cardinals' situation carries a few more question marks.
New HC Mike LaFleur also plans to call plays in his first NFL season as the head man, which is a yellow flag for me. Is he ready for both duties? Who knows. For example, the Brian Callahan-in-Tennessee fiasco is fresh enough that we shouldn't ignore it. Nathaniel Hackett as a sounding board helps, but that hire was overall pretty disappointing.
Arizona also has more mouths to feed. Remember Marvin Harrison Jr.? He still exists, and he’s just begging to be utilized appropriately. Michael Wilson had a breakout campaign last year, and the team added Kendrick Bourne after a productive 49ers stint.
Rookie Jeremiyah Love can run routes out of the backfield and threaten in the red zone. You don’t spend that type of draft equity on a running back if you’re not making him the focal point of your attack.
As far as quarterbacks go, Jacoby Brissett is holding out, and Gardner Minshew is also in the mix. Carson Beck? No thanks. Suddenly, McBride has a few more variables to deal with than last season. Arizona also threw the football at the highest neutral rate in the league last year. With a new staff and Love in the fold, I’m not sure history will repeat itself.
McBride should remain an offensive centerpiece, but if you make me choose, I’m a little more skeptical about his situation compared to Bowers’.
It’s Brock Bowers to the moon. Are you hopping on the rocket ship?
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