Will this be the year that the tight end position finally lives up to its potential? For years we've hoped for a deep group of TEs riddled with talent at every draft point, only to end up with the same elite group and then a bunch of "Play and pray" options. But maybe this season will be different. Our Yahoo ****** ysts take a look at the tight end position and share their breakout candidate for 2026.
Breakouts tend to exist at the intersection of talent and situation. And for Brenton Strange, the talent piece of the equation isn't hard to see. Since joining the Jaguars in '23, Strange's routes and target share have been on an upward trajectory. The Penn State product barely saw the field his rookie season (2.2% target rate), but he evolved into one of Trevor Lawrence's go-to options as Jacksonville marched toward the playoffs.
After returning from a hip injury sustained in Week 5, Strange supplanted Brian Thomas Jr. as the "WR3" (16.6% share) and even led the team in red-zone targets (14). Plus, the added cardio has only allowed us to see more of his athletic ability, as his yards per route run (9th among all TEs in '25 – min. 10 games played) and YAC per reception picked up between Years 2 and 3.
But I'll admit Strange's situation is, well, strange! The Jaguars traded for and compensated Jakobi Meyers for bringing the passing game to life and got a breakout performance from their 6th-round WR out of the same draft class. Oh, and Thomas Jr. and Travis Hunter are still there. The "lot of mouths to feed" argument will keep Strange's draft-cost down, but let's not forget his productivity and utility within this offense. — Chris Allen
After the Rashid Shaheed trade, Johnson was the TE5 in yards per game and TE8 in receptions per game from Week 10 on. With Jordyn Tyson out until the Week 6-9 range, Johnson should start out strong, as this is the same Saints receiving corps as it was during that explosive sample. The Saints have the advantages of playing against the NFC South, playing indoors and operating in the No. 1 neutral pace offense. Johnson is also good! Watch him!
#strange
Breakouts tend to exist at the intersection of talent and situation. And for Brenton Strange, the talent piece of the equation isn't hard to see. Since joining the Jaguars in '23, Strange's routes and target share have been on an upward trajectory. The Penn State product barely saw the field his rookie season (2.2% target rate), but he evolved into one of Trevor Lawrence's go-to options as Jacksonville marched toward the playoffs.
After returning from a hip injury sustained in Week 5, Strange supplanted Brian Thomas Jr. as the "WR3" (16.6% share) and even led the team in red-zone targets (14). Plus, the added cardio has only allowed us to see more of his athletic ability, as his yards per route run (9th among all TEs in '25 – min. 10 games played) and YAC per reception picked up between Years 2 and 3.
But I'll admit Strange's situation is, well, strange! The Jaguars traded for and compensated Jakobi Meyers for bringing the passing game to life and got a breakout performance from their 6th-round WR out of the same draft class. Oh, and Thomas Jr. and Travis Hunter are still there. The "lot of mouths to feed" argument will keep Strange's draft-cost down, but let's not forget his productivity and utility within this offense. — Chris Allen
After the Rashid Shaheed trade, Johnson was the TE5 in yards per game and TE8 in receptions per game from Week 10 on. With Jordyn Tyson out until the Week 6-9 range, Johnson should start out strong, as this is the same Saints receiving corps as it was during that explosive sample. The Saints have the advantages of playing against the NFC South, playing indoors and operating in the No. 1 neutral pace offense. Johnson is also good! Watch him!
#strange
2 days ago
