The tight end position is usually one of the toughest ones to navigate in fantasy football, and it will continue to be during fantasy championship week. Owners that don’t have one of the top six or seven players at the position will have to continue to look for streamers to trust in tough start ’em, sit ’em decisions. Our Week 16 fantasy TE rankings will help you sort through the top options and recommend some potential volume and matchup-based sleepers to trust.
Per usual, our top-10 TEs are, more or less, the same as previous weeks with the only changes coming in the order in which they’re ranked. This week, Robert Tonyan (vs. Titans) and Logan Thomas (vs. Panthers) are bumped up a bit higher than usual, as Tonyan has consistently gotten red-zone TDs and scores while Thomas continues to see a lot of targets regardless of who is starting at QB. That said, those were the only big changes at the top.
Outside the top-10, the potential options get a bit dicier, but there are still some solid sleepers. Cole Kmet (@ Jaguars) looks like one of the best options this week, as he is emerging as the No. 1 tight end in an improving Bears offense and he is taking on a Jaguars team that has been weak to TEs this year. Austin Hooper (@ Jets) is in a similar boat. He isn’t getting as many targets as Kmet has in recent weeks, but the Jets have allowed more fantasy points to TEs than any other team in the league, so if Hooper should have a good game. Tyler Eifert (vs. Bears) and Kmet’s teammate Jimmy Graham (@ Jaguars) are also in play thanks to highly favorable matchups and fairly consistent targets.
There are a couple of regular starting TEs in tougher matchups this week, as Eric Ebron (vs. Colts) and Evan Engram (@ Ravens) are taking on a couple of good defenses. Ebron especially could have trouble since the Colts have been a top-five defense against TEs this year. Both players are still getting targets, so they can be trusted as lower-end starters, but there are better options out there, like most of the players mentioned above.
Further down, Jordan Akins (vs. Bengals) and Dawson Knox (@ Patriots) qualify as deeper sleepers. Akins hasn’t done a lot in recent weeks, but he has had several scoring opportunities and if he stops dropping them, he could emerge as a top play against a Bengals defense that has struggled against TEs. Meanwhile, Knox is starting to see more targets for the Bills and has a TD in three of his past four games. He’s more of a TD-dependent option, but if the Patriots are focused on stopping Stefon Diggs, Knox could fly under the radar and find the end zone.
Once again, George Kittle (foot) will bear watching, as he did return to practice for the 49ers last week. It’s unclear when or if he’ll be healthy enough to return this season, but if he’s back in Week 16, he will be a top-10 TE, bare minimum. We won’t include him in our rankings just yet, but keep an eye on his status in the coming weeks.
Check back for updates to these TE rankings throughout the week.
These rankings are for standard, non-PPR leagues.
Chiefs vs. Falcons
Raiders vs. Dolphins
Broncos @ Chargers
Lions vs. Buccaneers
Ravens vs. Giants
Packers vs. Titans
Dolphins @ Raiders
Washington vs. Panthers
Buccaneers @ Lions
Eagles @ Cowboys
Chargers vs. Broncos
Browns @ Jets
Jaguars vs. Bears
Bears @ Jaguars
Falcons @ Chiefs
Eagles @ Cowboys
Bears @ Jaguars
Giants @ Ravens
Steelers vs. Colts
Texans vs. Bengals
Cowboys vs. Eagles
Vikings @ Saints
49ers @ Cardinals
Titans @ Packers
Cardinals vs. 49ers
Bills @ Patriots
Rams @ Seahawks
Rams @ Seahawks
Bengals @ Texans
Colts @ Steelers
Saints vs. Vikings
Seahawks vs. Rams
Seahawks vs. Rams
Texans vs. Bengals
Panthers @ Washington
Buccaneers @ Lions
Titans @ Packers
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