2025 Fantasy Football TE Rankings - Week 18 Start, Sit Tight Ends

January 1, 2026

2025 fantasy football TE rankings - Week 18 start, sit tight end rankings. Win more with our updated TE fantasy football rankings and tiers for Week 18.

It's time for the last week of the NFL regular season, and many people are still playing for something. Use these Week 18 fantasy football tight end rankings as your guide for lineup calls this weekend. In the full set of TE rankings below, you will see where key players on the start 'em, sit 'em bubble like Colston Loveland, Kyle Pitts Sr., Harold Fannin Jr., Brenton Strange, Colby Parkinson, and more stand, among all others at the position.

Our TE fantasy football rankings for Week 18 are put together by Nick Mariano. Below the rankings, you will also find a summary of the important fantasy football news for this week. There are always key injuries and developments to keep track of, so check back throughout the week for updates.

Be sure to bookmark our fantasy football rankings portal and check back regularly for updates. Most importantly, our free mobile app is a must-have - download it and configure your push notifications. We deliver all the top NFL news, injuries, and fantasy analysis 24x7 with our free push notification alerts... all for free!

Week 18 Fantasy Football Tight End Rankings

Bookmark our PPR rankings, Half-PPR rankings, and standard (non-PPR) rankings 

Week 18 Fantasy Football Tight End Outlooks

Dallas Goedert, Philadelphia Eagles

The Philadelphia Eagles are expected to rest quarterback Jalen Hurts and most of their starters in Sunday's Week 18 regular-season finale against the division-rival Washington Commanders, sources told Jeff McLane of the Philadelphia Inquirer. The Eagles can move up from the No. 3 seed to the No. 2 seed in the NFC playoff picture with a win over Washington, coupled with a Chicago Bears loss to the Detroit Lions, but the Eagles are prioritizing rest for their starters as they head into the postseason.

With Hurts set to be rested this weekend, Tanner McKee will get the start under center for the Eagles against the Commanders. Fantasy managers will also need to stay away from running back Saquon Barkley, wide receivers A.J. Brown and DeVonta Smith, and tight end Dallas Goedert. Hurts didn't run as much in 2025, but he still goes into Week 18 action as the QB6 in overall fantasy points.

George Kittle, San Francisco 49ers

San Francisco 49ers tight end George Kittle (ankle) remains on an excellent track to play on Saturday against the division-rival Seattle Seahawks in the Week 18 regular-season finale, according to David Lombardi of The San Francisco Standard. General manager John Lynch said on KNBR Radio on Wednesday that he'd be "very surprised" if Kittle didn't play in a game that will decide the No. 1 seed going into the NFC postseason. The 32-year-old veteran didn't practice at all last week and was ruled out for the Sunday night win over the Chicago Bears.

He returned to a limited practice on Tuesday, though, and should play this weekend, barring a setback over the next two days. It's great news for a Niners offense that looked unstoppable in Week 17 on its way to putting up 40-plus points against Chicago. Despite a tough matchup, Kittle will be a must-start TE1 in fantasy if he's active in Week 18.

Sal Cannella, Cleveland Browns

Cleveland Browns rookie tight end Sal Cannella made his NFL debut in last week's upset win over the Pittsburgh Steelers on Sunday. Cannella only played 35% of the offensive snaps and caught two of his four targets for 11 receiving yards. The 29-year-old was pressed into action in Cleveland's offense with David Njoku (knee) missing another game, but it wasn't until rookie Harold Fanning Jr. left with a groin injury that Cannella started becoming involved.

Cannella ended up leading all of Cleveland's TEs with four targets, and that could be the case again in the Week 18 regular-season finale this Sunday against the division-rival Cincinnati Bengals if both Njoku and Fannin aren't cleared to play in a meaningless game. Cannella will be a pretty big reach for fantasy managers in the final week of the season, but he's worth a look in TE-premium leagues with both Njoku and Fannin hurt.

Jonnu Smith, Pittsburgh Steelers

Pittsburgh Steelers tight end Jonnu Smith will be set up as a more attractive TE2 streamer in fantasy football for the final week of the regular season this Sunday night against the division-rival Baltimore Ravens, with Darnell Washington done for the year after breaking his forearm in Sunday's Week 17 loss to the Cleveland Browns. With Washington getting hurt, Smith ended up leading the Steelers with five receptions (five targets), although it amounted to only 18 receiving yards on a day in which Pittsburgh's offense couldn't get into the end zone.

After a career year in 2024 with the Miami Dolphins, the 30-year-old Smith has predictably struggled in Arthur Smith's offense, posting a 37-220-2 line in 16 games. Smith's five targets in Week 17 were his most since Week 9, though, and he's now topped 20 scrimmage yards in three straight games. In deeper fantasy leagues, Smith will be slightly more attractive as a TE2 streamer in Week 18 versus the Ravens.

Terrance Ferguson, Los Angeles Rams

Los Angeles Rams rookie tight end Terrance Ferguson will head into the Week 18 regular-season finale this weekend against the division-rival Arizona Cardinals as a legitimate streaming option at tight end for fantasy football managers. The 22-year-old found the end zone for the second straight contest in the Monday night loss to the Atlanta Falcons, catching two of his four targets for a season-high 54 yards and the trip to paydirt. In last week's loss to the Seattle Seahawks, he had three catches on four targets for 33 yards and his second score of the season.

Ferguson's touchdown reception in Week 17 was a 27-yard strike from quarterback Matthew Stafford when he was left all alone in the back of the end zone. Colby Parkinson remains heavily involved -- he outsnapped Ferguson 51 to 32 and caught six passes for 53 yards -- but Ferguson could certainly find the end zone for a third straight week this Sunday against Arizona.

Chig Okonkwo, Tennessee Titans

Tennessee Titans tight end Chig Okonkwo has finished as a top-five fantasy tight end in back-to-back weeks, helping to secure titles for the few brave managers who dared to stray from the consensus start/sit path. Okonkwo played a similar championship-winning role last season, gathering 22 receptions for 182 yards from Weeks 15-17. For fantasy managers still playing in Week 18, he becomes an interesting name on this week's waiver wire as the Titans prepare to face a Jaguars defense that has been a bottom-10 unit at defending the position.

An important thing to note is that in Week 18 of 2024, Okonkwo saw only a 5% snap share. However, with an interim head coach and an unlikely shot at the number one overall pick, there is a greater expectation that Tennessee will play its starters on Sunday.

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