Fantasy Football Playoffs Tight End Rankings - Weeks 16, 17

December 17, 2025

Fantasy football playoffs tight end rankings - Weeks 16, 17 rankings for 2025. Read the top-accuracy fantasy football playoffs rankings for half-PPR leagues.

The tight end position as a whole is boom-or-bust, so it can be nerve-racking to decide between two players in similar tiers during the fantasy football playoffs. We're here to help you bring home the hardware with our fantasy football playoffs tight end rankings for Weeks 16 and 17. Below, you will see where key pass-catchers such as Kyle Pitts Sr., Colby Parkinson, Harold Fannin Jr., Dallas Goedert, Brenton Strange, Mark Andrews, and more stand for the next two weeks of action. It's win-or-go-home time, so let's keep pushing forward!

Nick Mariano puts together our fantasy football playoffs rankings. 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.

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Fantasy Football Playoffs Positional Rankings

Be sure to check out all of our fantasy football playoffs rankings:

• Quarterback fantasy football playoffs rankings
• Running Back fantasy football playoffs rankings
• Wide Receiver fantasy football playoffs rankings
• Kicker fantasy football playoffs rankings
• D/ST fantasy football playoffs rankings
• FLEX fantasy football playoffs rankings
• Overall fantasy football playoffs rankings (all positions)

Fantasy Football Playoffs Tight End Rankings (Weeks 16, 17)

Fantasy Football Playoffs Tight End Rankings Outlooks

Colston Loveland, Chicago Bears

Chicago Bears rookie tight end Colston Loveland has been solid for fantasy managers of late and has been providing a safe floor in most of his matchups since Week 8. Over that stretch, he has seen at least four targets in every game and has scored four times over that stretch. While he doesn't provide much of a ceiling, his safe floor can reassure fantasy managers that it's very likely he will score five to seven points at least in PPR formats. Additionally, a lot of the pass catchers for the Bears, such as Cole Kmet (ankle, knee), Rome Odunze (foot), and Luther Burden III (ankle), are all dealing with injuries.

If any of the three miss time, it should move Loveland up the pecking order for additional targets, only increasing his chances at a higher floor and boom potential. The Bears (10-4) take on the Green Bay Packers (9-4-1) in a pivotal NFC North showdown at the top of the NFC North. In their last matchup in Week 14, Loveland saw five targets and turned that into four receptions for 29 yards and a touchdown (10.90 fantasy points). Loveland will be on the TE2 radar in Week 16.

Harold Fannin Jr., Cleveland Browns

Across 14 games this season, Cleveland Browns rookie tight end Harold Fannin Jr. has recorded 66 catches for 667 yards and four touchdowns on 99 targets. While the 21-year-old has played an important role in his team's offense all season long, he's seen his usage ramped up to a new level in recent weeks. Over his last two games, Fannin Jr. has hauled in 15 catches for 162 yards and a touchdown on a whopping 25 targets. Fannin Jr. has played at least 90% of Cleveland's offensive snaps in four straight games, including a season-high 96% in Week 15 with fellow Browns tight end David Njoku (knee) sidelined by a knee injury.

Even if Njoku returns for the team's Week 16 matchup against the Buffalo Bills, Fannin Jr. should have a path to production. Across four games since Shedeur Sanders has taken over as the starting quarterback in Cleveland, he's targeted Fannin Jr. on 29.5% of his pass attempts. Fannin Jr. profiles as a must-start fantasy tight end down the stretch of the season.

Dawson Knox, Buffalo Bills

Buffalo Bills tight end Dawson Knox has come alive the last two weeks, catching nine of his 11 targets for 130 yards and two touchdowns in two high-scoring, come-from-behind wins over the Cincinnati Bengals and New England Patriots. Perhaps even more surprising has been the fact that Knox has put up those numbers with Dalton Kincaid also on the field. Knox didn't exactly take advantage of a window where Kincaid missed some time due to a hamstring injury, but he's come alive the last two weeks and now has at least three catches in four straight games.

The big question is, will the 29-year-old be able to stay on this path through the rest of the 2025 season? Knox has stepped up with receiver Keon Coleman continuing to disappoint, but as long as Kincaid stays healthy, he will likely continue to be a low-end, touchdown-dependent TE2 for fantasy managers heading into a Week 16 contest against the Browns.

Gunnar Helm, Tennessee Titans

Tennessee Titans rookie tight end Gunnar Helm delivered another promising outing in Week 15 against the San Francisco 49ers, hauling in all four of his targets for 49 yards and his second touchdown of the season. Helm left the game during the second half with a toe injury, but was able to return and still finished with another promising performance. The rookie fourth-rounder has recorded the most receptions by a rookie tight end in Titans franchise history, with three games still left to play.

While his routes have still been limited as he splits reps with Chig Okonkwo, Helm has been a strong target earner with 29% targets per route run since Week 11, ranking second among tight ends with at least 75 routes over that stretch. He has at least four receptions in four of the past five games and has been one of the few bright spots in an otherwise poor Titans offense. Helm is worth consideration as a potential streamer in fantasy football for Week 16 against the Kansas City Chiefs, who have been eliminated from the playoffs.

Brenton Strange, Jacksonville Jaguars

Jacksonville Jaguars tight end Brenton Strange had a down week in Week 15, recording just one catch for 26 yards on three targets against the New York Jets. However, the 24-year-old had earned 15 targets over his last three games heading into Week 15. Jaguars quarterback Trevor Lawrence is playing some of his best football in recent weeks, throwing for 1,059 passing yards and 12 touchdowns over his last four outings. With the Jacksonville passing game finding its groove, Strange should have opportunities for high-value targets every week.

The Jaguars have a difficult matchup in Week 16 against the Denver Broncos before a more favorable matchup in Week 17 against the Indianapolis Colts. For fantasy managers in leagues with 12 or more teams in need of help at the tight end position, Strange could be a solid streaming option to target on the waiver wire.

Darren Waller, Miami Dolphins

Miami Dolphins tight end Darren Waller recorded seven receptions for 66 yards and two touchdowns in Monday night's loss to the Pittsburgh Steelers. Waller scored the only touchdowns of the night for the Dolphins and notched his second two-touchdown game of the season, with the other coming back in Week 4 against the Jets. Both touchdowns came in garbage time in the fourth quarter as Miami's offense struggled to generate anything for most of the game.

The 33-year-old tight end was quiet in the last two games after returning from a pectoral injury, totaling three catches for 60 yards on six targets, but he remains a dangerous threat in the red zone. Waller profiles as an interesting streamer in Week 16 against the Cincinnati Bengals, who have been the worst defense in the league against tight ends.

Kyle Pitts Sr., Atlanta Falcons

Atlanta Falcons tight end Kyle Pitts Sr. caught 11 of his 12 targets for 166 yards and three touchdowns during Thursday's Week 15 win over the Tampa Bay Buccaneers. Pitts turned in the best game of his career, showing flashes of why the Falcons made him the No. 4 pick back in 2021. The 25-year-old had just one touchdown this season prior to Thursday, and he hadn't exceeded more than 90 yards in a game yet. He shattered both of those marks in the win, and he also registered the first double-digit catch total of his career.

While Pitts probably won't replicate this breakout game every week, it's encouraging to see that he's capable of producing such a superstar-caliber performance. He firmly ranks in the mid-to-high TE1 tier ahead of Week 16 against the Arizona Cardinals.

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