2022 Fantasy Football: Week 16 Tight End Rankings

Congratulations! If you’re reading this, you’ve likely made it to the fantasy semi-finals and are looking to punch your ticket to the championship round. As we turn our attention to the Week 16 tight end rankings, continue to start your studs. If you’re streaming the position, look for favorable matchups and don’t get too cute with your lineups. Remember, you’ve come this far so you’re doing something right. Trust your process, and cross your fingers for those touchdowns!

Unlike other positions around the league, tight ends have been getting healthier as we head into the final weeks of the season. In Philadelphia, Dallas Goedert was activated off the IR and is expected to suit up this week. There’s some risk with Goedert as we don’t know if he’ll be on a snap count. Additionally, Gardner Minshew could get the start if Jalen Hurts is sidelined with a sprained shoulder. However, given the shallowness of the position, Goedert is a TE1 and should be put back into lineups in Week 16.

As always, stay on top of the injury reports and make the necessary adjustments to your lineups. Also, we have another round of Saturday games this week, so make sure your lineups are in order. Good luck, everybody!

Week 16 Tight End Notes

• Juwan Johnson is a touchdown machine. He scored twice last week, and his seven touchdowns across his last seven games lead all tight ends over that span. Johnson has a tough matchup this week against a Browns defense that has only allowed two touchdowns to tight ends all season. However, he’s getting red zone looks and has a knack for finding the end zone. I’d play Johnson with confidence this week, despite the less-than-ideal matchup.
• Dawson Knox is starting to come on strong right in time for the fantasy playoffs. In the last two weeks, he combined for 15 targets, 139 yards, and two touchdowns. He also scored the second-most fantasy points among tight ends during that span. The Bears have a top-five defense against the position, but Knox is on a hot streak and plays on a high-scoring offense. He’s a back-end TE1 for me this week.
• Jordan Akins could be worth a flier this week. His six targets in Week 14 were second-most on the Texans, and he caught three of them for 22 yards and a touchdown. Akins has at least five targets in three of the past four games, as well as two touchdowns over that span. This week, he faces a Tennessee defense that has allowed the most targets and second-most receiving yards to tight ends. The Titans have also given up the seventh-most fantasy points to the position. The tight end position is a weekly crapshoot, but you could do worse than Akins in Week 16.
• It’s all about matchups when streaming tight ends, and Cade Otton gets one of the friendliest ones on the Week 16 slate. He faces an Arizona defense that ranks 31st against tight ends. Through 14 weeks, the Cardinals have allowed the most receptions and receiving yards to the position. They’ve also coughed up 10 touchdowns to tight ends, tied for league-most. The Bucs utilize both Otton and Cameron Brate as their tight ends, which could limit Otton’s upside. However, Otton has out-snapped and out-targeted Brate since returning from a neck injury in Week 13. Tom Brady leads the league in pass attempts and is likely not going to slow down this week.  Otton is a solid streaming option this week.

Week 16 Tight End Rankings

More Week 16 Rankings: QB | RB | WR | TE | Flex Rankings

Note: Ranks are based on half-PPR scoring