Week 17 Tight End Rankings for Fantasy Football

This is it. For most of you, this is the culmination of our fantasy football efforts. At least from a seasonal perspective that is. We can ride DFS all the way through, but it is Championship Week.

You earned this. Not everyone gets to participate in the final week of the fantasy football season, but you aren’t everyone. Soak it up and keep with your process.

From a scheduling process, things are all over the place and Week 17 begins with three games on Thursday and it keeps on building from there. Let’s jump right into things now as here are our Week 17 NFL Tight End rankings while quickly reviewing the top performers from Week 16.

Week 16 Top-Five Performances

George Kittle – 7 catches, 115 yards, TD
Harold Fannin – 4 catches, 34 yards, 2 TD (one rushing)
Kyle Pitts – 7 catches, 57 yards, TD
Chig Okonkwo – 6 catches, 44 yards, TD
Taysom Hill – 4 catches, 36 receiving yards, 42 rushing yards, TD (passing)

Week 17 Bye Weeks

None. Thankfully, we are past that part of the season.

Injury Notes for Week 17

Dalton Schultz, Houston Texans

While never one of the top, most explosive, or exciting options, Dalton Schultz is generally a solid contributor. On Tuesday, he only practiced on a limited basis as he’s dealing with a knee injury that’s seemingly a new development. The fact that he still practiced on a limited basis is a good sign. With the Texans playing on Saturday, the good news is that there’s some added time to react.

TJ Hockenson, Minnesota Vikings

When it comes to TJ Hockenson, our time frame is moved up even more as the Minnesota Vikings take the field on Thursday. Hockenson’s practice activity on Wednesday will be critical to watch. With JJ McCarthy sidelined, it will be rookie Max Brosmer under center for the Vikings. On the surface, that’s not a great development for the Vikings’ offense, but it benefited Hockenson when the rookie played in Week 13. Hockenson served an important safety role for Brosmer as he caught all six of his targets for 59 yards.

George Kittle, San Francisco 49ers

The good news is that it’s not a high ankle sprain for George Kittle. The bad news is that there’s still a possibility it keeps him out of Sunday’s game. If Kittle does play, and we’re proceeding as such for now, once again, he’s one of the top options at the position. If not, make sure you have Jake Tonges at the ready, as he was impressive earlier in the season.

Tyler Higbee, Los Angeles Rams

It will be another week without Tyler Higbee as he works his way back from injury. Last week, being all in on Colby Parkinson proved to be an epic failure, so do we look a Terrance Ferguson instead? The better bet would be to look towards another team, but I’m still going to favor Ferguson.

Tight End Notes

Tyler Warren, Indianapolis Colts

It will come. I mean, it has to, right? Philip Rivers targeted Tyler Warren nine times in Week 16, so it’s not for a lack of trying. The problem is that Warren only turned that into three catches for 30 yards.

Overall, it’s been a strong rookie season for Warren, so we know he’s capable of performing at the NFL level. The same can be said for River,s even if it’s been five years since we’ve last seen him in action. However, the issue is that after averaging 62 receiving yards in his first 10 games, he hasn’t eclipsed 45 yards in any of his five subsequent games.

Warren has a solid matchup against the Jacksonville Jaguars this week, and I’m looking for Rivers and Warren to improve their connection. And that means the production will follow.

Oronde Gadsden, Los Angeles Chargers

It was a fun ride, but now it’s time to move on. This is not the time to show loyalty, even if Oronde Gadsden was a waiver wire success story earlier in the season.

Facing a weak Dallas Cowboys defense should have been a smash spot last week. Instead, Gadsden was only targeted once. He caught it for seven yards as his struggles continued. Following Gadsden’s successful stretch, he’s been targeted only 23 times in six games, leading to 12 catches for 166 yards.

The Chargers have their full complement of other offensive weapons available, so the rookie was taken in a secondary role. Facing a tough Houston defense this week, things aren’t going to get any easier.

Brock Bowers, Las Vegas Raiders

Whoever thought we’d be in a position where the return of Geno Smith was a good thing? In the case of Brock Bowers, that’s certainly the case. Despite facing a tough Houston Texans defense, Bowers still caught his seventh touchdown pass of the season in Week 16. It came along with five catches for 33 yards, but things will get easier for him in Week 17. Bowers faces a New York Giants team that has struggled defensively, as their connection will continue.

Taysom Hill, New Orleans Saints

As a tight end, Taysom Hill caught four passes for 36 yards last week. He continues to have a role from that standpoint in what’s been a deceptively solid New Orleans Saints offense as of late. For good measure, Hill threw for a touchdown, but that aspect of his game can’t be expected to be consistent.

However, with Alvin Kamara likely out again, it appears Hill is also going to have a significant role at running back. This is a situation to keep an eye on, but it only adds to the fantasy production as he carried the ball 12 times for 42 yards in Week 16.

Check out all of our Week 17 Rankings: Flex Rankings | QB Rankings | RB Rankings | WR Rankings | TE Rankings