If your fantasy team is still alive and competing for a championship, we're here to assist with your start-or-sit calls. Below, you'll see our NFL team's updated Week 16 fantasy football tight end rankings for 2024 to help you make tough start-or-sit decisions. Lineup calls don't get any easier at tight end this week.
Let's dig into the rankings to find out where key tight ends like David Njoku, Jonnu Smith, Tucker Kraft, Brenton Strange, and Zach Ertz stand for the Week 16 slate.
Our tight end fantasy football rankings for Week 16 are put together by Nick Mariano, Scott Engel, Brandon Murchinson, and Andersen Pickard. In addition to our staff rankings, below you will also find a summary of the important fantasy football injury news for this week. There are always key injuries to keep track of, so be sure to check back until kickoff. 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!
Be sure to check all of our fantasy football rankings for the 2025 playoffs:- Quarterback fantasy football rankings
- Running back fantasy football rankings
- Wide receiver fantasy football rankings
- Tight end fantasy football rankings
- Kicker fantasy football rankings
- FLEX fantasy football rankings
- Defense (D/ST) fantasy football rankings
- Superflex fantasy football rankings
- IDP fantasy football rankings
- Dynasty fantasy football rankings
Week 16 Tight End Fantasy Football News and Injuries
- Zach Ertz Trending Towards Playing In Week 16
- Brenton Strange Cleared For Week 16, A Top Streaming Option Against Raiders
- Luke Musgrave Limited Again On Friday
- Juwan Johnson Limited On Friday
- Tyler Higbee Off The Injury Report, Will Make Season Debut In Week 16
- Cade Otton Downgraded To Out For Week 16
- David Njoku Questionable For Week 16
- John Bates Set For Increased Role In Philadelphia
- Payne Durham Avoidable For Week 16
Week 16 Tight Ends Rankings for Fantasy Football
Be sure to bookmark our weekly PPR rankings, Half-PPR rankings, Standard rankings.
TE Tier |
TE Rank |
Player Name |
Pos. | Overall Rank |
1 | 1 | Trey McBride | TE | 23 |
2 | 2 | Brock Bowers | TE | 34 |
3 | 3 | George Kittle | TE | 47 |
3 | 4 | Jonnu Smith | TE | 56 |
3 | 5 | Travis Kelce | TE | 57 |
3 | 6 | T.J. Hockenson | TE | 66 |
4 | 7 | Sam LaPorta | TE | 69 |
4 | 8 | Mark Andrews | TE | 84 |
4 | 9 | Brenton Strange | TE | 88 |
5 | 10 | Hunter Henry | TE | 90 |
5 | 11 | Dalton Kincaid | TE | 99 |
5 | 12 | Pat Freiermuth | TE | 100 |
5 | 13 | Tucker Kraft | TE | 101 |
5 | 14 | Jake Ferguson | TE | 104 |
6 | 15 | Dalton Schultz | TE | 115 |
6 | 16 | Stone Smartt | TE | 120 |
6 | 17 | Kyle Pitts | TE | 121 |
6 | 18 | David Njoku | TE | 122 |
6 | 19 | Chig Okonkwo | TE | 123 |
6 | 20 | Juwan Johnson | TE | 126 |
6 | 21 | Mike Gesicki | TE | 131 |
6 | 22 | Noah Gray | TE | 132 |
6 | 23 | Cole Kmet | TE | 138 |
7 | 24 | Noah Fant | TE | 140 |
7 | 25 | Isaiah Likely | TE | 143 |
7 | 26 | Grant Calcaterra | TE | 144 |
7 | 27 | Luke Musgrave | TE | 145 |
7 | 28 | Tyler Conklin | TE | 151 |
7 | 29 | Hayden Hurst | TE | 152 |
7 | 30 | Ben Sinnott | TE | 154 |
7 | 31 | Ja'Tavion Sanders | TE | 160 |
7 | 32 | Austin Hooper | TE | 161 |
7 | 33 | Foster Moreau | TE | 163 |
8 | 34 | Jordan Akins | TE | 171 |
8 | 35 | Dawson Knox | TE | 173 |
8 | 36 | Michael Mayer | TE | 174 |
8 | 37 | Tyler Higbee | TE | 175 |
8 | 38 | Daniel Bellinger | TE | 188 |
9 | 39 | Ko Kieft | TE | 197 |
9 | 40 | Josh Whyle | TE | 199 |
9 | 41 | Lucas Krull | TE | 209 |
9 | 42 | Tommy Tremble | TE | 214 |
9 | 43 | Darnell Washington | TE | 219 |
9 | 44 | Luke Schoonmaker | TE | 224 |
9 | 45 | AJ Barner | TE | 227 |
9 | 46 | Josh Oliver | TE | 228 |
9 | 47 | Colby Parkinson | TE | 229 |
10 | 48 | Kylen Granson | TE | 231 |
10 | 49 | Drew Sample | TE | 232 |
10 | 50 | John Bates | TE | 234 |
10 | 51 | Payne Durham | TE | 246 |
10 | 52 | Brock Wright | TE | 247 |
10 | 53 | Jeremy Ruckert | TE | 256 |
10 | 54 | Drew Ogletree | TE | 263 |
10 | 55 | Johnny Mundt | TE | 274 |
10 | 56 | Nick Vannett | TE | 278 |
10 | 57 | Elijah Higgins | TE | 285 |
10 | 58 | Durham Smythe | TE | 291 |
10 | 59 | Luke Farrell | TE | 297 |
11 | 60 | Charlie Woerner | TE | 298 |
11 | 61 | Tucker Fisk | TE | 301 |
Week 16 Tight End Outlooks For Fantasy Football
David Njoku, Cleveland Browns - Fantasy Football Outlook
According to Kelsey Russo of the Browns, tight end David Njoku (hamstring) is listed as questionable for Sunday's divisional tilt against the Cincinnati Bengals. Njoku opened the week as a non-participant on Wednesday and Thursday but was spotted earlier at Friday's practice. Fantasy managers should continue to pay close attention to his status over the weekend. Njoku was sidelined last weekend due to this same injury.
Over his previous four games, the tight end has averaged an impressive 15.6 PPR points per game with 6.5 receptions and 46.0 yards per game. During this span he found the end zone three times. Even though Dorian Thompson-Robinson will be taking over starting duties, Njoku should still be viewed as a low-end TE1 facing the Bengals who have allowed the most PPR points to opposing tight ends this season.
- Andy Smith, RotoBaller
Zach Ertz, Washington Commanders - Fantasy Football Outlook
Washington Commanders tight end Zach Ertz (concussion) is expected to play in Sunday's NFC East clash with the Eagles. The veteran suffered a concussion in Week 15 against the Saints. As a result, he didn't practice on Wednesday. While Ertz logged limited sessions on Thursday and Friday, it wasn't enough to avoid a questionable tag.
The 34-year-old found the end zone in each of the three games leading up to Week 15. But with a difficult matchup versus a tough Philadelphia defense on the agenda, Ertz will have his work cut out for him, assuming he is cleared to suit up. With that in mind, he deserves some consideration for most fantasy lineups, even more so for multi-tight end setups
- Dennis Clausen, RotoBaller
Brenton Strange, Jacksonville Jaguars - Fantasy Football Outlook
Jacksonville Jaguars tight end Brenton Strange (shoulder) doesn't carry an injury designation for Sunday's game against the Las Vegas Raiders. Despite being limited in practice with a shoulder injury this week, Strange was removed from the injury report on Friday, and all systems go for Sunday's clash against the Raiders. Strange is a great option that isn't considered one of the top-tier names in Week 16.
The young tight end had a breakout performance last week, putting up 11 catches for 73 yards. While the low yardage per catch is not ideal, it does show that Strange is developing into a security blanket option on short passes for quarterback Mac Jones with Evan Engram out for the season.
The Raiders have struggled to defend tight ends this season, so for fantasy managers looking for something new at the tight end position this week, Strange is a great option, especially in PPR leagues. Strange has intriguing upside due to a great matchup with the Raiders in Week 16.
- Seth Quinn, RotoBaller
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