Week 16 Tight End Rankings

With the fantasy playoffs still grinding along, it is either the championship week, or the semi-finals.  No matter what you are playing for, nothing is worse than starting a Tight End who gets you two points or less.  Every week there are a few TE's from the middle class that have a nice game which can help you win, but others that put up two points or less for you.  Last week Owen Daniels and Travis Kelce stepped up for their owners, while Jordan Reed and Larry Donnell put up bad performances.  I'm still worried about Julius Thomas.  His value has almost been strictly tied to his ability to score a redzone TD.  Last week he finally played, but was only targeted two times, and caught one pass for 30 yards.  Next year this is a guy who will probably get overdrafted by someone who only looks at the final statline, when in reality he is heavily dependent on scoring a TD to be relevant in a week.  Start the guys who are ranked higher, or with what your gut is telling you.  Remember we play this because it is fun, and if you will enjoy it more going with you gut, then that is what you should do.

With that, lets dive into my top 32 TE rankings, with some commentary on guys that standout as well.  Good luck to you and hopefully you get that win.

Travis Kelce - He had his second good outing in a row last week, and I believe that he will be able to keep this trend going.  Over the last nine weeks, the Pittsburgh Steelers have allowed a TD to an opposing Tight End in seven of those weeks.  That is great news for Kelce owners as he should be able to find the endzone on Sunday, and have a decent yardage total to go with it.

Jermaine Gresham - This is a pure matchup play as the Bengals play against the Denver Broncos on Monday night.  In the last eight weeks, the Broncos have allowed a total of 6 TD's to opposing Tight Ends.  Gresham will never get the big play, but that really isn't what you need.  Gresham is good for a few receptions every game, and about 30 yards receiving.  This week I believe he will be able to find the endzone against a Broncos team that allows TE's to do so.

Charles Clay - There appeared to be no lingering effects of the injury that had kept him out two weeks ago.  His first week back he was only targeted 3 times, but that is also because Dion Sims got the same amount of targets.  Last week Clay got 7 of the 8 Tight End targets in Miami.  I expect that to continue into this next game against a tougher Vikings defense.  I don't expect him to get in the endzone here, but a game with about 60 yards receiving is a definite possibility.

Larry Donnell - If there is one Tight End that I absolutely don't trust this week it would be Donnell.  He has done absolutely nothing over the past four games, totaling 8 fantasy points during that span.  With the emergence of Odell Beckham Jr., there is no need for Eli to throw the ball to Donnell.  Start anyone of the guys that are ranked ahead of him, and you should drop him as well as there is no use for him to be on your roster anymore.