Fantasy Football Week 17 Tight End Preview: Projections, numbers to know, DFS plays, and more
Everything you need to know about tight end for Fantasy Football in Week 17
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2 min read
Welcome to Fantasy Football Championship Week. Congratulations if you are still alive. This will be the last week of my position preview; let's go get a championship! While there will be plenty of content for those trying to win it all this week, I look to also take a look ahead this time of year to 2026. So you'll still find waiver wire adds, numbers to know, and Week 17 DFS plays below like normal. But to start, I would like to offer a short overview as to what the position might look like in 2026.
Tight end this year has been phenomenal, unlike any year I can remember. After all those false starts saying "tight end looks deep this year" and then looking foolish, it actually happened in 2025. Through Week 16, there are 12 tight ends averaging at least 11 PPR FPPG and another four averaging double digits. Off that pace are two guys who we expect to be better next year: Oronde Gadsden II and Colston Loveland. I am already excited about the options we are going to have next year.
That being said, there are several tight ends who have been good this year who could disappear. At the top of the list is Travis Kelce, who would surprise no one if he chooses to retire. I have no idea if Darren Waller will come back either. And George Kittle won't retire, but he will turn 33, so we have to at least consider a dropoff. Jake Ferguson is probably in trouble if George Pickens comes back; he has had much less success when Pickens and CeeDee Lamb are available. And Dallas Goedert will be the posterboy for touchdown regression.
With little doubt that the position will be deep, the question becomes about tier breaks. Are Brock Bowers and George Kittle in the same tier as Trey McBride? Just how big of a leap do we project for Tyler Warren, Harold Fannin, and Colston Loveland in Year 2? And what roles do Sam LaPorta and Tucker Kraft claim in their returns? These are the questions we will tackle this offseason. For now, let's go win a championship.
Here's everything else you need to know about tight end in Week 17:
Week 17 TE Preview
TE Preview
Numbers to Know
- 11 -- Harold Fannin is the 11th player to catch at least 70 passes and record at least 700 yards in his Age 21 season. He is the first tight end.
- 16.46 -- Brock Bowers has averaged 16.46 PPR FPPG in his nine healthy games. He is most certainly elite and could be even better next year if the offensive environment is better.
- 38% -- Dalton Kincaid played 38% of the offensive snaps in Week 16. He hasn't topped 40% since Week 5. It is very hard to trust a player playing that little; he clearly isn't healthy.
- 19.1% -- Juwan Johnson has a 19% target share in Week 16. With Devaughn Vele out, Johnson is the clear number two option and a top eight tight end this week.
- 31.8% -- Darren Waller has nearly a third of the Dolphins' end zone targets this season. He has played eight games.
Week 17 Streamers (TE Preview)
I hope you don't have to stream tight end this week. There are so many fantastic options that are already rostered. But if you do, Brenton Strange is probably the best option. The Colts have given up the fifth most Fantasy points to opposing tight ends this season, but Strange only had 5.7 PPR Fantasy points when he played them earlier this month. Like I said, I hope you don't have to stream tight end this week.
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TE Preview
DFS Plays
Top DFS Play
Projections powered by
Sportsline
There is not a tight end on the Christmas slate I want to play, but Kelce's price has fallen far enough that I'm choosing him in what could be his last game at Arrowhead Stadium. I am not sure the Chiefs third string QB can get the ball to him consistently, but I expect him to try. Kelce had his best game of the season against this defense, catching nine passes for 91 yards and a touchdown in Week 11.
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On the main slate, it is Trey McBride week. The number one tight end in Fantasy is facing the worst defense against tight ends this season. For reference, McBride is averaging 18.6 PPR FPPG, three points clear of any other tight end. The Bengals are giving up 21.8 points per game to the position, six more than any other defense. Don't get cute.
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Contrarian DFS Play
Projections powered by
Sportsline
I wouldn't be surprised if half of the entries in a given contest have Trey McBride or Harold Fannin rostered. And I don't really advise fading them. But if you want to get cute, I would play Brock Bowers. Bowers has averaged over 16 points per game since returning from his knee injury, and his team has their highest implied total in a month against the Giants. It could be another two-touchdown game at a very low roster rate.
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TE Preview
Heath's Projections
My full set of Week 17 Fantasy football projections for every position is now available on SportsLine. You can find them here. Find out which of my favorite plays are projected to score higher than consensus rankings and which don't live up to their draft hype, at least in Week 17. Projected stats for all starting tight ends are available, so be sure to check out the full set of projections at SportsLine.
