Week 17 Fantasy Football Tight End Rankings (PPR): Irv Smith Jr. is the best available tight end

It’s the last week of the fantasy football season! The time has finally come for fantasy teams to show up in the championship week, while some leagues have already crowned this season’s champions. Last week, Irv Smith Jr. led the week for tight end fantasy points with 23.3 fantasy points from a 6-53-2 line against the New Orleans Saints. Check out who will make the tight end fantasy rankings for the last week of the regular season. Need more help for championship week? Check out the fantasy football section for rankings, projections, stats, and more.

Tier One Tight Ends

Travis Kelce had another consistent week for his owners in week 16. He put up 7 catches for 98 yards and one receiving touchdown to get him 22.8 fantasy points and the third-place spot on the weekly tight end standings. Owners of Kelce should be excited to start him next week, considering he will be playing the Los Angeles Chargers, who have allowed the seventh-most fantasy points to tight ends this season. The only worry his owners should have is his game status, considering the Chiefs do not need to win this game.

Darren Waller had another productive and involved week with the Raiders last week. He recorded five catches for 112 yards, which got him 16.2 fantasy points on the week. This placed him fifth in the tight end standings last week. This is the second week in the last three weeks that Waller has had a highly productive game without a touchdown. He may struggle with that again next week against the Broncos, who have allowed the tenth least amount of fantasy points per game to tight ends this year.

Mark Andrews had a solid outing last week against the New York Giants, putting up 6 catches for 76 yards in the game. His 13.6 fantasy points last week placed him tenth in the fantasy standings. As Baltimore’s best receiver and Lamar Jackson’s favorite target, Andrews has a lot of potential to pop off against the Cincinnati Bengals next week, who have allowed the 6th most fantasy points to tight ends this season.

Noah Fant had a decently active game last week, putting up 6 catches for 65 yards for 12.5 fantasy points. Two weeks ago, Fant put up the fourth-most fantasy points for tight ends with 20.8 fantasy points from an 8-68-1 stat line. He and the Broncos will be taking on the Las Vegas Raiders next week.

Logan Thomas has been on a five-week streak of having 10 or more fantasy points per game. Last week, he had seven catches for 63 yards to get him 13.3 fantasy points. After Washington just recently released quarterback Dwayne Haskins, this is a hopeful sign for the return of Alex Smith to the quarterback. Thomas had a two-game streak of scoring at least one touchdown when Alex Smith was playing. The Eagles have allowed the 11th most fantasy points to tight ends this season, so owners of Thomas should be optimistic about his performance next week.

Bounce Back

T.J Hockenson has struggled over the past two weeks, combining for just 8.1 fantasy points in that span. Before then, seven of his last eight games were in double-digit figures. Next week the Detroit Lions will take on the Minnesota Vikings in a final matchup in the NFC North for two teams that cannot make it to the postseason. Hockenson should get back on track for his final game.

Robert Tonyan had just one catch for 17 yards last game against the Tennessee Titans. Before the last game, Tonyan had a five games streak of having a trip to the endzone. He has had double-digit figures in each of those games too. Next week, he will be taking on the Chicago Bears in a fight to secure the one seed for the NFC playoffs. Not only have the Chicago Bears allowed the fifth-most fantasy points to tight ends this season, but Tonyan put up 17.7 fantasy points against them in week 12.

Tough Matchups

Austin Hooper had a great outing last week against the New York Jets with 7 catches for 71 yards. He was a big target in the passing game, considering most of Cleveland’s receivers had been excavated from the game due to COVID reasons. However, next week, Hooper will be taking on the Pittsburgh Steelers, who have allowed the second least amount of fantasy points to tight ends this year. Pair that with the heavy tight end and receiver competition in a run-heavy offensive scheme, and that does not mix well for Hooper’s potential.

Tyler Higbee has been on and off in recent weeks, scoring two touchdowns in the last four games while having just two double-digit games in the past seven weeks. However, the Rams will be taking on the Arizona Cardinals in the final week. The Cardinals have allowed just 5.6 points per game to tight ends this season, which puts them as the fifth hardest team for tight ends to face this season. Also, Jared Goff will not be playing after having surgery on his thumb. This does not look well for a Tyler Higbee start in fantasy next week.

Streamers

I have been saying this for weeks now, but Irv Smith Jr. is the tight end to have for fantasy pick-ups. Irv Smith Jr. had his second two-touchdown game of the season last week against the New Orleans Saints and put up the week leading 23.3 fantasy points. He had the most catches he has ever had this season with 6 in the game. He is only owned in 6.1% of ESPN fantasy leagues too.

Cole Kmet has been figuring out his way in the Bears’ offensive scheme and been helped with the guidance of Jimmy Graham. Kmet has scored just two touchdowns this season, but the Bears want to get him more involved. He received a rushing attempt on the goal-line last game that went for a loss of yards. If you want to take a shot on a flyer for the last week of fantasy, Cole Kmet could be your guy. He is owned in just 10.1% of fantasy leagues on ESPN at the moment.