Week 16 Updated Fantasy Football Tight End Rankings: Kyle Pitts Rises, Jake Ferguson Falls

Week 16 fantasy football tight end rankings reveal Kyle Pitts surging into TE1 territory, while Jake Ferguson struggles to maintain relevance in PPR and non-PPR leagues.

Atlanta Falcons tight end Kyle Pitts Sr. (8) reacts after catching a pass against the Tampa Bay Buccaneers during the second quarter at Raymond James Stadium. | Nathan Ray Seebeck-Imagn Images

Welcome to Week 16 and the penultimate week of the fantasy football season. With championship berths on the line, this is the week where we must make accurate decisions at one of the most polarizing positions in the fantasy football world. 

Tight end remains the most volatile position in fantasy football outside of elite studs like Trey McBride, who—if he qualified as a wide receiver—would sit comfortably as the WR4 behind Jaxon Smith-Njigba, Puka Nacua, and Amon-Ra St. Brown. That’s elite company by any measure. And he's outpaced the second-best tight end, Travis Kelce, by almost 100 points!

Trey McBride almost has 100 more fantasy points than the TE2 😭 pic.twitter.com/gRdUUWndFL

— Sleeper (@SleeperHQ) December 16, 2025

Heading into Week 16, McBride continues to dominate, but beyond him, the landscape is anything but clear. At a position defined by scarcity, the tight end rankings can flip in the blink of an eye. Players who have been largely irrelevant for weeks can suddenly become the key reason your team sneaks into the postseason—or conversely, the reason it falls short.

Take Kyle Pitts, for example. Between Weeks 9 and 12, he failed to top eight PPR points in any matchup. Fast-forward a few weeks, and he turned in consecutive 15-point performances in Weeks 13 and 14. Then came a Thursday Night Football masterclass against the Buccaneers in Week 15. With Drake London sidelined, Pitts caught 11 of 12 targets for 166 yards and three touchdowns—including the game-winner—finishing the week with a staggering 45.6 fantasy points. McBride, Darren Waller, Dallas Goedert, and Colby Parkinson rounded out the top five, while George Kittle and Dalton Schultz also cleared 20 points. It was one of the most dominant weeks from tight ends we’ve seen in recent memory.

But what about consensus top tight end heading into 2025, Brock Bowers? The second-year stud had scored three touchdowns over the last two weeks heading into the fantasy football playoffs. Unfortunately, his production dropped off a cliff with Kenny Pickett taking over for the injured Geno Smith. Bowers tallied just 28 scoreless yards on Sunday. One snap, one quarterback change, and the landscape can look completely different.

Injuries have added to the chaos, elevating the value of guys like Pitts, Parkinson, and Harold Fannin Jr., while simultaneously impacting tight ends like Tyler Warren and Travis Kelce—who saw their value spike due to injuries to quarterbacks Daniel Jones and Patrick Mahomes. Breakout campaigns, like Tucker Kraft’s, have been derailed by a torn ACL, George Kittle missed over a month with a hamstring issue, and Sam LaPorta is also sidelined. Combine that with inconsistent target share from other big names, and fantasy managers have been forced to scramble weekly.

Fortunately for fantasy managers, bye weeks are no longer on the schedule in Week 16 and beyond. As we gear up for the fantasy football postseason, managers have more options with all teams in action. 

Before we roll out the full Week 16 tight end rankings, let’s take a look at the leaderboard through 15 weeks—who’s surging, who’s fading, and who might be the breakout hero that carries your team into the fantasy championship.

The Top Fantasy Football Tight Ends In 2025

Let’s take a look at the top 12 tight ends after the first 15 weeks of the season.

1. Trey McBride, Arizona Cardinals
2. Travis Kelce, Kansas City Chiefs
3. Kyle Pitts, Atlanta Falcons
4. Jake Ferguson, Dallas Cowboys
5. Tyler Warren, Indianapolis Colts
6. Dallas Goedert, Philadelphia Eagles
7. Brock Bowers, Las Vegas Raiders
8. Harold Fannin Jr., Cleveland Browns
9. Dalton Schultz, Houston Texans
10. Juwan Johnson, New Orleans Saints
11. Hunter Henry, New England Patriots
12. George Kittle, San Francisco 49ers

With Week 16 kicking off on Thursday as the Los Angeles Rams take on the Seattle Seahawks, let’s take a look at the best and worst tight ends of the week.

Kyle Pitts Enters Top-Tier

Pitts has been impossible to ignore over the past few weeks with Kirk Cousins under center. He’s hauling in an average of eight targets, 10 catches, and 112.7 yards per game—a level of production that suddenly puts him in the TE1 conversation, something few of us expected to say this season.

The matchup only amplifies his appeal. The Cardinals are allowing the eighth-most fantasy points to opposing tight ends this season. Between the targets coming his way and the defense he’s facing, Pitts isn’t just a start—he’s a must-start heading into Week 16. Even if Drake London returns from injury, Pitts has developed a chemistry with Cousins that cannot be overlooked. 

Tyler Warren Is No Longer An “Auto Start” In Week 16

Indianapolis Colts tight end Tyler Warren (84) runs with the ball during the first half against the Kansas City Chiefs at GEHA Field at Arrowhead Stadium. | Jay Biggerstaff-Imagn Images

Warren has had a solid season, but his one outing with Philip Rivers under center was a stark reminder of the challenges ahead—three catches for 19 yards in a game where Rivers threw for just 120 yards at a meager 4.4 yards per attempt. In the second round of the fantasy football playoffs, that simply isn’t the kind of upside we’re chasing. It’s tough because Warren has been reliable all year, but with a 44-year-old Rivers distributing the ball, fantasy managers should be looking elsewhere if at all possible this week.

Fantasy Managers Should Bench Jake Ferguson

Dallas Cowboys tight end Jake Ferguson (87) warms up prior to the game against the Kansas City Chiefs at AT&T Stadium. | Kevin Jairaj-Imagn Images

Ferguson once again struggled to make an impact, hauling in just two of four targets for 16 yards in his most recent outing. When the offense is at full health, he’s largely irrelevant unless he finds the end zone—a rare occurrence. 

Over the past seven games, Ferguson has scored just one touchdown, and that was five weeks ago. He also hasn’t eclipsed 60 receiving yards since Week 3. This week doesn’t offer any relief, as he draws a matchup against the Los Angeles Chargers, who have been stingy against tight ends all season, allowing the seventh-fewest fantasy points at the position. Ferguson belongs on the bench for Week 16.

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Let’s take a look at where the rest of the NFL’s tight ends stack up in our Week 16 rankings.

Week 16 Fantasy Football Tight End Rankings