Fantasy Football: Week 16 Tight End (TE) Rankings

With Championship Week about to get under way with the Steelers-Panthers game (discuss game) in a few hours, here are some news and notes about tight ends and pass defenses:

- For the second time in four games, Cowboys tight end Jason Witten had ten receptions. During that four-game span, he has 32 receptions for 350 yards and four touchdowns.

- In his last three games, Lions tight end Brandon Pettigrew has a total of 75 receiving yards an no touchdowns. He had games with 36, 14 and 25 receiving yards.

- Last week, San Francisco's Vernon Davis finished with only one reception for four yards. In the previous two games, Davis had nine receptions for 196 yards and two touchdowns combined.

- Philadelphia's Brent Celek has 50-plus receiving yards in three of his past four games. Then again, Celek had zero receptions in three of his past seven games.

- Patriots tight end Aaron Hernandez has scored six touchdowns in his past seven games. During those seven games, he's alternated between scoring a touchdown (or two) and no touchdown. Last week, Hernandez scored two touchdowns versus the Packers.

- Giants tight end Kevin Boss has caught a touchdown pass in five of his past seven games. He didn't record a single touchdown in his first seven games. The Packers, who have allowed the third most fantasy points to tight ends this season, have allowed a touchdown to the opposing tight ends in four consecutive games.

- Since Week 4, only one tight end has had more than 50 receiving yards against the Bears (Washington's Chris Cooley in Week 7). Meanwhile, Jets tight end Dustin Keller has struggled since his first four games of the season, in which he had 19 receptions for 254 yards and five touchdowns. In ten games since then, Keller has 29 receptions for 354 yards and no touchdowns.

- Cooley scored his third touchdown of the season when the Redskins faced the Cowboys last week. His other two touchdowns were against the Texans and Eagles, the two teams that have allowed the second-most and most fantasy points to opposing tight ends, respectively, this season. This week, the Redskins face the Jaguars, who have allowed the seventh-most fantasy points this season. And Cooley will have the chance to score a touchdown against another NFC East opponent, the New York Giants, next week.

Here are the top ten fantasy tight ends for Week 16:

1. Jason Witten, Cowboys (at ARI)
2. Jacob Tamme, Colts (at OAK)
3. Vernon Davis, 49ers (at STL)
4. Kevin Boss, Giants (at GB)
5. Marcedes Lewis, Jaguars (vs WAS)
6. Tony Gonzalez, Falcons (vs NO)
7. Chris Cooley, Redskins (at JAX)
8. Jimmy Graham, Saints (at ATL)
9. Zach Miller, Raiders (vs IND)
10. Rob Gronkowski, Patriots (at BUF)

See our full top 20 tight end rankings for Week 16.

More rankings for Week 16 Top 25 QBs | Top 40 RBs | Top 50 WR

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