Tight end PPR rankings for Week 16 fantasy football

Friday injury report

George Kittle is coming off IR and will play. He could be on a snap count of some sort, but is still a good start at a weak position.

Hunter Henry has been placed on the Covid-19 list and Donald Parham should get the start. Parham has some boom or bust fantasy appeal against the Broncos.

Dan Arnold was added to the Thursday injury report with a back injury. That’s not a great sign before their matchup with the 49ers.

Mike Gesicki got in two limited practices and again looks like a game-time decision. If he can go, he’s worth a start against the Raiders on Saturday.

Out: Richard Rodgers (ankle), Jace Sternberger (concussion, illness)
Doubtful: Demetrius Harris (foot)
Questionable: Dan Arnold (back), Maxx Williams (ankle), Darrell Daniels (hamstring), Mike Gesicki (shoulder), Blake Bell (illness)

Thursday injury report

Kyle Rudolph was ruled out for the Vikings Christmas Day game against the Saints. Irv Smith once again gets the call for lead snaps at TE and is worth consideration in DFS.

DNP: Jace Sternberger (concussion, illness), Jonnu Smith (knee)
Limited: Mike Gesicki (shoulder)
Full: Eric Ebron (back), Evan Engram (calf)

Wednesday injury report:

Eric Ebron didn’t practice Wednesday due to a back injury that took him out of Monday night’s game. He is likely to suit up this week, but will need to get back to practice.

Kyle Rudolph didn’t practice again with his foot injury. Irv Smith Jr. and Tyler Conklin have been splitting work in his place.

Mike Gesicki was limited again with his shoulder injury. Limited practices last week didn’t get him ready to play, so we’ll see how it goes this week.

DNP: Hunter Henry (illness), Eric Ebron (back), Kyle Rudolph (foot)
Limited: Mike Gesicki (shoulder), Mo Alie-Cox (knee), Evan Engram (calf)
Full: Geoff Swaim (ankle)

Week 15 was a good one for those fantasy playoff teams with Darren Waller, Logan Thomas, Travis Kelce, and Noah Fant rostered. All three broke the 20 point barrier for PPR scoring, as they caught eight or more passes and three scored touchdowns.

This season, the tight end position has been so bad because only Kelce and Waller have been true target hogs at the position. Both have topped 130 targets while no other tight end has hit 100 this season.

Injury news

Eric Ebron had to leave Monday night’s game after taking a hit in the back. The good news is that he didn’t suffer any organ damage and appears to be on track to play against his old team the Colts.

George Kittle could return this week against the Cardinals, but how much work he would see is up for debate.

Streaming options

Jordan Akins, Texans

Akins remains risky, but he gets a good matchup with the Bengals, who rank second-worst in allowing fantasy points to tight ends this season. Akins caught five-of-six targets for 50 yards last week and I expect his workload to be similar for the fantasy championships.

Noah Fant, Broncos

Fant broke out last week and has been one of Drew Lock’s favorite targets when healthy. Health has been a problem for Fant and it has burned some fantasy managers this year, but his workload is one of the best in the league and that trumps a lot of problems, especially at tight end.