The NFL closes out 2025 with a nine-game Sunday slate for Week 17. It’s the second-to-last week of the regular season, and it kicks off with seven games starting at 1 p.m. ET. While the player pool is a little smaller than it has been the last few weeks due to the Christmas Day contests, some strong fantasy football sleeper options are still on the board at tight end.
Each Saturday throughout the season, I’ve been listing my top fantasy football sleeper tight ends from the main slate to help you find the biggest production for the lowest salary. Tight end is especially important to consider for fantasy football sleeper options since the salaries go lower at tight end than at other positions. Using a bargain tight end in your FLEX spot can unlock more salary to use on stars in other spots, but getting production from your bargain tight end is also critical.
The picks in this post can be excellent values for DFS contests and can also serve as sneaky plays in your season-long league since they are in a position to exceed expectations. Earlier this week, I highlighted my top-15 starters at tight end, and in this list, we’ll focus on players mostly outside those 15 players who still bring a high fantasy football ceiling in their Week 17 matchups.
Week 17 Fantasy Football Sleeper TEs (analysis below):
- Chig Okonkwo, Tennessee Titans ($3,300)
- Darnell Washington, Pittsburgh Steelers ($2,800)
- Ja’Tavion Sanders, Carolina Panthers ($2,700)
- Michael Mayer, Las Vegas Raiders ($2,500)
- Daniel Bellinger, New York Giants ($2,500)
Week 16 Results:
- Dawson Knox, Buffalo Bills ($3,300; 2.0 FPTS)
- T.J. Hockenson, Minnesota Vikings ($3,000; 1.2 FPTS)
- Gunnar Helm, Tennessee Titans ($2,900; 2.9 FPTS)
- Darnell Washington, Pittsburgh Steelers ($2,600; 5.6 FPTS)
- Tommy Tremble, Carolina Panthers ($2,500; 1.6 FPTS)
Whether you’re looking for value plays in your DFS contests like the NFL $2.25M Fantasy Football Millionaire [$1M to 1st] or looking for a last-minute addition from the waiver wire, here are my top five fantasy football sleeper tight ends for Week 17 of the 2025 season:
Chig Okonkwo, Tennessee Titans ($3,300)
The Titans have heavily leaned on Okonkwo and rookie Gunnar Helm ($2,800) in their passing game this season, with both players bringing fantasy potential in the timeshare. The team’s receivers have battled injuries and struggled with consistency, aside from Chimere Dike ($4,300), whom I highlighted in my fantasy football sleeper wide receivers earlier on Saturday.
Okonkwo stepped up with six catches on eight targets for 44 yards last week against the Chiefs, also scoring his first touchdown of the season.
The veteran has multiple catches in eight straight weeks, averaging 3.8 catches for 35.6 receiving yards per game. He has at least 6.9 fantasy points in five of his last six games and is coming off a season-high 16.4 fantasy points in last week’s win over Kansas City.
He is in a tough matchup against the Saints, who have been good against tight ends, but he should still get enough work to be a solid value play.
Darnell Washington, Pittsburgh Steelers ($2,800)
The Steelers will need their tight ends to step into a larger role this week with DK Metcalf suspended. While the Steelers have both Jonnu Smith ($2,600) and Pat Freiermuth ($2,900) in the mix, Washington has still earned enough looks to be worth a play as a cheap option.
Washington has multiple catches in five of his last six games. He caught three of his four targets on Monday Night Football for 25 yards against the Dolphins in Week 15, and he followed that up with three more catches for 36 yards against the Lions.
Washington is a lot of fun to watch, since he’s surely not fun to tackle:
The Steelers will likely rely on tight ends and running backs more with Metcalf out, and they’ll look to run over the Browns as they push to the playoffs. Washington is a high-risk play, but he also has a high ceiling.
Ja’Tavion Sanders, Carolina Panthers ($2,700)
I had Tommy Tremble ($2,500) in my fantasy football sleeper plays for last week as the Panthers took on the Bucs. It was the right idea, but I picked the wrong side of the platoon, since it was Sanders who hauled in two catches for nine yards and a key score.
Sanders has 29 catches for 190 yards and the lone touchdown on the season, but he has shown spike potential with multiple catches in four of his last six games. He is a boom-or-bust play, but the Seahawks have given up the fifth-most fantasy points to tight ends this season.
The Panthers are in another huge game as they try to secure the division crown, and Sanders is a momentum-riding flier play worth a look in this matchup.
Michael Mayer, Las Vegas Raiders ($2,500)
Brock Bowers (knee) is on the IR, which opens up plenty of potential for Mayer to step up from the minimum salary. Mayer was a second-round pick out of Georgia in 2023 but got replaced in the depth chart by Bowers, who was the thirteenth overall pick in 2024.
He did get a chance to fill in for Bowers earlier this season, hauling in five of his seven targets for 50 yards and a touchdown against the Titans.
Mayer also had three catches in three straight games from Week 9 to Week 11, totaling 61 yards during that stretch.
With more work available in Bowers’ absence, Mayer could end up being a top value play on Saturday.
Daniel Bellinger, New York Giants ($2,500)
Another option at the minimum salary this week is Giants backup Daniel Bellinger, who is lined up to be New York’s primary starter this week with Theo Johnson (illness) ruled out.
Bellinger had three catches for 35 yards against the Commanders in Week 15 before being held catchless last week, when the Giants went extremely conservative. He has had at least three catches in three games this season, highlighted by a trio of receptions for 88 yards and an impressive 17.8 fantasy points against the Broncos.
While Mayer has gotten a lot of attention, Bellinger could also be a solid pivot play if New York allows Jaxson Dart to air it out. He’s much more under the radar, but he could make his owners look extremely smart if he finds the end zone this week.
