It's finally here, championship week has arrived. For fantasy owners who made it through all the injuries and craziness of the 2015 season, going through the twist and turns of the 2015 fantasy season and have reached this point, take a moment to breathe and take it all in. This is championship week, you made it, you made the right moves all year and punched your ticket to the championship.
Now it's time to put in the work, finding that right lineup to help you win that championship. eDraft is once again bringing you the weekly positional rankings, here we'll take a look at the top-10 tight ends for Week 16. These rankings could help you decide between two tight ends and who to start or they can be there for you if you are out of the playoffs and now focusing on daily fantasy football.
Let's take a look at the top-10 tight ends for Week 16.
1. Rob Gronkowski, New England Patriots @ New York Jets
Projected Stats: Nine receptions, 110 yards and one touchdown
Every team thinks they have a plan for stopping Gronkowski in the days leading up to the game, then when they see him on the field and they test out their coverage plans, things don't quite work out the way they hoped. New York can say what they want about using multiple coverages on Gronkowski but he already toasted this team for an 11/108/1 line back in October.
While the Jets have allowed the ninth-fewest fantasy points to tight ends this season, Gronkowski has shown he can put up great numbers against this defense so he will once again be a top the tight end rankings like he is every week.
2. Jordan Reed, Washington at Philadelphia Eagles
Projected Stats: Seven receptions for 84 yards and one touchdown
There might have been some concern about Reed's targets when DeSean Jackson returned, but Jackson's return to the field has helped Reed. With Jackson taking the top off the defense and making the safety pay more attention deep, it's opened up the middle of the field for Reed.
Reed has posted 204 receiving yards and three touchdowns over the past two weeks and his quarterback, Kirk Cousins, is playing the best football of his career. Jackson will be the big focus of the Eagles' defense and applying help on him in Jackson's "Revenge Game". Reed's volume of targets and the recent success of Washington's offense makes Reed a surefire top-three tight end every week.
3. Julius Thomas, Jacksonville Jaguars at New Orleans Saints
Projected Stats: Six receptions, 71 yards and one touchdown
Thomas has started to find his rhythm in this offense and establish a connection with Blake Bortles. After four straight weeks with a touchdown, Thomas racked up 79 receiving yards against the Atlanta Falcons last week in a low-scoring game. Now with the Jaguars set to play in New Orleans, the high-scoring matchup should provide plenty of opportunities for Thomas.
New Orleans' defense has allowed the sixth-most fantasy points to tight ends this season. Thomas is averaging 7.8 targets per game over the past four weeks and in a matchup projected to feature a lot of the passing game, Thomas could see 10-plus targets.
4. Greg Olsen, Carolina Panthers at Atlanta Falcons
Projected Stats: Six receptions, 61 yards and one touchdown
This is an excellent matchup for Olsen and the Panthers. Cam Newton is playing at an MVP-level and delivering precision strikes all over the field and Olsen is his top target. This is all great news against a Falcons' defense that has allowed the fifth-most fantasy points to tight ends this season.
It all sets up for a great matchup and a big game for Olsen, but if Carolina gets out to a big lead early, Olsen's involvement in the offense could greatly decrease as Carolina seeks to just run out the clock and keep their starters healthy ahead of the playoffs. In any other week Olsen is a top-two tight end, but game flow and rest adds more risk to using him in fantasy.
5. Benjamin Watson, New Orleans Saints vs. Jacksonville Jaguars
Projected Stats: Five reception, 51 receiving yards and one touchdown
The Saints-Jaguars battle is widely expected to be high-scoring and Watson will play a major part in it. Drew Brees will be playing through a torn plantar fascia in his plant foot, which could limit some of his deep throws, if that's the case then Watson could expand upon the 40 targets he has seen over the past four weeks. Jacksonville has allowed the fifth-most fantasy points to tight ends this season, making Watson a top-five play.
6. Delanie Walker, Tennessee Titans vs. Houston Texans
Projected Stats: Seven receptions for 81 yards
Walker never gets enough appreciation in fantasy football, but every week he goes out and produces in a position where consistency is hard to come by. Over the past four weeks, Walker has been targeted 38 times for 318 receiving yards and three touchdowns. Even with Marcus Mariota out, Walker should see plenty of targets from Zach Mettenberger and facing a Texans' defense that has allowed the 11th-most fantasy points to tight ends over the last four weeks, Walker is a great play.
7. Gary Barnidge, Cleveland Browns @ Kansas City Chiefs
Projected Stats: Six receptions for 74 yards
There might be some concern over Barnidge after he saw just four targets against the Seattle Seahawks. But Seattle has been stout versus opposing tight ends over the past month, while the Chiefs' defense has been middle of the road. Barnidge is productive with his targets, so even if he is held to seven or eight, he can still deliver at least seven fantasy points.
8. Richard Rodgers, Green Bay Packers @ Arizona Cardinals
Projected Stats: Three receptions for 27 yards and one touchdown
Rodgers is largely a touchdown-dependent play, being relied upon by Aaron Rodgers when Green Bay reaches the red zone. Green Bay is set to face a Cardinals' defense that will be without DPOY candidate Tyrann Mathieu and will be trying to adjust without their star defender for the first time this season. If Green Bay can move the ball down the field consistently, it should put Rodgers in position to find the end zone, though he is a risky play.
9. Will Tye, New York Giants @ Minnesota Vikings
Projected Stats: Six receptions for 71 yards
Since Larry Donnell's injury, Tye has had the chance to emerge in New York's offense as its starting tight end. Over the last four weeks he has had at least 70 receiving yards or a touchdown. The rookie has climbed his way up the ladder and learned the offense, earning the trust of the coaching staff and quarterback Eli Manning. Now with Odell Beckham suspended for Week 16, Tye could see seven to eight targets and deliver a top-10 performance at his position.
10. Travis Kelce, Kansas City Chiefs vs. Cleveland Browns
Projected Stats: Four receptions for 54 receiving yards
Kelce has been a slight fantasy disappointment this season, especially for people hoping he could be a weekly top-three option at the position. He has still put up some good numbers, but they aren't as strong as they could be as result of the Chiefs' system and some of Kelce's own inconsistency.
Kelce's athleticism is what keeps him in the top-10 this week, even with a matchup against a Browns' defense that has allowed just 122 receiving yards and zero touchdowns to opposing tight ends over the past four weeks. Kelce should still see six to seven targets on Sunday and with his ability to pick up yards after the catch, he could still give fantasy owners 50-plus yards.