Welcome to Week 15! This week marks the start of the fantasy football playoffs, as well as the end of bye weeks. Yay! We also get three Saturday games this week, so make sure your lineups are in order. As we head into the playoffs, the general rule of thumb is to start your studs. If you’re streaming the position, target tight ends with favorable matchups. And always cross your fingers for touchdowns! Now, let’s get to those Week 15 tight end rankings and notes.
On the injury front, Hayden Hurst missed Week 14 with a calf injury and remains week-to-week. Mitchell Wilcox will continue to fill in if Hurst misses more time but can be ignored for fantasy purposes. Juwan Johnson is dealing with an ankle injury that has kept him sidelined since Week 13. If he can’t play this week, Taysom Hill has upside appeal. Daniel Bellinger suffered a rib injury and it’s unclear if he’ll be able to suit up in Week 15. If he misses time, Nick Vannett will take over as the team’s primary tight end.
Monitor the status of Dallas Goedert (shoulder) and Darren Waller (hamstring) as the week progresses. Both are eligible to return from the IR and should be inserted into fantasy lineups if they play. Good luck in Week 15!
Week 15 Tight End Notes
- Greg Dulcich has eight targets in back-to-back games, and his 19.8% target share over the last three games leads the Broncos. He should have no difficulty racking up targets this week in a tasty matchup against Arizona. The Cardinals are the worst defense in the league against tight ends. They’ve given up the most receptions, receiving yards, and touchdowns to the position through 13 weeks. Even if Brett Rypien gets the start this week, Dulcich should still be productive as he’ll be a nice dump-off option for the backup quarterback.
- Tyler Conklin has a great matchup this week against Detroit. The Lions are the third-worst defense against tight ends and have surrendered eight touchdowns his season — tied for second-most in the league. Conklin has a combined 15 targets and 37 receiving yards in the last two games. The yardage isn’t great, but he’s seeing volume. Mike White looks like he’ll be under center in Week 15, and Conklin should continue to be peppered with targets. He’s a top-10 tight end for me this week.
- Evan Engram had a monster game last week, catching 11-of-15 targets for a whopping 162 receiving yards and two touchdowns. He’s also been on a two-game tear, seeing at least seven targets and finding the end zone in each of those games. However, temper your expectations this week against Dallas. The Cowboys are the stingiest defense against tight ends and have only allowed one touchdown to the position through 13 weeks. Engram is a back-end TE1 for me in Week 15.
- Last week, I mentioned Chigoziem Okonkwo as a tight end to put on your radar screen and he delivered. He caught all six of his targets for 45 yards and a touchdown. Okonkwo has at least 30 receiving yards in each of the past six games and has come on especially strong lately. In the last three weeks, he combined for 16 targets, 148 receiving yards, and a touchdown. He also scored the fourth-most fantasy points among tight ends over that span. Okonkwo is a solid play this week against a Chargers defense that has allowed the 13th-most fantasy points to tight ends.
Week 15 Tight End Rankings
More Week 15 Rankings: QB | RB | WR | TE | Flex Rankings
Note: Ranks based on half-PPR scoring
| Rnk | Player | Team | Opponent |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Travis Kelce | KC | @HOU |
| 2 | T.J. Hockenson | MIN | IND |
| 3 | Dalton Schultz | DAL | @JAX |
| 4 | George Kittle | SF | @SEA |
| 5 | Mark Andrews | BAL | @CLE |
| 6 | David Njoku | CLE | BAL |
| 7 | Pat Freiermuth | PIT | @CAR |
| 8 | Greg Dulcich | DEN | ARI |
| 9 | Tyler Conklin | NYJ | DET |
| 10 | Gerald Everett | LAC | TEN |
| 11 | Evan Engram | JAX | DAL |
| 12 | Dawson Knox | BUF | MIA |
| 13 | Hunter Henry | NE | @LVR |
| 14 | Chigoziem Okonkwo | TEN | @LAC |
| 15 | Taysom Hill | NO | ATL |
| 16 | Cole Kmet | CHI | PHI |
| 17 | Foster Moreau | LVR | NE |
| 18 | Juwan Johnson | NO | ATL |
| 19 | Austin Hooper | TEN | @LAC |
| 20 | Tyler Higbee | LAR | @GB |
| 21 | Jordan Akins | HOU | KC |
| 22 | Cade Otton | TB | CIN |
| 23 | Trey McBride | ARI | @DEN |
| 24 | Robert Tonyan | GB | LAR |