Fantasy football rankings 2015: Tight ends, Week 17
The big names are still the big plays, for the most part.
Bill Streicher-USA TODAY Sports
As we head into Week 17 of the 2015 fantasy football season, picking a tight end is somehow one of the easier decisions fantasy owners have to make. Of course, the reason for that is the dearth of depth the position has had to offer this season; if you have a guy who has produced, you’re using him even if he’s only available for about half a game.
The biggest concern for a guy who might sit is Washington tight end Jordan Reed; the team is locked into its playoff seeding and Reed is a regular injury risk, so the team might hold him back Sunday. But even if Reed plays half a game or so, his production of late has been so great that he might be worth the risk anyway. The other primary tight ends are€” guys like Rob Gronkowski, Delanie Walker and Greg Olsen, and all should play enough of their Sunday games to be worth a play.
The newest name near the top of our rankings is Philadelphia tight end Zach Ertz. After a cool start to the season, with no touchdowns or 70-plus-yard games until December, Ertz has at least 70 yards and/or a touchdown in every game this month. It’s what fantasy owners have been waiting for from Ertz for two seasons now. He’s an interesting play if you’re scared off of Reed, or fed up with some other bigger name.
On to our Week 17 tight end rankings:
Tight ends, Week 17
(DK: Daniel Kelley; DC: Dan Ciarrocchi; AM: Andrew Miller; JD: John Daigle; SK; Scott Kaliska)
| Rk | Consensus | Tm | Opp. | DK | DC | AM | JD | SK |
| 1 | Rob Gronkowski | NE | @MIA | 1 | 1 | 1 | 1 | 1 |
| 2 | Greg Olsen | CAR | TB | 3 | 2 | 2 | 3 | 2 |
| 3 | Delanie Walker | TEN | @IND | 4 | 3 | 3 | 5 | 5 |
| 4 | Travis Kelce | KC | OAK | 6 | 6 | 5 | 4 | 3 |
| 5 | Gary Barnidge | CLE | PIT | 5 | 7 | 4 | 8 | 8 |
| 5 | Zach Ertz | PHI | @NYG | 7 | 4 | 8 | 7 | 6 |
| 7 | Julius Thomas | JAC | @HOU | 8 | 5 | 7 | 6 | 7 |
| 8 | Zach Miller | CHI | DET | 9 | 10 | 6 | 10 | 9 |
| 9 | Jordan Reed | WAS | @DAL | 2 | 13 | -- | 2 | 4 |
| 10 | Antonio Gates | SD | @DEN | 13 | 8 | 9 | 9 | 10 |
| 11 | Benjamin Watson | NO | @ATL | 10 | 11 | 12 | 12 | 12 |
| 12 | Austin Seferian-Jenkins | TB | @CAR | 12 | 12 | 18 | 11 | 11 |
| 13 | Heath Miller | PIT | @CLE | 17 | 9 | 13 | 15 | 15 |
| 14 | Will Tye | NYG | PHI | 11 | 18 | 10 | 16 | 16 |
| 15 | Kyle Rudolph | MIN | @GB | 15 | 14 | 15 | 14 | 14 |
| 16 | Richard Rodgers | GB | MIN | 20 | 15 | 17 | 13 | 13 |
| 17 | Eric Ebron | DET | @CHI | 14 | 19 | 16 | 19 | 18 |
| 18 | Jacob Tamme | ATL | NO | -- | 16 | 19 | 17 | 17 |
| 19 | Jason Witten | DAL | WAS | 19 | 17 | 23 | 18 | 19 |
| 20 | Owen Daniels | DEN | SD | 16 | 21 | 22 | 21 | 21 |
| 21 | Vance McDonald | SF | STL | 23 | 25 | 11 | -- | 22 |
| 21 | Vernon Davis | DEN | SD | 21 | 20 | -- | 20 | 20 |
| 23 | Ryan Griffin | HOU | JAC | 22 | -- | 14 | -- | -- |
| 24 | Maxx Williams | BAL | @CIN | -- | 22 | 21 | -- | 23 |
| 25 | Darren Fells | ARI | SEA | 18 | -- | -- | -- | -- |
| 25 | Jared Cook | STL | @SF | 24 | -- | -- | 22 | 24 |
| -- | Tyler Kroft | CIN | BAL | -- | -- | 20 | -- | -- |
| -- | Clive Walford | OAK | @KC | 25 | -- | 24 | 23 | -- |
| -- | Jordan Cameron | MIA | NE | -- | 23 | -- | 24 | -- |
| -- | Coby Fleener | IND | TEN | -- | 24 | 25 | 25 | 25 |
