The world of fantasy football tight ends is stabilizing just in time for the playoffs (in most leagues). The end of NFL byes means every big name will be available, and options for streaming remain plentiful.
Besides your typical must-start group, weeding through the heavy majority of tight ends may be the toughest job remaining for those looking to advance in the battle for their league championship trophy.
A few tough matchups for big names, a notable injury, and shifting roles will have a major say in how this player pool settles into Week 15 action.
Scroll for the Week 15 fantasy tight end rankings and find your best plays for this crucial weekend.
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Fantasy TE Week 15 Rankings PPR: Start 'em, sit 'em tight end lineup tips
These Week 15 tight end player ratings account for point-per-reception (PPR) league scoring, with one additional point awarded for every 10 receiving yards, along with the standard 6 points per touchdown.
Any player's TE Bonus lineup consideration (weighing tight end receptions more heavily in point rewards) is noted below in the Week 15 Value column.
↕️ Fantasy Rankings for Week 15
| Rk | Tr | Tight End | TM | OPP | Week 15 Value |
| 1 | 1 | George Kittle | SF | TEN | Elite TE1 |
| 2 | 1 | Brock Bowers | LV | @PHI | Elite TE1 |
| 3 | 1 | Trey McBride | ARI | @HOU | Elite TE1 |
| 4 | 2 | Kyle Pitts | ATL | @TB | TE1 |
| 5 | 2 | Tyler Warren | IND | @SEA | TE1 |
| 6 | 2 | Harold Fannin | CLE | @CHI | TE1 |
| 7 | 3 | Dalton Kincaid | BUF | @NE | TE1 |
| 8 | 3 | Hunter Henry | NE | BUF | TE1 |
| 9 | 3 | Jake Ferguson | DAL | MIN | TE1 |
| 10 | 3 | Travis Kelce | KC | LAC | TE1 |
| 11 | 4 | Isaiah Likely | BAL | @CIN | Top TE Streamer |
| 12 | 4 | Mark Andrews | BAL | @CIN | Top TE Streamer |
| 13 | 4 | T.J. Hockenson | MIN | @DAL | Top TE Streamer |
| 14 | 4 | Mason Taylor | NYJ | @JAX | Top TE Streamer |
| 15 | 4 | Brenton Strange | JAX | NYJ | Top TE Streamer |
| 16 | 5 | Luke Musgrave | GB | @DEN | TE Streamer |
| 17 | 5 | Theo Johnson | NYG | WAS | TE Streamer |
| 18 | 5 | Dalton Schultz | HOU | ARI | TE Streamer |
| 19 | 5 | Colston Loveland | CHI | CLE | TE Streamer |
| 20 | 6 | Darren Waller | MIA | @PIT | TE Streamer |
| 21 | 6 | Oronde Gadsden | LAC | @KC | TE Streamer |
| 22 | 6 | AJ Barner | SEA | IND | TE Streamer |
| 23 | 7 | Cade Otton | TB | ATL | TE Streamer |
| 24 | 7 | Juwan Johnson | NO | CAR | Deep TE Bonus Sleeper |
| 25 | 7 | Colby Parkinson | LAR | DET | Deep TE Bonus Sleeper |
| 26 | 7 | Dallas Goedert | PHI | LV | Deep TE Bonus Sleeper |
| 27 | 7 | Mike Gesicki | CIN | BAL | Deep TE Bonus Sleeper |
| 28 | 7 | Evan Engram | DEN | GB | Deep TE Bonus Sleeper |
| 29 | 8 | Gunnar Helm | TEN | @SF | Bench |
| 30 | 8 | Chig Okonkwo | TEN | @SF | Bench |
| 31 | 8 | Cole Kmet | CHI | CLE | Bench |
| 32 | 8 | Josh Oliver | MIN | @DAL | Bench |
| 33 | 8 | Dawson Knox | BUF | @NE | Bench |
| 34 | 8 | Jackson Hawes | BUF | @NE | Bench |
| 35 | 8 | Austin Hooper | NE | BUF | Bench |
| 36 | 8 | Ross Dwelley | DET | @LAR | Bench |
| 37 | 8 | Taysom Hill | NO | CAR | Bench |
| 38 | 9 | Jeremy Ruckert | NYJ | @JAX | Bench |
| 39 | 9 | Charlie Woerner | ATL | @TB | Bench |
| 40 | 9 | Greg Dulcich | MIA | @PIT | Bench |
| 41 | 9 | Ja'Tavion Sanders | CAR | @NO | Bench |
| 42 | 9 | Adam Trautman | DEN | GB | Bench |
| 43 | 9 | Pat Freiermuth | PIT | MIA | Bench |
| 44 | 9 | Ian Thomas | LV | @PHI | Bench |
| 45 | 9 | Tommy Tremble | CAR | @NO | Bench |
| 46 | 9 | Tanner Hudson | CIN | BAL | Bench |
| 47 | 9 | Drew Ogletree | IND | @SEA | Bench |
| 48 | 10 | Josh Whyle | GB | @DEN | Bench |
| 49 | 10 | Elijah Higgins | ARI | @HOU | Bench |
| 50 | 10 | Payne Durham | TB | ATL | Bench |
| 51 | 10 | Quintin Morris | JAX | NYJ | Bench |
| 52 | 10 | John Bates | WAS | @NYG | Bench |
| 53 | 10 | Brevyn Spann-Ford | DAL | MIN | Bench |
| 54 | 10 | Mitchell Evans | CAR | @NO | Bench |
| 55 | 10 | Davis Allen | LAR | DET | Bench |
| 56 | 10 | Noah Fant | CIN | BAL | Bench |
| 57 | 11 | Charlie Kolar | BAL | @CIN | Bench |
| 58 | 11 | David Martin-Robinson | TEN | @SF | Bench |
| 59 | 11 | Cade Stover | HOU | ARI | Bench |
| 60 | 11 | Jared Wiley | KC | LAC | Bench |
| 61 | 11 | Durham Smythe | CHI | CLE | Bench |
| 62 | 11 | Josiah Deguara | ARI | @HOU | Bench |
| 63 | 11 | Jonnu Smith | PIT | MIA | Bench |
| 64 | 11 | Ben Sims | MIN | @DAL | Bench |
| 65 | 11 | Keleki Latu | BUF | @NE | Bench |
| 66 | 11 | Anthony Firkser | DET | @LAR | Bench |
| 67 | 11 | Foster Moreau | NO | CAR | Bench |
| 68 | 11 | Ben Sinnott | WAS | @NYG | Bench |
| 69 | 11 | Grant Calcaterra | PHI | LV | Bench |
| 70 | 11 | Drew Sample | CIN | BAL | Bench |
| 71 | 12 | John FitzPatrick | GB | @DEN | Bench |
| 72 | 12 | Daniel Bellinger | NYG | WAS | Bench |
| 73 | 12 | Luke Farrell | SF | TEN | Bench |
| 74 | 12 | Jake Tonges | SF | TEN | Bench |
| 75 | 12 | Robert Tonyan | KC | LAC | Bench |
| 76 | 12 | Mo Alie-Cox | IND | @SEA | Bench |
| 77 | 12 | Julian Hill | MIA | @PIT | Bench |
| 78 | 12 | Tanner Conner | MIA | @PIT | Bench |
| 79 | 13 | Elijah Arroyo | SEA | IND | Bench |
| 80 | 13 | Blake Whiteheart | CLE | @CHI | Bench |
| 81 | 13 | Stone Smartt | NYJ | @JAX | Bench |
| 82 | 13 | Colson Yankoff | WAS | @NYG | Bench |
| 83 | 13 | Jack Stoll | NO | CAR | Bench |
| 84 | 13 | Luke Schoonmaker | DAL | MIN | Bench |
| 85 | 13 | Terrance Ferguson | LAR | DET | Bench |
| 86 | 13 | Kylen Granson | PHI | LV | Bench |
| INJ | -- | David Njoku | CLE | @CHI | |
| INJ | -- | Zach Ertz | WAS | @NYG | |
| INJ | -- | Darnell Washington | PIT | MIA | |
| INJ | -- | Brock Wright | DET | @LAR | |
| INJ | -- | Johnny Mundt | JAX | NYJ | |
| INJ | -- | Will Dissly | LAC | @KC | |
| INJ | -- | Michael Mayer | LV | @PHI | |
| INJ | -- | Nate Adkins | DEN | GB | |
| INJ | -- | Noah Gray | KC | LAC | |
| INJ | -- | Hunter Long | JAX | NYJ | |
| IR-R | -- | Sam LaPorta | DET | @LAR | |
| IR-R | -- | Harrison Bryant | HOU | ARI | |
| IR-R | -- | Tyler Higbee | LAR | DET |
Find the best pickups at this position in our Week 15 waiver wire.
Fantasy TEs on Week 15 Bye
The NFL no longer has bye weeks. All healthy, active tight ends are available for fantasy lineups.
Week 15 fantasy TE injuries to watch
- David Njoku scored a touchdown on the second play of Week 14 but injured his knee on the play. Harold Fannin Jr. Would be a top-10 tight end if Njoku has to miss time; otherwise, they would remain borderline starters with high ceilings, depending on where Shedeur Sanders leans.
- Zach Ertz appears to have torn his ACL; the knee injury will end his season and maybe brings up questions of how much longer he'll play in the NFL. While the Commanders have an intriguing backup in Ben Sinnott, he's more of a dynasty stash than a 2025 fantasy contributor. (Though perhaps Washington will unlock his role in the coming weeks.)
- The Steelers' Darnell Washington might be in concussion protocol to start the week. While it may be tempting to chase Pat Freiermuth for the instance that Washington will miss time and clear up Pittsburgh's fantasy TE logjam, don't be too aggressive. We now have plenty of options with byes over; he'd be more of a DFS play.
Who are the best Week 15 fantasy tight ends?
The "Do not bench" trio now consists of Trey McBride, George Kittle, and Brock Bowers. Ride them through your fantasy postseason journey.
Tyler Warren should remain involved even after Daniel Jones' apparent season-ending Achilles tear; rookie Riley Leonard should lean on him against a tough Seahawks defense.
Even if Drake London (knee) returns in Week 15, Kyle Pitts should thrive in an easy draw versus the wilting Buccaneers defense.
Which top fantasy TE sleepers should I target for Week 15?
These initial rankings have Harold Fannin Jr. Positioned in the top 10 with the assumption of David Njoku (knee) will sit out Sunday. Even if the veteran returns, however, Fannin has upside with Shedeur Sanders under center; Cleveland has shown a desire to move him around in personnel to create mismatches, which should cause problems for an already weak Bears pass defense.
Need help in a deeper league or less helpful player pool? The Packers' Luke Musgrave looked to be in for a big game early against the Bears but disappeared from the gameplan. Jordan Love may have trouble ignoring him against the Broncos, one of the toughest defenses against wide receviers.
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Who are the biggest fantasy Week 15 TE bust candidates?
Travis Kelce's SNF dud leads into a tough matchup with the Chargers' defense, who typically contains top tight ends. The way the Chiefs' offense looks in what's turning out to be a lost season, Kelce is worth a benching for other options (though probably not worth a drop just yet).
Colston Loveland remains a weekly component of the Bears' offense, but his midrange volume (4-6 targets across each of the past five games) typically depends on him scoring a touchdown or breaking a long run. The Browns' pass defense and pass rush may force Chicago's offense to protect Caleb Williams and use the tight-end position on offense less often.