Tight End Start/Sit Advice | Week 16 of THE 12 FORMATION

Win Your Week 16

• Week 16 Sunday Preview for Start/Sit | THE FULL SLATE
• Positional Matchups | Week 16 CheatChart | Find the Best Fantasy Performers
• Quarterback Start/Sit Advice | Week 16 of THE AUDIBLE
• Running Back Start/Sit Advice | Week 16 of THE CUTBACK
• Wide Receiver Start/Sit Advice | Week 16 of The SLANT PATTERN
• Tight End Start/Sit Advice | Week 16 of THE 12 FORMATION
• IDP Fantasy Start/Sit Advice | Week 16 of THE BLINDSIDE

The Dynasty Nerds writers are here to provide you with weekly start/sit advice all season long. We will be making our recommendations based on weekly consensus PPR rankings. Here is the Week 16 Tight End Start/Sit from Senior NFL Nerd Steven Pintado.

This time of year, one loss ends your season. But, if the odds are stacked against you, it’s time to come swinging. A tight end that will get you 10 points may not be enough. Someone like Jake Ferguson, Juwan Johnson, or Grant Calcaterra might end up falling flat, but they could also end up being the reason you win. Here’s to hoping you win your fantasy championship this year! Now, let’s get to it…

Win Your Week 16 | QB | RB | WR | TE | IDP | CHEATCHART | FULL SLATE

NOTE: Rankings for the Week 16 Tight End Start/Sit are sourced from FantasyPros expert consensus expert rankings (ECR). Our terminology is for a 12-team PPR league. So, TE1 means top 12, or TE2 means top 24, etc.

Our writers answer all positional questions, including Week 16 tight end start/sit, on Discord before the games exclusively for the #Nerdherd. The advanced metrics used in this article are courtesy of Fantasy Points Data Suite.

Week 16 Tight End PPR Rankings by Steven Pintado

START | Week 16 Tight End Start/Sit

Brenton Strange | Jackonsonville Jaguars | TE 12

Week 15 Stats | TE 2 | FPts 18.3 | Tgts 12 | Rec 11 | Yds 73 | Confidence 75%

Our tight end, which you MUST start in Week 16, has to be Brenton Strange. While it may be strange to consider Strange a start this week, let me explain. The Jaguars’ second-year tight end showed us a glimpse of production early in the season, the first time Evan Engram missed time, he averaged 8 fantasy points per game from Weeks 2 to 4.

In his first game without Evan Engram last week, he saw 12 targets and caught 11 for 73 yards. Unlike last time, Strange won’t compete with Christian Kirk and Gabe Davis for targets. Outside of Brian Thomas Jr., the Jaguars don’t have much talent. Mac Jones likes to use his tight ends, and Strange benefited from that. The Raiders are a great matchup that has recently allowed production to fantasy tight ends. Strange should do well in your lineups.

SIT | Week 16 Tight End Start/Sit

Mark Andrews | Baltimore Ravens | TE 7

Week 15 Stats | TE 9 | FPts 10.4 | Tgts 2 | Rec 2 | Yds 24 | 1 TD | Confidence 70%

Our tight end SIT for Week 16 is going to be Mark Andrews. Fantasy managers got lucky last week when Andrews scored that touchdown against the Giants after only a two-target game. Andrews has been performing better over his last 3 games, averaging 12.8 fantasy points. Andrews has been a little touchdown-dependent with a touchdown in 4 of the last 5 games. In those games, he has only one game with 5 or more targets.

Andrews will face off in another tough matchup in Week 16. He will face off against the Steelers, who have been a middle-of-the-pack team against tight ends. In 10 career games, Andrews has been unable to cross the endzone. The rest of Andrews’ stats versus the Steelers have been inconsistent in fantasy. If Andrews can see over 8 targets, then he has done well, averaging 6.5 receptions with 75 yards in 4 career games. If Andrews doesn’t reach that, he has averaged 2.8 receptions for 29.8 yards in 6 career games. Andrews hasn’t been the go-to pass catcher for Jackson this year; I could see Andrews disappointing fantasy managers in Week 16.

Streamer | START | Week 16 Tight End Start/Sit

Chigoziem Okonkwo | Tenneesse Titans | TE 20

Week 15 Stats | TE 6 | FPts 13.9 | Tgts 10 | Rec 8 | Yds 59 | Confidence 55%

Our tight end streamer for Week 16 will be Chigoziem Okonkwo from the Titans. We’ve all been hurt by Okonkwo before, BUT he could surprise us in Week 16. The biggest bump for Okonkwo is Mason Rudolph will be starting, which will boost the passing game. Okonkwo continues to play the boom or bust role in fantasy, with 2 of his last 4 games with 10 or more fantasy points. The other 2 games, he was under 6 fantasy points.

Okonkwo will get a favorable matchup against the Colts in Week 16. They allow the 3rd-most fantasy points per game to tight ends, per Pro Football Reference. Over the last 6 games, the Colts have given up 5 touchdowns to an opposing tight end. The tight ends catching these touchdowns have been Josh Oliver, Kenny Yeboah, Austin Hooper, Nate Adkins, and Adam Trautman. Okonkwo is arguably better than all of these tight ends. The Titans tight end has averaged 6 targets per game over the last 3 weeks, which means he could pleasantly surprise fantasy managers.

Spotlight | START | Week 16 Tight End Start/Sit

Dalton Kincaid | Buffalo Bills | TE 13

Week 15 Stats | TE 14 | FPts 9.3 | Tgts 7 | Rec 4 | Yds 53 | Confidence 78%

Our tight end spotlight has to be Dalton Kincaid. The Bills tight end has not been discussed much in our tight end article this year. Kincaid has dealt with injuries and low production for most of the season. It looks like he is finally healthy and saw seven targets in his first game back. Kincaid, this season, when he can get at least 7 targets, has averaged 10 fantasy points per game. The Bills passing game doesn’t have a consistent option outside of Khalil Shakir.

Dalton Kincaid will face off against the Patriots in Week 16. The Patriots have been a middle-of-the-road team against tight ends this season, allowing 7.3 fantasy points per game. In 2 of the last 3 games, the Patriots have allowed 80 or more receiving yards to an opposing tight end. This is great for Kincaid since he has averaged 80 receiving yards in his 2 career games versus the Patriots. The Bills will continue to show off to teams as they attempt to get that no. 1 seed from the Chiefs. Kincaid is going to be a big part of that come Sunday.

Redemption | START | Week 16 Tight End Start/Sit

Brock Bowers | Las Vegas Raiders | TE 2

Week 15 Stats | TE22 | FPts 6.5 | Tgts 6 | Rec 3 | Yds 35 | Confidence 90%

Our tight end who should redeem themselves this week is rookie Brock Bowers. Last week, Bowers disappointed fantasy managers, and if you survived with him, congratulations. While he did see 6 targets last week, the quality of those targets was poor. The return of Aidan O’Connell this week will give a bump in targets downfield. Desmond Ridder had a 13% check-down rate, while O’Connell’s was 6% per Fantasy Points. Bowers has averaged 11 targets per game when O’Connell gets the start for the Raiders.

Bowers squares up with the Jaguars in Week 16. They have been a bottom-10 defense per game against fantasy tight ends. They have allowed the 3rd-most touchdowns to the position. When opposing tight ends see at least 5 targets against Jacksonville, they average 5 receptions for 50 yards and .44 touchdowns in 8 games. I’d expect the Raiders to fight to win this game, but it will require Bowers to produce at a high level.

Looking ahead to 2025, check out NFL Draft Nerd Bobby Bishop‘s NFL Mock Draft 2.0 with two rounds of selections for all 32 NFL teams:

Win Your Week 16 | QB | RB | WR | TE | IDP | CHEATCHART | FULL SLATE

Week 16 Tight End PPR Rankings

NOTE: These rankings are made prior to final injury designations. Players may be ranked higher or lower based on the perceived likelihood of them playing and/or their effectiveness if they do play.

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