Fantasy Football Projections, Week 17: Tight End

Some leagues are still rolling along in Week 17, so we'll continue to pump out rankings and projections. Below are the Top 10 fantasy running back  projections thanks to PlayThisGuy.com.

Unfortunately for anyone still in the championship hunt, only four of the top ten projected tight ends are on teams with anything left to play for. Jacob Tamme, of the Indianapolis Colts, is ranked second overall and has a favorable match up against the Tennessee Titans defense, along with having a quarterback by the name of Peyton Manning. At four is Kellen Winslow, whose Tampa Bay Buccaneers are in a rough situation in the playoff picture. Needing both the New York Giants and the Green Bay Packers to lose, along with a tie/win (the easiest of their scenarios), the Bucs will look to Winslow and others on the offense to power them past the streaking New Orleans Saints. Tony Gonzalez, always one of the fist tight ends to be drafted in fantasy leagues, is ranked eighth but faces a weak Carolina Panthers defense. If his Atlanta Falcons beat the Panthers then it secures the number one seed in the NFC.

In the land of mean-nothing games, Jason Witten heads to Philadelphia to face the Eagles with his Dallas Cowboys. The Eagles defense is typically susceptible to tight ends but the emergence of rookie emergency-starter (at middle linebacker) Jamar Chaney has helped to slow down the success of tight ends. Mercedes Lewis and the Jacksonville Jaguars take on the Houston Texans. Lewis has set records in Jacksonville for tight ends and faces one of the worst passing defenses in the NFL. The New England Patriots and the tenth ranked Rob Gronkowski take on the Miami Dolphins in a divisional showdown that means absolutely nothing to the playoff picture, but don't count out Gronkowski getting touches heading into a bye week for the top seeded Pats.