Best Fantasy TE Seasons Since 2016
Trey McBride's 2025 season with the Arizona Cardinals is the best fantasy tight end season since 2016, totaling 316 fantasy points over 17 games for an average of 19 points per game. Travis Kelce of the Kansas City Chiefs appears four times on the list, including the second spot with 314 points in 2022. The list makes one thing clear: Kelce's run of dominance is the standard every modern tight end season is measured against.
Which TE seasons top the all-time list since 2016?
Trey McBride of the Arizona Cardinals claimed the top spot in 2025 with 316 fantasy points across 17 games, averaging 19 points per game with a best single week of 37. He edged out Travis Kelce's 2022 season with the Kansas City Chiefs, which produced 314 points over 17 games at 18 per contest. Kelce's 2020 campaign sits third at 311 points in 16 games, matching McBride's 19 points per game while playing one fewer game.
| Rank | Player | Team | Games | Points | Points per game | Best week | |---|---|---|---|---|---|---| | 1 | Trey McBride | Arizona Cardinals | 17 | 316 | 19 | 37 | | 2 | Travis Kelce | Kansas City Chiefs | 17 | 314 | 18 | 36 | | 3 | Travis Kelce | Kansas City Chiefs | 16 | 311 | 19 | 28 | | 4 | Mark Andrews | Baltimore Ravens | 17 | 297 | 17 | 38 | | 5 | Travis Kelce | Kansas City Chiefs | 16 | 295 | 18 | 39 | | 6 | Zach Ertz | Philadelphia Eagles | 16 | 280 | 18 | 40 | | 7 | Darren Waller | Las Vegas Raiders | 16 | 277 | 17 | 45 | | 8 | Travis Kelce | Kansas City Chiefs | 17 | 263 | 15 | 41 | | 9 | Brock Bowers | Las Vegas Raiders | 17 | 263 | 15 | 31 | | 10 | George Kittle | San Francisco 49ers | 16 | 257 | 16 | 34 |
How dominant was Travis Kelce at his peak?
Kelce appears four times in the top ten, spread across the 2018, 2020, 2021 and 2022 seasons, and three of those entries land inside the top five. No other tight end on the list shows up more than once. His best total came in 2022 at 314 points, and his 2020 season arguably matched it on a rate basis: 19 points per game, tied with McBride's 2025 for the highest per-game figure anywhere on the table. Even his lowest entry, 263 points in 2021, still finished inside the top ten.
The gap between Kelce's best years and the rest of the field shows up in the per-game column. His 2020 season averaged 19 points per game in 16 games; Zach Ertz's 2018 season with the Philadelphia Eagles, the sixth-ranked entry, averaged 18. Kelce sustained that elite scoring rate across four separate seasons, which is the difference between a great year and a great career from a fantasy standpoint.
Where do McBride and Bowers fit among the modern greats?
McBride's 2025 season with the Arizona Cardinals is the only entry to break past Kelce's best, and he did it with 17 games of work. His 19 points per game tied Kelce's 2020 rate, and his best week reached 37 points. Brock Bowers of the Las Vegas Raiders reached the table in 2024 with 263 points, matching Kelce's 2021 total at 15 points per game.
Bowers' arrival matters for the shape of the list: the Las Vegas Raiders now claim two of the top ten entries, matching the Kansas City Chiefs' share only if you count Kelce's four appearances as one franchise's run. Mark Andrews of the Baltimore Ravens posted a 38-point best week during his 297-point 2021 season.
What do the single-week spikes reveal?
Darren Waller's 45-point best week in 2020 with the Las Vegas Raiders is the highest single-game total on the entire list, yet his season ranks only seventh at 277 points. That combination tells you his year leaned heavily on explosive afternoons rather than steady production, at least relative to the names above him. Zach Ertz posted a 40-point week in 2018 and Kelce hit 39 that same season, so the 2018 campaign placed two tight ends near the top of the single-week ledger.
At the other end, Kelce's 2020 season reached number three on the list with a best week of just 28, the lowest peak of any entry. His consistency, not any one blowout, carried that season, which is the mirror image of Waller's profile. George Kittle's 2018 season with the San Francisco 49ers rounded out the table at 257 points with a 34-point best week.
Common questions
What was the greatest fantasy football season by a tight end since 2016?
- Trey McBride of the Arizona Cardinals in 2025, with 316 fantasy points over 17 games. He averaged 19 points per game and posted a best week of 37.
How many times does Travis Kelce appear in the top 10 TE seasons since 2016?
- Four times: 2018, 2020, 2021 and 2022, all with the Kansas City Chiefs. His 2022 season ranks second at 314 points.
Which tight end had the biggest single fantasy week in a top 10 season?
- Darren Waller of the Las Vegas Raiders, with a 45-point week during his 2020 season, the largest single-game total on the list.
Did Zach Ertz or Mark Andrews ever crack the top 10 TE seasons since 2016?
- Yes. Zach Ertz of the Philadelphia Eagles ranks sixth with 280 points in 2018, and Mark Andrews of the Baltimore Ravens ranks fourth with 297 points in 2021.
Was Brock Bowers' 2024 season among the best tight end years since 2016?
- Brock Bowers of the Las Vegas Raiders totaled 263 fantasy points across 17 games in 2024, tied with Travis Kelce's 2021 season for eighth on the list.