The Los Angeles Chargers are playing for their playoff lives in Week 18, and their receiving corps is worth paying attention to. What should fantasy football managers expect from Keenan Allen, Mike Williams, and Josh Palmer for the last week of the regular season?
Keenan Allen is perennially underrated
I don’t know what it is about Allen, but people continue to undervalue this elite wide receiver. Maybe it’s the “injury-prone” moniker that he had early in his career, but Allen is the WR9 this season and has yet another 100-reception, 1,000-yard season. After Williams dominated the scoring early this season, Allen has 4 touchdowns in his last four games.
Stop sleeping on Allen. He has over 100 receptions and 1,000 receiving yards in four of the last five years. He also has exactly 6 touchdowns in four of those years, with 8 TDs in the other. We know exactly who Allen is, and he’s good. His volume has been remarkably consistent over the last five years, and he’s only missed three games in that stretch. Allen is always undervalued, and I’ll be targeting him yet again in fantasy drafts next season.
Mike Williams has faded hard
Through the first five games of the season, Williams looked like Clemson Mike Williams. He earned 51 targets, catching 31 of them (not great) for 471 yards and a healthy 6 TDs. In 10 games since, however, Williams has only seen 61 more targets, catching 36 of them (even worse) for only 556 yards and 2 TDs. He’s fallen off big time.
I recommended selling Williams when he was tearing it up, and for good reason. He has never been a consistent wide receiver in the NFL. Williams has some big games, but since Week 6, he only has one game over 100 yards. He’s streaky at best.
Mike Williams, Keenan Allen, and Josh Palmer fantasy expectations
The Chargers are playing for their playoff lives, and are doing so against the Las Vegas Raiders. The Chargers are in a “win-and-in” situation. If they beat the Raiders, they’ll be in the Wild Card round.
The offense will be playing hard. Despite having a hard time for a while, the Raiders’ defense has turned a major corner in terms of what they allow to opposing wide receivers. Las Vegas has given up the third-fewest fantasy points per game to WRs over the last four weeks. They have allowed only 305 yards and 3 TDs to the position over that stretch.
Still, Allen is too good not to trust. If you’re playing fantasy football this week, Allen is a low-end WR1 — like always — in a pivotal game for the Chargers. Williams, on the other hand, is a boom/bust flex play that will rely on the big play.
Palmer has been a popular name when Allen and/or Williams have not been available. Yet, he’s largely been relegated to a replacement role when they are healthy. If he’s on your roster, leave him on your bench for Week 18.