The Carolina Panthers will face the Atlanta Falcons in Week 18. Here’s the latest fantasy football news and advice to help you with your lineups this week and moving forward, especially regarding TE Ja’Tavion Sanders.
Is Ja’Tavion Sanders Playing in Week 18?
Sanders is not listed on the injury report this week, so barring any unexpected setbacks, he is on track to play this weekend.
We’ll continue to monitor the Panthers’ injury report. You can also visit and bookmark our NFL Injury Tracker and Fantasy News Tracker for the latest updates.
Should You Start or Sit Ja’Tavion Sanders in Week 18?
Sanders showed nice playmaking potential early in the season, but he’s now an afterthought and can be safely left alone this week.
The rookie has been on the field for under 60% of Carolina’s offensive snaps in five straight games and over his past three contests, he’s earned just three targets on his 82 routes.
His recent trajectory gives me little confidence that he can repeat the five-catch performance he gave us against Atlanta back in Week 6. I’m keeping Sanders on my radar for 2025 sleepers at the position, but that breakout doesn’t appear likely to start on Sunday.
Are you looking for start/sit advice for other players in your lineup? Read our Week 18 Fantasy Start-Sit Advice Cheat Sheet for every fantasy-relevant player in every game.
Ja’Tavion Sanders’ Fantasy Points Projection in Week 18
As of Sunday, Sanders is projected to score 5.5 fantasy points in PPR formats. This includes 1.4 receptions for 30.3 yards and 0.2 touchdowns.
Check out the free PFN Fantasy Start-Sit Optimizer for the latest projections and advice for your lineups this week.
PFN Insight on the Falcons' Defense
This unit would rank much higher if it could face the Raiders and Giants every week. Those cupcake offenses resulted in the Falcons posting two of their four highest grades this season, but things came crashing back down in the Week 17 overtime loss to Washington.
Atlanta recorded a 70.9 (C-) grade, the team's seventh-worst of the year. The defense had a particularly difficult time containing Jayden Daniels' scrambling, conceding a -7.91 total EPA on scrambles, the fifth-most allowed on scrambles by any defense all season.
Atlanta's improving pass rush did exploit an injury-depleted Commanders offensive line, recording five more sacks. The Falcons have the highest sack rate in the NFL (11.2%) since Week 13 after ranking last in that category over the first 12 weeks.
Unfortunately, the rest of the unit is still lacking, which typically reveals itself against better offenses. That came to fruition in Washington, and it could cost the Falcons the division.
For more insight on all other team defenses, head to our PFN Defense+ Metric Analysis.
Ja’Tavion Sanders’ Fantasy Ranking
Our Weekly Consensus PPR Rankings are below — both positional and overall. They were last updated at 7:00 AM ET on Sunday, January 5. If you're in a Superflex league, make sure you check out our Week 18 Consensus Superflex Rankings.
Week 18 TE PPR Rankings
1) Brock Bowers | LV (vs. LAC)
2) Sam LaPorta | DET (vs. MIN)
3) Trey McBride | ARI (vs. SF)
4) T.J. Hockenson | MIN (at DET)
5) Mark Andrews | BAL (vs. CLE)
6) Jonnu Smith | MIA (at NYJ)
7) Tucker Kraft | GB (vs. CHI)
8) George Kittle | SF (at ARI)
9) Chigoziem Okonkwo | TEN (vs. HOU)
10) Pat Freiermuth | PIT (vs. CIN)
11) Zach Ertz | WAS (at DAL)
12) Kyle Pitts | ATL (vs. CAR)
13) Hunter Henry | NE (vs. BUF)
14) Will Dissly | LAC (at LV)
15) Isaiah Likely | BAL (vs. CLE)
16) Jake Ferguson | DAL (vs. WAS)
17) Mike Gesicki | CIN (at PIT)
18) Juwan Johnson | NO (at TB)
19) Noah Gray | KC (at DEN)
20) Brenton Strange | JAX (at IND)
21) Dalton Kincaid | BUF (at NE)
22) Dalton Schultz | HOU (at TEN)
23) Cole Kmet | CHI (at GB)
24) Tyler Conklin | NYJ (vs. MIA)
25) Austin Hooper | NE (vs. BUF)
26) Noah Fant | SEA (at LAR)
27) Foster Moreau | NO (at TB)
28) Grant Calcaterra | PHI (vs. NYG)
29) Jordan Akins | CLE (at BAL)
30) Stone Smartt | LAC (at LV)
31) Daniel Bellinger | NYG (at PHI)
32) Ja'Tavion Sanders | CAR (at ATL)
33) Payne Durham | TB (vs. NO)
34) Dawson Knox | BUF (at NE)
35) Michael Mayer | LV (vs. LAC)
Panthers at Falcons Trends and Insights
Carolina Panthers
Team: The Panthers have lost at least a dozen games in three of the past four seasons, doubling the number of such seasons they had in franchise history prior (the extended regular season plays into that, but a loss next week would give this team back-to-back four-win seasons, and they only had three such seasons prior).
QB: Bryce Young has thrown multiple touchdown passes without an interception in consecutive games—he had one such game on his NFL resume prior.
Offense: Carolina has consecutive games without committing a turnover, doubling their season total in the process.
Defense: In Weeks 1-15, opponents averaged 34.6 yards per drive against the Panthers – on Sunday, the Buccaneers averaged 61.8.
Fantasy: The Adam Thielen experience has been a unique one over the past two seasons, as it has featured two hot streaks (11 games) and below-average production otherwise (16 games):
- Hot Streaks: 21.4 PPG, 25.5% over expectation
- Otherwise: 8.4 PPG, 9.9% below expectation
Betting: Over tickets have cashed in five of Carolina’s past six games.
Atlanta Falcons
Team: The Falcons scored 24 points and lost on Sunday night, snapping an eight-game winning streak when they've scored at least 22 points.
QB: Atlanta has thrown an interception in seven straight games, the longest active streak in the NFL and the team’s longest streak since opening the 2003 season with eight straight.
Offense: Bijan Robinson has four games this season with multiple rushing TDs, tied for the most in a season in Falcons history (1973 Eddie Ray, 1984 Gerald Riggs, and 2008 Michael Turner).
Defense: Sunday was the seventh time this season in which the Falcons allowed points on at least half of their opponents’ drives.
Fantasy: It’s a small sample, but there has been an increase in the running room for Bijan Robinson under Michael Penix Jr.:
- Desmond Ridder under center: 2.71 yards per carry before contact
- Kirk Cousins under center: 2.99 yards per carry before contact
- Penix under center: 3.13 yards per carry before contact
Betting: Atlanta’s 36-30 win in Week 5 against Tampa Bay (36-30) soared over the 44-point total – their past four home games have all gone under the closing total.