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 QB Bryce Young.
Is Bryce Young Playing in Week 18?
Young 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 Bryce Young in Week 18?
Young has multiple touchdown passes without an interception in consecutive games – he had one such game previously on his NFL résumé. There is enough to like in Young’s profile for the Panthers to move forward with him labeled as ”the guy” for this rebuild, and I continue to like the upside of the pieces he has at his disposal.
… for next season.
… or maybe 2026.
Not Week 18. The Falcons are playing for a playoff berth, and their pass defense has looked better lately (even in a loss last week, they held Jayden Daniels to 6.3 yards per attempt).
Andy Dalton threw for 221 yards, two touchdowns, and two interceptions for Carolina against Atlanta in Week 6, a stat line that I think is on the high end of optimistic for Young this weekend. That’s not going to be enough to pay off starting him in most single-QB formats.
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.
Bryce Young’s Fantasy Points Projection in Week 18
As of Sunday, Young is projected to score 18.3 fantasy points in Week 18. This includes 297.2 passing yards, 1.2 passing touchdowns, and 1.6 interceptions. It also includes 4.6 rushing attempts for 22.8 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.
Bryce Young’s 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 QB PPR Rankings
1) Lamar Jackson | BAL (vs. CLE)
2) Jayden Daniels | WAS (at DAL)
3) Baker Mayfield | TB (vs. NO)
4) Joe Burrow | CIN (at PIT)
5) Sam Darnold | MIN (at DET)
6) Jared Goff | DET (vs. MIN)
7) Jordan Love | GB (vs. CHI)
8) Bo Nix | DEN (vs. KC)
9) Kyler Murray | ARI (vs. SF)
10) Justin Herbert | LAC (at LV)
11) Drake Maye | NE (vs. BUF)
12) Bryce Young | CAR (at ATL)
13) Russell Wilson | PIT (vs. CIN)
14) Geno Smith | SEA (at LAR)
15) Caleb Williams | CHI (at GB)
16) Aaron Rodgers | NYJ (vs. MIA)
17) Joe Flacco | IND (vs. JAX)
18) Michael Penix Jr. | ATL (vs. CAR)
19) Mason Rudolph | TEN (vs. HOU)
20) Aidan O'Connell | LV (vs. LAC)
21) Mac Jones | JAX (at IND)
22) Tanner McKee | PHI (vs. NYG)
23) Kenny Pickett | PHI (vs. NYG)
24) Cooper Rush | DAL (vs. WAS)
25) C.J. Stroud | HOU (at TEN)
26) Drew Lock | NYG (at PHI)
27) Jimmy Garoppolo | LAR (vs. SEA)
28) Carson Wentz | KC (at DEN)
29) Davis Mills | HOU (at TEN)
30) Tyler Huntley | MIA (at NYJ)
31) Joshua Dobbs | SF (at ARI)
32) Spencer Rattler | NO (at TB)
33) Mitchell Trubisky | BUF (at NE)
34) Taylor Heinicke | LAC (at LV)
35) Bailey Zappe | KC (at DEN)
36) Dorian Thompson-Robinson | CLE (at BAL)
37) Sam Howell | SEA (at LAR)
38) Josh Allen | BUF (at NE)
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.