The Detroit Lions will face the Minnesota Vikings 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 WR Tim Patrick.
Is Tim Patrick Playing in Week 18?
Patrick is not listed on the injury report this week, so barring any setbacks, he is on track to play this weekend.
We’ll continue to monitor the Lions’ 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 Tim Patrick in Week 18?
The idea of Tim Patrick made sense early in December when he saw 7+ targets in consecutive games for maybe the NFL’s best offense, but those days are pretty clearly behind us.
With Jameson Williams functioning as a full-time threat, Sam LaPorta rediscovering his form, and Jahmyr Gibbs’ usage ramping up after David Montgomery’s injury, there just isn’t any meat left on the bone for Patrick.
Like, literally, no meat. Patrick has been held without a catch on 45 routes over the past two weeks and can safely be overlooked in all spots, even in the more impactful Week 18 game that most are looking for ways to get exposure to.
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.
Tim Patrick’s Fantasy Points Projection in Week 18
As of Sunday, Patrick is projected to score 9.8 fantasy points in PPR formats. This includes 3.5 receptions for 49.7 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 Vikings' Defense
Week 17's win over the Green Bay Packers comes out as the second-worst grade for the Minnesota Vikings this season. In terms of low points, their 68.0 (D) grade was surpassed only by the 66.3 grade they posted back in Week 8 vs. the Los Angeles Rams.
However, that belies how well the Vikings' defense played for most of this game, with a late flurry from the Packers wrecking the overall picture. If you isolate just the first three quarters, Minnesota had the 10th-best defense of Week 17. In the fourth quarter, though, the Vikings fall to the 25th-ranked defense of the week.
Minnesota received significant attention for its increased man coverage in the win, a big curveball from the unit's season-long tendencies. The Vikings played man coverage on 36.8% of dropbacks in Week 17, their second-highest rate in a game all season (behind the Week 13 Arizona Cardinals game) and nearly six times the rate they played against the Packers in their Week 4 meeting (6.8%).
The Vikings play man coverage at the fourth-lowest rate this season (16.9%), so don't expect this to become their fastball. Still, it's been a deadly off-speed pitch when Brian Flores dials it up. Minnesota ranks first in EPA per dropback (0.19) on the rare occasions it does play man coverage this season.
Flores received plenty of criticism in 2023, with the Vikings struggling on defense (23rd) and only showing slight improvement from the year before (27th). However, in his second season as defensive coordinator, Flores has turned them into a force that could carry Minnesota to the top seed.
For more insight on all other team defenses, head to our PFN Defense+ Metric Analysis.
Tim Patrick’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 WR PPR Rankings
1) Ja'Marr Chase | CIN (at PIT)
2) Amon-Ra St. Brown | DET (vs. MIN)
3) Justin Jefferson | MIN (at DET)
4) Mike Evans | TB (vs. NO)
5) Brian Thomas Jr. | JAX (at IND)
6) Drake London | ATL (vs. CAR)
7) Ladd McConkey | LAC (at LV)
8) Jaxon Smith-Njigba | SEA (at LAR)
9) Terry McLaurin | WAS (at DAL)
10) Malik Nabers | NYG (at PHI)
11) Tee Higgins | CIN (at PIT)
12) George Pickens | PIT (vs. CIN)
13) Davante Adams | NYJ (vs. MIA)
14) Courtland Sutton | DEN (vs. KC)
15) Jauan Jennings | SF (at ARI)
16) Jordan Addison | MIN (at DET)
17) DJ Moore | CHI (at GB)
18) Nico Collins | HOU (at TEN)
19) Zay Flowers | BAL (vs. CLE)
20) Tyreek Hill | MIA (at NYJ)
21) Jameson Williams | DET (vs. MIN)
22) Jalen McMillan | TB (vs. NO)
23) Calvin Ridley | TEN (vs. HOU)
24) Garrett Wilson | NYJ (vs. MIA)
25) DK Metcalf | SEA (at LAR)
26) Adam Thielen | CAR (at ATL)
27) Keenan Allen | CHI (at GB)
28) Jakobi Meyers | LV (vs. LAC)
29) Jayden Reed | GB (vs. CHI)
30) Marvin Harrison Jr. | ARI (vs. SF)
31) Josh Downs | IND (vs. JAX)
32) Quentin Johnston | LAC (at LV)
33) Jaylen Waddle | MIA (at NYJ)
34) Michael Pittman Jr. | IND (vs. JAX)
35) Romeo Doubs | GB (vs. CHI)
36) Darnell Mooney | ATL (vs. CAR)
37) Jerry Jeudy | CLE (at BAL)
38) Khalil Shakir | BUF (at NE)
39) Rashod Bateman | BAL (vs. CLE)
40) Rome Odunze | CHI (at GB)
41) DeMario Douglas | NE (vs. BUF)
42) Wan'Dale Robinson | NYG (at PHI)
43) Jalen Coker | CAR (at ATL)
44) Dontayvion Wicks | GB (vs. CHI)
45) Xavier Worthy | KC (at DEN)
46) Olamide Zaccheaus | WAS (at DAL)
47) DeAndre Hopkins | KC (at DEN)
48) Nick Westbrook-Ikhine | TEN (vs. HOU)
49) Hollywood Brown | KC (at DEN)
50) Amari Cooper | BUF (at NE)
51) Brandin Cooks | DAL (vs. WAS)
52) Parker Washington | JAX (at IND)
53) Marvin Mims Jr. | DEN (vs. KC)
54) Tim Patrick | DET (vs. MIN)
55) Kayshon Boutte | NE (vs. BUF)
56) Ray-Ray McCloud III | ATL (vs. CAR)
57) Marquez Valdes-Scantling | BUF (at NE)
58) Devaughn Vele | DEN (vs. KC)
59) Andrei Iosivas | CIN (at PIT)
60) Calvin Austin III | PIT (vs. CIN)
61) Jalen Tolbert | DAL (vs. WAS)
62) Ricky Pearsall | SF (at ARI)
63) Michael Wilson | ARI (vs. SF)
64) Joshua Palmer | LAC (at LV)
65) Keon Coleman | BUF (at NE)
66) Tre Tucker | LV (vs. LAC)
67) Jalen Nailor | MIN (at DET)
68) Elijah Moore | CLE (at BAL)
69) Jamison Crowder | WAS (at DAL)
70) Xavier Legette | CAR (at ATL)
71) Kendrick Bourne | NE (vs. BUF)
72) KaVontae Turpin | DAL (vs. WAS)
73) David Moore | CAR (at ATL)
74) Adonai Mitchell | IND (vs. JAX)
75) Demarcus Robinson | LAR (vs. SEA)
76) Mike Williams | PIT (vs. CIN)
77) Malik Washington | MIA (at NYJ)
78) Alec Pierce | IND (vs. JAX)
79) Allen Lazard | NYJ (vs. MIA)
80) Tyler Lockett | SEA (at LAR)
81) John Metchie III | HOU (at TEN)
82) Robert Woods | HOU (at TEN)
83) Darius Slayton | NYG (at PHI)
84) Van Jefferson | PIT (vs. CIN)
85) Troy Franklin | DEN (vs. KC)
86) Mack Hollins | BUF (at NE)
87) Tutu Atwell | LAR (vs. SEA)
88) Kevin Austin Jr. | NO (at TB)
89) Dante Pettis | CHI (at GB)
90) Luke McCaffrey | WAS (at DAL)
91) Xavier Hutchinson | HOU (at TEN)
92) Ryan Miller | TB (vs. NO)
93) Greg Dortch | ARI (vs. SF)
94) Lil'Jordan Humphrey | DEN (vs. KC)
95) DJ Chark | LAC (at LV)
96) Michael Woods II | CLE (at BAL)
97) Cedrick Wilson Jr. | NO (at TB)
98) JuJu Smith-Schuster | KC (at DEN)
99) Devin Duvernay | JAX (at IND)
100) Justin Watson | KC (at DEN)
101) Tylan Wallace | BAL (vs. CLE)
102) Jahan Dotson | PHI (vs. NYG)
103) Josh Reynolds | DEN (vs. KC)
104) Ryan Flournoy | DAL (vs. WAS)
105) Trey Palmer | TB (vs. NO)
Vikings at Lions Trends and Insights
Minnesota Vikings
Team: Since the start of 2022, Minnesota has played two more games and won two more wins than any other team in games decided by a single score.
QB: Sam Darnold has 12 multi-pass touchdown games this season; only Joe Burrow has more (13).
Offense: Sunday was the third time this season that Minnesota has averaged over 40 yards per drive (they are 8-0 when averaging 32+ yards per drive).
Defense: Green Bay picked up 57.1% of their third downs against Minnesota last weekend, the highest rate the Vikings have allowed this season.
Fantasy: Jordan Addison ranks sixth among receivers with at least 75 targets this season in production over expectation (+28.9%, just ahead of Ladd McConkey and Ja’Marr Chase).
Betting: Minnesota is 4-1-1 ATS in their past six road divisional games.
Detroit Lions
Team: The Lions currently have a +200 point differential. Nine teams in the 2000s finished a regular season with such a mark—none of them won the Super Bowl.
QB: Jared Goff stands alone at the top of the NFL in terms of games with at least three touchdown passes and zero interceptions (six; Lamar Jackson and Joe Burrow are the only others with more than three).
Offense: Jahmyr Gibbs is now one touchdown away from tying the franchise record (Jamaal Williams and Barry Sanders currently hold the mark with 17).
Defense: Detroit allowed 55.4 yards per drive on Monday night, their worst defensive showing of the season.
Fantasy: Sam LaPorta has three straight games with 100 yards or a touchdown catch -- he had three such games all season prior to this run.
Betting: After a run where they covered eight straight home divisional games, the Lions are just 1-3-1 in their past five such spots.