The Tampa Bay Buccaneers will face the New Orleans Saints 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 Jalen McMillan.
Is Jalen McMillan Playing in Week 18?
McMillan 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 Buccaneers’ 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 Jalen McMillan in Week 18?
I never want to be the one to heap expectations on a rookie, but I’m going to heap expectations onto a rookie.
Do I believe that Jalen McMillan is the next Amon-Ra St. Brown? To be honest, no, but I didn’t believe Amon-Ra St. Brown would be Amon-Ra St. Brown, so I like following interesting statistical threads like this.
No matter what you think the future holds for J-Mac, there’s no denying that he is uncovering at a high rate right now. The rookie has caught a touchdown pass in four straight games (the longest streak by a rookie since Lee Evans in 2004), all of which have yielded top-20 production at the position.
We will sort out the target hierarchy of this offense next season when at full strength, but in terms of projecting Week 18, McMillan is seeing enough usage to feel comfortable in starting as the Bucs profile as one of the better offensive bets this week.
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.
Jalen McMillan’s Fantasy Points Outlook in Week 18
As of Sunday, McMillan is projected to score 14.3 fantasy points in PPR formats. This includes 3.6 receptions for 78.4 yards and 0.5 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 Saints' Defense
Although the Saints had an ugly season overall before Dennis Allen's firing, the defense stood out as an issue. Allen was the former DC under Sean Payton, and when his defense ranked well below its sixth-place finish from last year (and 13th in 2022), the writing was on the wall.
Since his firing, New Orleans had alternated top-six weeks with bottom-15 performances. However, they appear to be plateauing after their third straight mediocre-to-bad performance in Week 17 vs. the Raiders.
The Saints recorded a 72.3 (C-) grade in their regular-season home finale. Even against the worst run defense in the NFL, the Saints averaged 0.11 EPA per rush allowed. That's somehow the fifth-best mark for New Orleans in a game this season but still ranks in the bottom half of all teams in Week 17.
For the season, the Saints rank 30th in both EPA per rush (-0.04) and success rate (55.2%). They still stay in the top 20 thanks to a top-15 pass defense by success rate and EPA per play, despite their starting outside cornerbacks being gone since midseason due to trade (Marshon Lattimore) or season-ending injury (Paulson Adebo).
Ultimately, the abysmal run defense places a pretty firm cap on New Orleans' defensive ceiling, particularly since the injury-riddled offense isn't strong enough to force defenses to play from behind and abandon the run.
For more insight on all other team defenses, head to our PFN Defense+ Metric Analysis.
Jalen McMillan’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)
Saints at Buccaneers Trends and Insights
New Orleans Saints
Team: The Saints have held the ball for under 23 minutes in consecutive games, totaling 10 points on 106 offensive plays over that stretch
QB: Spencer Rattler has completed 56% of his passes just once this season and has two more multi-interception games than he has multi-TD games.
Offense: The Saints converted just one-of-10 third downs on Sunday, their lowest rate of the season (four games under 30% this season),
Defense: The Saints have allowed a score on the majority of opponent drives four times this season, two coming over the past two weeks.
Fantasy: Foster Moreau and Juwan Johnson chewed up 44.1% of New Orleans’ targets and 45% of their receptions.
Betting: New Orleans has covered six straight road divisional games in which they’ve closed as an underdog.
Tampa Bay Buccaneers
Team: Since the beginning of November, Tampa Bay is 5-3, a record that could have swung even more in their favor (one overtime loss and the other two coming by no more than three points).
QB: Baker Mayfield's average QB+ is 78.6 this season. That ranks favorably to 2020 Tom Brady (77.9) as he led the Bucs to a Super Bowl win.
Offense: On Sunday, Bucky Irving became the second player this season with a 30+ yard catch and a 30+ yard run in multiple games, joining Saquon Barkley.
Defense: For the first time this season, Tampa Bay has failed to force a turnover in consecutive games.
Fantasy: Jalen McMillan has a touchdown catch in four straight games, the longest streak by a rookie since Lee Evans (2004).
Betting: The Bucs are 6-2 ATS over their past eight games and have seen over tickets cash in each of their past three.