The Denver Broncos will face the Kansas City Chiefs 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 RB Audric Estimé.
Is Audric Estimé Playing in Week 18?
Estimé 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 Broncos’ 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 Audric Estimé in Week 18?
I think there’s a world in which Audric Estimé is a rosterable handcuff next season, but we can deal with that when we get there — he doesn’t matter right now. He led the Broncos with 53 rushing yards (14 carries) in the Week 10 loss at Arrowhead, though weekly production/role has yet to prove sticky in Sean Payton’s offense this season.
Estimé is being used ahead of Javonte Williams on the ground but without the sort of splash-play potential that Jaleel McLaughlin has flashed regularly. When this game kicks off, we will be more than two months removed from the rookie’s last run that gained more than 10 yards, and if the volume is going to be an obstacle, the lack of chunk gains is damning.
I anticipate this backfield being more straightforward in 2025 than it has been at any point this season, and that means not losing track of Estimé, even after a very underwhelming first season. Betting on this offense is something I’m not going to hesitate to do in the mid to late rounds this summer, and Estimé is a part of that.
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.
Audric Estimé’s Fantasy Points Projection in Week 18
As of Sunday, Estimé is projected to score 10.9 fantasy points in PPR formats. This includes 14.7 rushing attempts for 69.3 yards and 0.4 touchdowns. It also includes 0.5 receptions for 9.8 yards and 0 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 Chiefs' Defense
The Chiefs had their third-best grade of the season, recording an 81.7 (B-) grade in the Christmas Day romp over the Pittsburgh Steelers. Four of this unit’s seven best performances have come since Week 13, vaulting Steve Spagnuolo’s group back into the top 10.
Against the Steelers, the Chiefs' pass rush continued to improve even without All-Pro defensive tackle Chris Jones.
Kansas City posted its third-best non-blitz pressure rate (37.2%) of the season vs. Houston a week after posting their sixth-best vs. Pittsburgh. Since the Bills loss in Week 11, the Chiefs have the fourth-highest non-blitz pressure rate (36.2%), a big leap after ranking 16th in that category (31.6%) from Weeks 1-10.
That's especially frightening to consider when you remember that Spagnuolo's designer pressures are what this unit typically feasts on. Kansas City still blitzes at the seventh-highest rate this season (30.8%) and fares well when doing so. The Chiefs have the seventh-best EPA per dropback (0.07) when sending extra pass rushers this season.
After some shaky weeks and midseason questions, the Chiefs appear to be peaking as the postseason arrives. That's a familiar story from last season and could result in a familiar ending in February as well.
For more insight on all other team defenses, head over to our PFN Defense+ Metric Analysis.
Audric Estimé’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 RB PPR Rankings
1) Bijan Robinson | ATL (vs. CAR)
2) Jahmyr Gibbs | DET (vs. MIN)
3) Derrick Henry | BAL (vs. CLE)
4) Jonathan Taylor | IND (vs. JAX)
5) Josh Jacobs | GB (vs. CHI)
6) Bucky Irving | TB (vs. NO)
7) Chase Brown | CIN (at PIT)
8) Aaron Jones | MIN (at DET)
9) De'Von Achane | MIA (at NYJ)
10) Zach Charbonnet | SEA (at LAR)
11) Brian Robinson Jr. | WAS (at DAL)
12) Breece Hall | NYJ (vs. MIA)
13) Ray Davis | BUF (at NE)
14) D'Andre Swift | CHI (at GB)
15) Rico Dowdle | DAL (vs. WAS)
16) Isaac Guerendo | SF (at ARI)
17) J.K. Dobbins | LAC (at LV)
18) Najee Harris | PIT (vs. CIN)
19) Jaleel McLaughlin | DEN (vs. KC)
20) Joe Mixon | HOU (at TEN)
21) Tyrone Tracy Jr. | NYG (at PHI)
22) Kenneth Gainwell | PHI (vs. NYG)
23) Blake Corum | LAR (vs. SEA)
24) Tank Bigsby | JAX (at IND)
25) Jaylen Warren | PIT (vs. CIN)
26) Travis Etienne Jr. | JAX (at IND)
27) Rhamondre Stevenson | NE (vs. BUF)
28) Michael Carter | ARI (vs. SF)
29) Rachaad White | TB (vs. NO)
30) D'Onta Foreman | CLE (at BAL)
31) Kimani Vidal | LAC (at LV)
32) Miles Sanders | CAR (at ATL)
33) Tyler Allgeier | ATL (vs. CAR)
34) Audric Estimé | DEN (vs. KC)
35) Will Shipley | PHI (vs. NYG)
36) Alexander Mattison | LV (vs. LAC)
37) Antonio Gibson | NE (vs. BUF)
38) Javonte Williams | DEN (vs. KC)
39) Raheem Blackshear | CAR (at ATL)
40) Ty Johnson | BUF (at NE)
41) Devin Singletary | NYG (at PHI)
42) Cam Akers | MIN (at DET)
43) Raheem Mostert | MIA (at NYJ)
44) Roschon Johnson | CHI (at GB)
45) Craig Reynolds | DET (vs. MIN)
46) Kenny McIntosh | SEA (at LAR)
47) Jeremy McNichols | WAS (at DAL)
48) Cordarrelle Patterson | PIT (vs. CIN)
49) Braelon Allen | NYJ (vs. MIA)
50) Julius Chestnut | TEN (vs. HOU)
51) Samaje Perine | KC (at DEN)
52) Patrick Taylor Jr. | SF (at ARI)
53) Sean Tucker | TB (vs. NO)
54) Jamaal Williams | NO (at TB)
55) Isaiah Davis | NYJ (vs. MIA)
56) Chris Brooks | GB (vs. CHI)
57) Pierre Strong Jr. | CLE (at BAL)
58) Clyde Edwards-Helaire | NO (at TB)
59) Emanuel Wilson | GB (vs. CHI)
60) Mike Boone | CAR (at ATL)
61) Tony Pollard | TEN (vs. HOU)
62) DeeJay Dallas | ARI (vs. SF)
63) Chris Rodriguez Jr. | WAS (at DAL)
64) Dare Ogunbowale | HOU (at TEN)
65) Rasheen Ali | BAL (vs. CLE)
66) Khalil Herbert | CIN (at PIT)
67) Trey Sermon | IND (vs. JAX)
68) Hassan Haskins | LAC (at LV)
69) Kyle Juszczyk | SF (at ARI)
70) Dameon Pierce | HOU (at TEN)
71) Jaylen Wright | MIA (at NYJ)
72) Carson Steele | KC (at DEN)
73) Sione Vaki | DET (vs. MIN)
74) Hunter Luepke | DAL (vs. WAS)
75) Tyler Goodson | IND (vs. JAX)
76) Ke'Shawn Vaughn | SF (at ARI)
77) Alec Ingold | MIA (at NYJ)
78) C.J. Ham | MIN (at DET)
79) Michael Burton | DEN (vs. KC)
80) D'Ernest Johnson | JAX (at IND)
81) Jeff Wilson Jr. | MIA (at NYJ)
82) Eric Gray | NYG (at PHI)
83) Jermar Jefferson | DET (vs. MIN)
84) Patrick Ricard | BAL (vs. CLE)
85) Joshua Kelley | NYG (at PHI)
86) Ty Chandler | MIN (at DET)
87) Israel Abanikanda | SF (at ARI)
88) Adam Prentice | NO (at TB)
89) Dylan Laube | LV (vs. LAC)
90) JaMycal Hasty | NE (vs. BUF)
91) George Holani | SEA (at LAR)
92) James Cook | BUF (at NE)
Chiefs at Broncos Trends and Insights
Kansas City Chiefs
Team: The Chiefs now have multiple six-game win streaks this season, and five of the past seven teams to pull that off have won their conference at the very least (two Super Bowl champions).
QB: Patrick Mahomes has some lofty standards – he’s completing a career-high 65.7% of his red zone passes this season.
Offense: Kansas City has gone six straight games without a turnover (they had one turnover-free game through the first 11 weeks).
Defense: The Chiefs have allowed a touchdown on just two of seven red zone trips over their past three games.
Fantasy: Xavier Worthy averaged 2.5 catches per game through his first six this season and 3.0 over his next six. In his past four games: 5-6-7-8 catches.
Betting: Kansas City had a stretch last season where they went 0-3-1 ATS before finishing the regular season with a pair of covers and winning the Super Bowl. Earlier this season, they failed to cover seven straight, but now have covered three in a row as they get ready to chase a three-peat.
Denver Broncos
Team: Over the past decade, Denver is 0-8 against Kansas City in winter games (games played on or after December 1). They’ve been outscored 216-138 across those games (-9.8 PPG).
QB: Bo Nix has completed 15 of his 19 passes in the final two minutes of regulation this season (78.9%).
Offense: This offense was put in a tough spot against the Bengals on Saturday. Their 24.6-yard line average starting field position was their second-lowest mark of the season.
Defense: Saturday was just the third time this season in which a team picked up at least half of their third downs against Denver – the Broncos are 0-3 in those games.
Fantasy: After reaching 70 yards receiving in six straight games, Courtland Sutton hasn’t cleared 55 in three straight, but he’s bailed you out with a score in two of those games.
Betting: Denver is 11-3 ATS (78.6%) in their last 14 games played on extended rest.