The Indianapolis Colts will face the Jacksonville Jaguars 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 Jonathan Taylor.
Is Jonathan Taylor Playing in Week 18?
Taylor 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 Colts’ 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 Jonathan Taylor in Week 18?
Jonathan Taylor is absolutely cooking at the perfect time for fantasy managers. He can become the seventh player ever with 125 rush yards and multiple rush TDs in three straight games, joining:
- Chris Johnson (2009)
- Larry Johnson (2005)
- Clinton Portis (2003)
- Ricky Williams (2002)
- Mike Anderson (2000)
- Earl Campbell (1980)
In those two games, he’s run for a cool 343 yards and five scores. The late-season peak is great to see, and the team is clearly confident in his health (22+ carries in four straight) — we have no reason to doubt his usage this week.
Neither the Colts nor the Jags have anything to play for, making anything possible regarding how touches are distributed. But betting against Taylor is a losing wager right now, especially when facing the 10th-worst run defense by success rate.
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.
Jonathan Taylor’s Fantasy Points Projection in Week 18
As of Sunday, Taylor is projected to score 19.3 fantasy points in PPR formats. This includes 20.2 rushing attempts for 96.7 yards and 0.8 touchdowns. It also includes 2.4 receptions for 18.7 yards and 0.1 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 Jaguars' Defense
The Jaguars wouldn't rank this poorly if they could face the Titans every week. Two of Jacksonville's four best grades have come against Tennessee this year, with Week 17's win registering as a 76.4 (C).
If we're being generous, it's worth pointing out that the pass defense has improved since the Week 12 bye. Since the 52-6 disaster against Detroit, the Jaguars rank 11th in pass defense success rate. They were 31st in that category from Weeks 1-11, ahead of only Tampa Bay.
Still, the Jaguars don't rank above average in a single metric that goes into Defense+ for the season. They're closest in EPA per rush, where they rank 18th. It seems highly unlikely Doug Pederson and Ryan Nielsen can make a case that things will only get better in Year 2 of their partnership.
For more insight on all other team defenses, head to our PFN Defense+ Metric Analysis.
Jonathan Taylor’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)
Jaguars at Colts Trends and Insights
Jacksonville Jaguars
Team: The Jaguars went on bye after their 46-point loss in Detroit. Since then, they’ve played five straight one-score games (2-3 in those contests).
QB: On 19 play-action throws over the past three weeks, Mac Jones has two touchdowns and zero interceptions (other 88 throws: three touchdowns and two interceptions)
Offense: Jacksonville has converted all three of their red zone trips into touchdowns over their past two games (they were five-of-11 over their previous four games).
Defense: The Jags allowed the Titans to gain 41.1 yards per drive on Sunday, the third-highest mark they’ve allowed this season.
Fantasy: Since 2020, three times has a rookie receiver posted consecutive games with 85 receiving yards and a touchdown catch:
- Amon-Ra St. Brown (2021)
- Brian Thomas Jr. (Weeks 15-17)
- Brian Thomas Jr. (Weeks 4-5)
BTJ is the only receiver in NFL history with two such streaks as a rookie. If he can post a fourth straight game in Week 18, he’ll join Randy Moss (1998), St. Brown (2021), and Odell Beckham Jr. (2014) as the only players to accomplish that feat.
Betting: Jacksonville is 6-1 ATS in their past seven road divisional games (2-0 this season despite scoring 30 points and allowing 30 points).
Indianapolis Colts
Team: Should Colts fans like Sunday’s result? It locked in a losing season—Indianapolis has improved its win total by at least four games following each of its past six losing campaigns.
QB: Joe Flacco has 56 fewer pass attempts than Anthony Richardson this season – he has three more touchdown tosses and 13 more completions.
Offense: Indianapolis has averaged 2.75+ points per drive in consecutive games, matching their total of such games through the first 15 weeks.
Defense: The Colts have held the Packers, Lions, Bills, and Vikings all under 2.5 points per drive – the Patriots, Texans, Jaguars, and Giants (3.17 on Sunday) have all cleared that rate against Indianapolis this season.
Fantasy: Jonathan Taylor has at least 29 carries, 125 rushing yards, and a pair of rushing scores in consecutive games – he is the eighth player ever to hit all of those benchmarks in two straight games, the first since Julius Jones did it for the Cowboys in 2004.
Betting: The Colts are 3-1 ATS in their past four home divisional games, not bad for a team that had covered just two of their previous 11 such games.