The 2023 fantasy football season is officially over. Congratulations to all of you who won championships, and really to anyone who had a successful season, title or not. But there is one more week of the NFL season. If you have a matchup this week for fun or pride or for any reason, here are the top Week 18 waiver wire targets and pickups that fantasy managers should consider for their rosters.
Top Waiver Wire Pickups in Week 18 | Quarterbacks
Note: As always, all players are rostered in 50% or less of Yahoo leagues.
Tyrod Taylor, New York Giants (4% Rostered)
If you’re looking for quarterbacks to stream next week, it’s going to be tough. Tyrod Taylor just threw for 319 yards and a touchdown while adding 40 yards on the ground.
The New York Giants get the Philadelphia Eagles next week. Taylor replaced Tommy DeVito at halftime when these teams met in Week 16. In just one half of football, he put up 10.4 fantasy points. The Eagles have the worst pass defense in the NFL, putting Taylor firmly on the streaming radar.
Mason Rudolph, Pittsburgh Steelers (3% Rostered)
Let’s call it like we see it. Kenny Pickett has lost his job to Mason Rudolph. There’s no way head coach Mike Tomlin is going back to Pickett after the way Rudolph has played and won the two games he’s started, with a playoff berth on the line.
On the surface, the matchup for Rudolph is awful against the Baltimore Ravens. However, the Ravens have locked up the bye. They are going to rest starters. That means Rudolph and the Steelers will have everything to play for and will be doing so against backups.
Rudolph’s Week 17 was awful for fantasy because Jaylen Warren and Najee Harris took all of the touchdowns. Even give him one through the air and he would’ve posted passable QB2 numbers. He can easily throw for 200 yards and two touchdowns against the Ravens backups.
Top Waiver Wire Pickups in Week 18 | Running Backs
The Week 18 waiver wire is largely an exercise in trying to guess which teams will rest starters and targeting the backups.
Pierre Strong, Cleveland Browns (1% Rostered)
With the Baltimore Ravens’ win over the Miami Dolphins, the Cleveland Browns are locked into the No. 5 seed. They’ve made it clear they will rest starters if they have nothing to play for. Well, they have nothing to play for.
In a game where the backups are in, we know Jerome Ford would sit. I’m pretty confident Kareem Hunt would be held out as well, leaving Pierre Strong as the lead back. He could very well see 20+ touches against the Cincinnati Bengals’ horrendous run defense.
Jordan Mason, San Francisco 49ers (2% Rostered)
Due to the Eagles’ loss to the Arizona Cardinals, the San Francisco 49ers have clinched the No. 1 overall seed. That means they will be resting starters in Week 18.
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Elijah Mitchell is the clear RB2 behind Christian McCaffrey when healthy. So, there’s risk that he ends up getting the start. However, I think he’s important enough that they may hold him out as well. That would set the stage for Jordan Mason to handle a heavy workload against the Carolina Panthers’ awful run defense. Mason would be a high RB2, at worst, if we get word he is going to be the starter.
Jamaal Williams, New Orleans Saints (18% Rostered)
Alvin Kamara was the latest unfortunate victim of the definitely-getting-banned hip-drop tackle. He injured his ankle and did not return.
The New Orleans Saints’ playoff hopes remain alive. Therefore, they will try and have all hands on deck in Week 18. Unfortunately, the nature of Kamara’s injury suggests he is probably not going to play.
If Kamara can’t go, that would set up Jamaal Williams to be the lead back. He handled 19 carries and saw four targets against the Tampa Bay Buccaneers, and he will be a volume-based RB2 against the Atlanta Falcons.
Ronnie Rivers, Los Angeles Rams (0% Rostered)
With the Seattle Seahawks’ loss to the Pittsburgh Steelers, the Los Angeles Rams have clinched a playoff spot. During his entire tenure as head coach, Sean McVay has never played his starters in the preseason. The Rams are locked into a Wild Card spot. I fully expect them to sit everyone.
We should find out more during the week, but my preliminary guess is that Ronnie Rivers won’t be treated as a player who gets rested. There’s a chance we see Royce Freeman as the lead back, but I think it will be Rivers.
The Rams get a San Francisco 49ers team that will also be resting starters with the top seed in the NFC clinched. Although Rivers will be playing with backups, he will also be playing against backups and could see 20+ touches, making him well worth starting.
Melvin Gordon, Baltimore Ravens (0% Rostered)
This is only for the truly desperate. The Baltimore Ravens clinched the AFC’s top seed and will be resting starters. Given the Ravens’ injuries at running back, Gus Edwards is definitely going to sit, and it seems probable Justice Hill will as well. We could be looking at a full workload for Melvin Gordon against a Pittsburgh Steelers defense that struggles against the run.
Now, I’m not quite sure what Gordon can do at this point in his career, even with significant work. But volume is king. Gordon could be a worthwhile starter next week.
La’Mical Perine, Kansas City Chiefs (0% Rostered)
You probably don’t want to start La’Mical Perine, regardless of whether he’s the guy in Kansas City. Nevertheless, the Chiefs are locked into the No. 3 seed and will almost certainly be resting starters in Week 18. That will obviously include Isiah Pacheco and Clyde Edwards-Helaire.
Such a scenario would set up Perine to be the lead back in a game where the Chiefs will be playing all backups. He is at least worth a speculative add to see who the Chiefs end up starting at running back.
Craig Reynolds, Detroit Lions (1% Rostered)
The Detroit Lions’ loss to the Dallas Cowboys on Saturday night mathematically eliminated them from the No. 1 overall seed. While the sample size for how teams treat playoff seeding when a bye isn’t involved is small, what we’ve seen is coaches don’t seem to care about where they’re seeded.
The Lions are going to be the No. 2 or No. 3 seed in the NFC. At this time, we don’t know if the Lions care about the difference. But we do know that the Lions’ path to the No. 2 seed is extremely unlikely.
The Cowboys are probably not losing to the Washington Commanders. The Philadelphia Eagles are probably not losing to the New York Giants. As a result, the Lions’ Week 18 game is a glorified scrimmage.
We do have plenty of evidence on how head coach Dan Campbell handles the preseason. He doesn’t care. At all. Since taking over as head coach, Jared Goff hasn’t played a single preseason snap.
If the Lions do opt to rest starters, neither David Montgomery nor Jahmyr Gibbs is going to play. That would set up Craig Reynolds to serve as the lead back, and likely a three-down one at that, making him worth adding in fantasy.
Top Waiver Wire Pickups in Week 18 | Wide Receivers
We don’t have a clear priority add on the Week 18 waiver wire at wide receiver, but there a handful of potentially useful options.
Greg Dortch, Arizona Cardinals (7% Rostered)
I’m not quite sure why Greg Dortch gets relegated to an afterthought when the Arizona Cardinals are fully healthy. He’s a nice little player. Dortch caught all seven of his targets for 82 yards against the Philadelphia Eagles. He’s scored 11.7 fantasy points or more in four of his last six contests.
Marquise Brown is done for the season. Dortch is going to have the same role in Week 18 that he had this past week. There’s a very useful floor here.
Wan’Dale Robinson, New York Giants (11% Rostered)
At various points this season, Wan’Dale Robinson has spiked for a WR1 performance. It’s impossible to predict, but clearly, the sophomore receiver has the talent to do so.
Robinson has seen at least seven targets in three of the last four weeks. He caught six passes for 55 yards against the Los Angeles Rams and scored on his lone carry, which went for 24 yards. You can do worse than Robinson in Week 18.
Darius Slayton, New York Giants (3% Rostered)
I can’t say I buy what Darius Slayton is doing, but I can’t deny that he’s doing it. Slayton has caught bomb touchdowns in back-to-back games. He’s now posted double-digit fantasy points in three straight weeks.
Taylor makes the New York Giants offense better. The Philadelphia Eagles have the worst pass defense in the NFL. Slayton beat them deep two weeks ago. He can do it again. I wouldn’t feel great about starting Slayton, but at least he’s proven that the upside exists.
Alex Erickson, Los Angeles Chargers (0% Rostered)
No one should be surprised that even with no Keenan Allen or Josh Palmer, it wasn’t Quentin Johnston who stepped up. It was never going to be Johnston. But it is certainly a bit surprising that Alex Erickson led the game in receiving with seven catches for 68 yards.
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Erickson is a solid if unspectacular player. Once Justin Herbert went down, with him went the Los Angeles Chargers’ playoff hopes and any chance Allen would bother playing again this season. I can’t imagine Palmer has any reason to return for Week 18, either. That should once again put Erickson in the WR1 role.
It won’t be pretty, but Erickson is startable as a floor play for the final week of the NFL regular season.
Kalif Raymond, Detroit Lions (2% Rostered)
The same reasoning behind why Reynolds is a worthwhile add at running back applies to Kalif Raymond at wide receiver. The only player that we know for sure wouldn’t play in a scenario where the Lions rest starters is Amon-Ra St. Brown. My guess is Josh Reynolds won’t play either. That would leave Jameson Williams and Kalif Raymond as the top two options.
The Lions’ backup quarterbacks are actually pretty good, relatively speaking. Teddy Bridgewater is technically the backup, but I wouldn’t be surprised if rookie Hendon Hooker got the start. It makes so much more sense, given that Bridgewater already said this will be his last NFL season. It would be pretty cool to see what the rookie can do, and you know he’d be motivated. Raymond could be a worthwhile WR3 in Week 18.
Top Waiver Wire Pickups in Week 18 | Tight Ends
Juwan Johnson, New Orleans Saints (15% Rostered)
Most tight ends are touchdown-or-bust. That’s what I would describe Juwan Johnson as. However, he just caught eight passes for 90 yards in Week 17. It’s likely an anomaly, but Johnson has the talent and has had big games in the past.
Johnson has now scored in three straight games. The Saints have a must-win game against an Atlanta Falcons team that has completely fallen apart. He is a viable streamer.
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