Fantasy football is more than just the weekly head-to-head games we’ve all grown to love. On Underdog, fantasy managers can put their player-projection skills to the test by predicting player stat lines. Here are my top Underdog plays for the Sunday slate of Week 18 games.
Top Underdog Pick’ems for Week 18
Underdog Pick’ems allows fantasy managers to predict stat lines and fantasy-point totals for almost all fantasy-relevant players. You can make two picks that pay out 3x, even money, or add more selections to your entry for higher payouts.
The levels are 3x, 6x, 10x, and 20x, progressing with each additional pick’em you add to your entry. Let’s look at this week’s Underdog Pick’ems for the Sunday slate.
For the Sunday slate, there are far more games than the individual prime-time games. Underdog entries are limited to five pick’ems. Most weeks, there will be more than five pick’ems I like. Additionally, hitting a five-pick-’em entry is hard. I don’t want to consistently go 3-2 or 4-1 and lose.
As a result, I will limit this list to my favorite picks of the week. At the bottom of this article, I used to provide my pick’em entry, which consists of three to four of my top pick’ems. Unfortunately, due to new regulations in New York, I can no longer play these myself. To compensate, I will list the pick’ems in order of confidence.
Khalil Herbert Higher Than 60.5 Rushing Yards
Back in Week 1, Khalil Herbert ran for just 27 yards on nine carries against the Green Bay Packers. That was a long time ago.
Over the past two weeks, Herbert has reclaimed the Chicago Bears lead-back role. He’s run for 112 and 124 yards. Assuming that he’s fully healthy to suit up, let’s ride the hot hand here.
Herbert is once again going to command the bulk of the carries. And the Packers allow the 10th-most rushing yards per game to running backs. Given Herbert’s recent play, he should have no trouble hitting 61+ yards on the ground.
Jordan Addison Lower Than 49.5 Receiving Yards
If someone could explain to me why Jordan Addison’s receiving projection is ever higher than around 35.5, that would be great. Actually, on second thought, let’s not draw attention to it.
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Addison has gone below 45 receiving yards in five of his last six games. Yes, the matchup against the Detroit Lions pass-funnel defense is good. But that doesn’t matter.
Ever since Kirk Cousins went down, the carousel of backup and third-string quarterbacks have been incapable of supporting more than one wide receiver. You know who’s not getting left out of the fun? Justin Jefferson. Look for Addison to disappoint yet again.
Ty Chandler Lower Than 44.5 Rushing Yards
Since taking over as the Minnesota Vikings’ lead back from Alexander Mattison, things haven’t really gone that well for Ty Chandler. We all saw him torch the Cincinnati Bengals defense on national television in a standalone game three weeks ago, but other than that, he’s been pretty ineffective.
In Chandler’s four games as the primary back, he’s run for 35, 132, 17, and 40 yards. The 17 yards came on eight carries against these very same Detroit Lions, who have allowed the fewest rushing yards this season by far.
The Lions are playing their starters and intend to win the game and give themselves a shot at the No. 2 seed in the NFC. That should mean a negative game script for the Vikings and fewer opportunities for Chandler, who won’t have much room to run when he does get the ball.
James Conner Higher Than 15.5 Rush Attempts
James Conner is coming off a 26 carry game in the Arizona Cardinals’ win over the Philadelphia Eagles. Of course, we shouldn’t expect 25+ opportunities regularly. Yet, he can see 10 fewer attempts and still go over this projection.
The Cardinals haven’t played in many competitive games this season. When they do, Conner typically sees a large carry count. He’s seen at least 14 carries in every Cardinals win or one score loss. It’s possible the Cardinals will beat the Seattle Seahawks this week, leaning on Conner to do so.
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