The Miami Dolphins will face the New York Jets 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 TE Jonnu Smith.
Is Jonnu Smith Playing in Week 18?
Smith 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 Dolphins’ 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 Jonnu Smith in Week 18?
The Jonnu Smith story is a good example of why you have to keep an open mind at these onesie positions. At no point during this offseason did I think a tight end in this very concentrated passing attack would return value. When Tua Tagovailoa was injured early in the season, I certainly wasn’t walking back that stance.
But I was wrong in this instance – Smith has been nothing short of great and is deserving of your trust with your season on the line. The veteran has at least six targets or a touchdown in seven straight games, production that has come in light of injuries all over the place.
The Jets shut him out for all of regulation in the Week 14 game, but Miami unlocked their tight end in overtime and featured him as they marched down the field (3-44-1). We don’t yet have much in the way of clarity when it comes to the status of Tua Tagovailoa or Jaylen Waddle – that matters for the Dolphins, but not for my confidence in Smith.
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.
Jonnu Smith’s Fantasy Points Projection in Week 18
As of Sunday, Smith is projected to score 11.9 fantasy points in PPR formats. This includes 5.2 receptions for 54.5 yards and 0.2 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 Jets' Defense
Since Robert Saleh's departure, the New York Jets' defense hasn't been pretty. At the time of his firing, this was a top-three unit, with two top-five weeks and two others that had ranked seventh through five weeks.
The Jets have now regressed towards league average, with the Week 17 no-show vs. the Bills representing the team's third-worst grade of the season (67.8, D+). New York's last four games have resulted in four of their five worst grades of the season, with the unit playing out the string on a lost season.
This is a frustrating downturn for a unit that Saleh and Jeff Ulbrich had built into a juggernaut together. They inherited a mess from the Adam Gase regime, and while the first year (2021) was equally bad, the Jets had been a top-five unit in each of the last two seasons. They won't approach that in 2024 as one of the league's most disappointing teams overall.
For more insight on all other team defenses, head to our PFN Defense+ Metric Analysis.
Jonnu Smith’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 TE PPR Rankings
1) Brock Bowers | LV (vs. LAC)
2) Sam LaPorta | DET (vs. MIN)
3) Trey McBride | ARI (vs. SF)
4) T.J. Hockenson | MIN (at DET)
5) Mark Andrews | BAL (vs. CLE)
6) Jonnu Smith | MIA (at NYJ)
7) Tucker Kraft | GB (vs. CHI)
8) George Kittle | SF (at ARI)
9) Chigoziem Okonkwo | TEN (vs. HOU)
10) Pat Freiermuth | PIT (vs. CIN)
11) Zach Ertz | WAS (at DAL)
12) Kyle Pitts | ATL (vs. CAR)
13) Hunter Henry | NE (vs. BUF)
14) Will Dissly | LAC (at LV)
15) Isaiah Likely | BAL (vs. CLE)
16) Jake Ferguson | DAL (vs. WAS)
17) Mike Gesicki | CIN (at PIT)
18) Juwan Johnson | NO (at TB)
19) Noah Gray | KC (at DEN)
20) Brenton Strange | JAX (at IND)
21) Dalton Kincaid | BUF (at NE)
22) Dalton Schultz | HOU (at TEN)
23) Cole Kmet | CHI (at GB)
24) Tyler Conklin | NYJ (vs. MIA)
25) Austin Hooper | NE (vs. BUF)
26) Noah Fant | SEA (at LAR)
27) Foster Moreau | NO (at TB)
28) Grant Calcaterra | PHI (vs. NYG)
29) Jordan Akins | CLE (at BAL)
30) Stone Smartt | LAC (at LV)
31) Daniel Bellinger | NYG (at PHI)
32) Ja'Tavion Sanders | CAR (at ATL)
33) Payne Durham | TB (vs. NO)
34) Dawson Knox | BUF (at NE)
35) Michael Mayer | LV (vs. LAC)
Dolphins at Jets Trends and Insights
Miami Dolphins
Team: Miami has won six of eight after opening the season with six losses in their first eight.
QB: Tyler Huntley averaged 8.7 yards per pass and had one touchdown on 26 attempts against the Browns on Sunday – in his first 66 passes this season, he averaged 5.7 yards per pass and had one touchdown.
Offense: Miami has not turned the ball over in four of their past five games (3-1 record in those four games).
Defense: The Dolphins improved to 5-0 this season when allowing a score on no more than 30% of opponent drives.
Fantasy: De’Von Achane managers are signing up to be Tua Tagovailoa fans when they draft him. This season:
- Tagovailoa: 18.6% production over expectation, 1.2 points per touch, 24.1% on-field target.
- Tyler Huntley: 23.1% production under expectation, 0.5 points per touch, 11.5% on-field target.
Betting: Miami Has covered six of their past seven road divisional games (their last 3-0 ATS season in terms of road divisional games was 2019).
New York Jets
Team: The Jets lost by 26 to the Bills on Sunday and were fortunate that the final score was that close. The blowout came on the heels of their previous four losses, which were by a total of 22 points.
QB: Aaron Rodgers has had more downs than ups this season, but he has completed 17-of-21 play-action passes over the past two weeks (81%).
Offense: New York averaged 1.4 points per drive on Sunday and fell to 0-8 this season when they failed to clear 2.0 points per drive.
Defense: The defense hasn’t traveled this season—the Jets have allowed 3+ points per drive in five games this year, and they’ve all been on the road (Sunday at Buffalo: 3.5).
Fantasy: The only players with more targets than Davante Adams (102) since he debuted for the Jets are Ja’Marr Chase (119) and Malik Nabers (110).
Betting: Under tickets have cashed in five of New York’s past seven home divisional games.