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Week 18 Fantasy Football Quarterback Preview

Cleveland Browns at Baltimore Ravens

Lamar Jackson, Ravens

The Ravens would lock up a home playoff game with a win vs. Cleveland. If Baltimore loses and Pittsburgh wins, Jackson would hit the road for the Wild Card Round. Bottom line: Expect a normal workload for No. 8 – especially with kickoff set for 4:30PM ET on Saturday.

Cincinnati Bengals at Pittsburgh Steelers

Joe Burrow, Bengals

Burrow has been on a tear and the Bengals will have plenty to play for as they try to sneak into the playoffs. He extended his NFL Record 250+ passing yards and 3+ passing TDs to eight straight games last week. There is a good chance he does it again. Must start.

Russell Wilson, Steelers

The Steelers are in the playoffs and could still win the division if the Ravens lose the game directly before them on Saturday. Even if the Ravens win, a Steelers victory secures the 5 seed so that they go to Houston in the first round of the playoffs instead of Baltimore. Wilson has been on a cold streak, but the Bengals pass defense ranks bottom five in the NFL. This is a good spot to start Wilson as a low-end QB1.

Carolina Panthers at Atlanta Falcons

Bryce Young, Panthers

Young has finished QB20 or higher for seven straight games. That includes top-14 finishes in four of six games since the bye. Young has enjoyed some rushing-TD fortune in that span, though, scoring in three of the past five games. And he has finished each of the past four weeks short of 220 passing yards. So Young presents more upside than he once did, but he’s still not a safe bet for production. The Falcons arrive as the fifth-best scoring matchup for QBs, which obviously helps the upside case.

Michael Penix Jr., Falcons

Penix finished Week 17 playing well but ranked just 25th among starting QBs for the week in Pro Football Focus passing grade. He has also finished just 31st and 23rd among fantasy QBs for his two starting weeks. He gets a boost vs. that in our Week 18 rankings thanks to a matchup with Carolina (third-friendliest to QB scoring) and some starters heading for rest weeks. But we haven’t seen enough to like the Atlanta rookie for fantasy lineups yet. Even DFS use doesn’t look attractive without displayed upside to date.

Washington Commanders at Dallas Cowboys

Jayden Daniels, Commanders

The Commanders clinched a playoff spot last week but still need to win on Sunday to lock up the No. 6 seed. That'd mean a Round 1 meeting vs. the Bucs or Rams, rather than a rematch with the Eagles as the No. 7 seed. So Daniels should play the entire game against the Cowboys' 29th-ranked QB defense this weekend. He had a huge game vs. Dallas back in Week 12: 275 passing yards and two TDs, plus 74 rushing yards and another score.

Cooper Rush, Cowboys

Rush mustered just 147 passing yards and one TD in the Week 17 loss to the Eagles -- his worst fantasy outing in a full game this season. Part of it was the matchup; part of it was CeeDee Lamb's absence. Rush gets an easier Week 18 draw against the Commanders, who rank 20th in pass defense DVOA. But Lamb will be out again, leaving Rush as an unexciting QB2.

Chicago Bears at Green Bay Packers

Jordan Love, Packers

HC Matt LaFleur said this week that his starters will play vs. Chicago. Expect to get four quarters (or something close) from Love, who’s finished at QB23 and QB25 over the past two weeks.

Caleb Williams, Bears

Williams posted a 231-0-0 passing line against Green Bay back in Week 11. He added a season-high 70 rushing yards. On the road in a negative matchup, the rookie is best viewed as a QB2.

Jacksonville Jaguars at Indianapolis Colts

Joe Flacco, Colts

Flacco lived up to fantasy expectations last week, making the Colts receivers more fantasy relevant than they had been in weeks. His inconsistency (along with the Colts leaning on the run game) keeps him as a QB2 in a meaningless game.

Mac Jones, Jaguars

Jones has had some stretches of fantasy success, especially when targeting Brian Thomas Jr. The Colts were just torched by Drew Lock, so Jones does have some fantasy upside.

Buffalo Bills at New England Patriots

Drake Maye, Patriots

Maye stunk last week against the Chargers. But that marked the first time he finished lower than 18th among fantasy QBs since he took over as starter (aside from the game he left early with a concussion). He landed 16th among fantasy QBs at Buffalo the week before and now gets a Bills team set to rest starters.

New York Giants at Philadelphia Eagles

Drew Lock, Giants

We have now learned that Lock has top-3 fantasy upside. But that explosion against the Colts followed garbage passing lines in Lock’s first three starts of the season. He remains more bust than boom. Though you could take a shot on him in DFS if you want.

New Orleans Saints at Tampa Bay Buccaneers

Baker Mayfield, Buccaneers

Mayfield has finished as a top-10 fantasy QB in four straight, including three top-5 finishes. The Bucs can win the NFC South with a win over the Saints on Sunday, so Mayfield will be going all out. Tampa Bay's 28.75-point implied total is third highest of the week.

San Francisco 49ers at Arizona Cardinals

Kyler Murray, Cardinals

Murray’s thrown for more than one passing TD just once over his past eight games. He tallied 28.1 fantasy points against San Francisco in Week 5, boosted by 7-83-1 rushing.

Joshua Dobbs, 49ers

Dobbs is on track to start in place of Brock Purdy (elbow). Rushing ability helps supply some QB2 upside, but Dobbs is ultimately just a superflex option at Arizona.

Kansas City Chiefs at Denver Broncos

Bo Nix, Broncos

If the Broncos win, they will secure a spot in the playoffs. If they lose, it becomes much harder. That should give plenty of motivation for Nix to run and throw his way to a productive game against the Chiefs backup defense. He is a solid QB1 this week, and his legs give plenty of floor.

Carson Wentz, Chiefs

The Chiefs are locked into the top seed so their backups will be playing in this game. Wentz gets his first start of the season, but will be without the main weapons of the offense. Expect plenty of rushing for the Chiefs and Wentz to only be used when necessary. He is a low end QB2 this week.

Seattle Seahawks at Los Angeles Rams

Geno Smith, Seahawks

Smith has sandwiched two terrible fantasy outings around a big one – 314 yards, 3 TDs, QB7 finish – against Minnesota. This week pits him against a Rams team resting starters. Smith threw for 363 yards and 3 TDs (plus 3 INTs) in an early November loss to a Rams team that was actually trying.

Los Angeles Chargers at Las Vegas Raiders

Justin Herbert, Chargers

The Chargers can move up from the No. 6 to No. 5 seed with a win over the Raiders and a Steelers loss to the Bengals. That'd mean a Round 1 game against the Texans, rather than the Ravens. So expect Herbert and the Chargers to play to win on Sunday. Vegas ranks 19th in adjusted fantasy points allowed to QBs.

Aidan O’Connell, Raiders

O'Connell has finished QB25, QB10, QB25, and QB17 in his four full games this season. He's a low-end QB2 for Sunday's finale vs. the Chargers' 10th-ranked QB defense.

Miami Dolphins at New York Jets

Aaron Rodgers, Jets

Rodgers needs one more passing TD to hit 500 for his career. He should get there this week – but it’s hard to trust him in fantasy after a season-worst fantasy line at Buffalo. Rodgers’ Week 18 opponent – Miami – needs a win and some help to make the postseason.

Tyler Huntley, Dolphins

With Tua Tagovailoa still battling a hip injury, the Dolphins are preparing for Huntley to start against the Jets. He excelled in Week 17 with 225 yards and 1 TD on a 84.6% completion rate. He added 7-52-1 rushing.

Minnesota Vikings at Detroit Lions

Sam Darnold, Vikings

The Lions/Vikings have shootout potential with both secondaries showing some warts over the last few weeks. Darnold has been hot wth 12 TDs over the last four games. The Lions secondary was just torched by Brock Purdy, so Darnold is a QB1 with plenty of upside.

Jared Goff, Lions

Goff has thrown for at least 280+ yards and three TDs in each of his last four games. The Lions offense is humming and Goff has been a major catalyst. Though they are staying pretty even in run/pass splits, the downfield passing has picked up as Jameson Williams continues improving. Goff is a locked in QB1 against a Vikings secondary with some weaknesses.

Kevin English, Senior Analyst

Kevin brings 15 years of experience as a fantasy analyst and mid-stakes competitor across various formats (redraft, best ball, dynasty, DFS). His work has been featured on The Mercury News, Rotoworld, and FantasyPros.