The regular-season finale can bring generate endless amounts of roster builds and sheer madness in the world of daily fantasy football. The amount of backups, rookies, and fringe roster players set to see significant action makes this Sunday slate incredibly unique on DraftKings.
Here is a look at some of my DFS picks for Week 18.
Week 18 DFS Locks
Jordan Love, QB, Green Bay Packers ($6,600)
The journey of Green Bay Packers QB Jordan Love in his first real year under center has been a bit of an adventure.
A roller coaster ride feels like an appropriate comparison. He started off hot, played so poorly for a month that his job looked like it could be in real jeopardy after this season, and then he has been great over the final seven games of the year.
Since Week 10, Love is the QB2 in all of fantasy football, trailing only Dak Prescott in total points. Love’s 20 total touchdowns to just three interceptions during this recent stretch has silenced many of his critics and likely bought him another year — if not more — as the starting quarterback of one of the youngest offensive teams in the league.
The task is simple for Love in Week 18. Win, and you advance to the playoffs. Since the Chicago Bears’ run defense has been pretty stingy over the last month of the season, expect the Packers to lean heavily on Love’s arm in the season finale.
Travis Etienne, RB, Jacksonville Jaguars ($7,300)
Those fantasy managers who didn’t buy into the Tank Bigsby hype train this offseason likely benefitted from Jacksonville Jaguars RB Travis Etienne’s 1,397 total yards and 12 TDs on 304 total touches this year, which led him to a top-five season at the RB position in fantasy football.
Outside of a dominant win against the struggling Carolina Panthers last week, the Jags have been in the midst of a collapse over the back half of the year.
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The status of QB Trevor Lawrence is completely up in the air at the moment. However, if Lawrence does manage to suit up on Sunday, then he will likely not be at 100 percent.
This could lead to the Jags’ offense running through Etienne against the Tennessee Titans, who are coming off of a 118-total yard and two-score performance against the Panthers last Sunday.
Expect Etienne to be busy with the Jags still in the AFC playoff picture in Week 18.
DK Metcalf, WR, Seattle Seahawks ($7,200)
The Seattle Seahawks find themselves fighting for their playoff lives heading into the final week of the regular season, which means WR DK Metcalf may have to be one of the big reasons why the team secures a Wild Card spot if they manage to beat the Arizona Cardinals.
Metcalf’s receptions have dipped a bit from last year, but he actually has more yards and touchdowns this season, even with the presence of Jaxon Smith-Njigba and a bit of regression in the passing game from QB Geno Smith. The team is still relying on him for big plays, which is evident by his career-high 16.9 yards per catch in 2023.
In a must-win situation for the Seahawks, expect Metcalf to produce a couple of big plays to help the Seahawks pick up the victory in Week 18.
Dallas Goedert, TE, Philadelphia Eagles ($5,100)
The Philadelphia Eagles have certainly been stumbling their way to the finish line of the 2023 regular season by losing four of their last five games.
In order to keep their hopes of an NFC East crown alive, they will need to handle their business against the New York Giants.
Devonta Smith has missed all three practices this week and is in real danger of missing Sunday’s game, which would put TE Dallas Goedert in line for an expanded role in the Philly passing attack.
Despite the recent struggles of the Eagles offense, Goedert has caught 12 passes for 118 yards and a score over the last two weeks. Expect him to be a high-quality safety blanket for Jalen Hurts if Smith can’t go in Week 18.
New England Patriots D/ST ($3,600)
Could this be the last game of the Bill Belichick era in New England? We don’t have a definitive answer to that question yet, but the sheer possibility of that reality means I expect this defense to put on a show against a division rival in front of the Patriots’ home crowd.
I don’t need to sell you on the greatness of Belichick. And I definitely don’t need to sell you on how bad the New York Jets offense has been for the majority of this season … but I’m going to do that anyway.
The Jets offense generated just 10 points and gave up three sacks at home against this New England defense earlier this year. I expect Belichick to finish what could be the final game of his illustrious campaign in New England on a high note with one more defensive masterpiece.
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