The Pittsburgh Steelers will face the Cincinnati Bengals 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 RB Jaylen Warren.
Is Jaylen Warren Playing in Week 18?
Warren was limited at Tuesday’s practice with a rib injury but upgraded to full on Wednesday and Thursday. He will be fine to play on Saturday.
We’ll continue to monitor the Steelers’ 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 Jaylen Warren in Week 18?
Warren’s usage is trending up, and he’s cleared PPR fantasy expectations by over 5% in five of his past seven games.
That’s encouraging; this could be a great spot to continue this late-season breakout if you believe that the Bengals are going to put points on the board early. Warren is the only player to have 45 rushing yards and five receptions in each of his past two games, a role that almost lands you into RB2 status by itself.
The red-zone usage has my eye on Warren. The backup back has six touches inside the 20-yard line over Pittsburgh’s past two games, a nice jump forward for a player who had four such touches in his previous five. Najee Harris has six such touches over that stretch as well, so it’s not as if the high-value touches are all for Warren, but his piece of that pie is certainly growing.
I like the Steelers in this game, and that has me trending toward Harris as the leader of this backfield. That said, I think we have 30 PPR points to distribute, and the pendulum could very much swing in Warren’s favor should Cincinnati land the first body blow.
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.
Jaylen Warren’s Fantasy Points Projection in Week 18
As of Saturday, Warren is projected to score 12.4 fantasy points in PPR formats. This includes 14.5 rushing attempts for 65.3 yards and 0.4 touchdowns. It also includes 0.9 receptions for 20.5 yards and 0.1 touchdowns.
Check out the free PFN Fantasy Start-Sit Optimizer for the latest projections and advice for your lineups this week.
Jaylen Warren’s Fantasy Ranking
Our Weekly Consensus PPR Rankings are below — both positional and overall. They were last updated at 11:45 PM ET on Saturday, January 25.
Conference Championship RB PPR Rankings
1) Saquon Barkley | PHI (vs. WAS)
2) James Cook | BUF (at KC)
3) Brian Robinson Jr. | WAS (at PHI)
4) Isiah Pacheco | KC (vs. BUF)
5) Kareem Hunt | KC (vs. BUF)
6) Austin Ekeler | WAS (at PHI)
7) Ray Davis | BUF (at KC)
8) Ty Johnson | BUF (at KC)
9) Samaje Perine | KC (vs. BUF)
10) Kenneth Gainwell | PHI (vs. WAS)
11) Jeremy McNichols | WAS (at PHI)
12) Will Shipley | PHI (vs. WAS)
13) Carson Steele | KC (vs. BUF)
14) Reggie Gilliam | BUF (at KC)
15) Chris Rodriguez Jr. | WAS (at PHI)