By Ryan Bologna
Week 18 in the NFL is coming up. Most fantasy seasons have already ended, but there are some of you out there who still have a championship matchup going. Even if that is not the case, you might be looking for some prop bets for this weekend’s games. Here’s who the experts believe will perform well this weekend.
Quarterbacks
A lot of the players experts believe in this week are players on teams that are playing meaningful games. The Jaguars are playing a meaningful game, and Trevor Lawrence has seen an upward trajectory in the second half of the season. Three out of the four outlets recommend starting him this weekend. Make sure you set your lineups before Saturday though, because that is when that game is taking place.
Despite a win against Washington last week, Deshaun Watson didn’t exactly look great. Experts believe he will continue to struggle in the season finale against the Steelers. Maybe he will bounce back next season, but he is not someone to depend on in fantasy or with prop betting this week.
| Start ‘Em | Sit ‘Em | |
| ESPN | Kirk Cousins, Trevor Lawrence, Aaron Rodgers, Geno Smith, Jared Goff | Dak Prescott, Justin Herbert, Deshaun Watson, Brock Purdy, Russell Wilson |
| CBS | Trevor Lawrence, Jared Goff, Dak Prescott, Geno Smith | Tom Brady, Daniel Jones, Russell Wilson, Deshaun Watson |
| Yahoo | Trevor Lawrence, Dak Prescott, Jared Goff, Justin Herbert, Kirk Cousins | Geno Smith, Brock Purdy, Jarrett Stidham, Deshaun Watson, Russell Wilson |
| Sporting News | Kirk Cousins, Geno Smith, Tom Brady, Brock Purdy, Jarrett Stidham | Jared Goff, Deshaun Watson, Russell Wilson, Mac Jones, Tyler Huntley |
Running Backs
Cam Akers has had an interesting season to say the least. Going from being a high fantasy draft pick, so benched early in the season and eventually away from the team, to returning to the starting role with the Rams. Akers is facing one of the weaker defenses in the Seahawks this week, and outlets believe he should produce.
Outlets are low on Brian Robinson this week, who is going up against a Dallas defense that will be trying to win. The game matters for Dallas because they are still in contention for the NFC East title and the number one seed. They need a win and they need the Giants to beat the Eagles.
| Start ‘Em | Sit ‘Em | |
| ESPN | Cam Akers, Travis Etienne, Najee Harris, Alvin Kamara, Nick Chubb | Isiah Pacheco, Brian Robinson, Latavius Murray, Zack Moss, Jamaal Williams |
| CBS | Cam Akers, Najee Harris, Zack Moss, Tyler Allgeier, D’Andre Swift | Brian Robinson, D’Onta Foreman, Saquon Barkley, Leonard Fournette, J.K. Dobbins |
| Yahoo | Nick Chubb, Cam Akers, Najee Harris, Miles Sanders, Alvin Kamara | Isiah Pacheco, D’Andre Swift, Tyler Allgeier, Brian Robinson, Tony Pollard |
| Sporting News | AJ Dillon, Miles Sanders, David Montgomery, Zack Moss, Deon Jackson | Brian Robinson, Leonard Fournette, Rachaad White, James Connor, Latavius Murray |
Wide Receivers
The outlets love Christian Watson this week. The Green Bay offense has been on an upward trajectory, and they are in a win and in situation on Sunday Night Football against the Lions at home. There has been much talk of Aaron Rodgers’ struggles without Davante Adams this year, but he seems to have found a groove.
The experts are very low on Terry McLaurin this week. As discussed above, this is a meaningful game for Dallas. It doesn’t help that McLaurin will have rookie quarterback Sam Howell throwing to him in his first NFL start. It is a tough matchup all around for the Commanders this week.
| Start ‘Em | Sit ‘Em | |
| ESPN | Christian Watson, Christian Kirk, DJ Moore, Jaylen Waddle, Michael Pittman | JuJu Smith-Schuster, Jerry Jeudy, Terry McLaurin, Zay Jones, Brandon Aiyuk |
| CBS | DJ Moore, Christian Watson, Brandon Aiyuk, Chris Olave, Zay Jones | Terry McLaurin, Diontae Johnson, DJ Chark, Adam Thielen, Jaylen Waddle |
| Yahoo | Garrett Wilson, Christian Kirk, Jaylen Waddle, DJ Moore, Mike Williams | JuJu Smith-Schuster, Terry McLaurin, Jerry Jeudy, Allen Lazard, Michael Pittman |
| Sporting News | Gabe Davis, Drake London, Michael Pittman, Marquise Brown, Christian Watson | JuJu Smith-Schuster, Jerry Jeudy, Courtland Sutton, Donovan Peoples-Jones, DJ Chark |
Tight Ends
Tyler Higbee has had some big games down the stretch this season, notably the Broncos game. As mentioned before, the Seahawks are not a strong defense. The Rams also game the Seahawks a close game last time around, so maybe that could happen again.
David Njoku is probably suffering from the lack of faith the experts have in Deshaun Watson. The Steelers play a lot of low-scoring games, and that shouldn’t be different this weekend when they play the Browns at home. Njoku is probably a risky play in fantasy and with prop bets.
| Start ‘Em | Sit ‘Em | |
| ESPN | Evan Engram, Dalton Schultz, Darren Waller, Dallas Goedert, Tyler Higbee | David Njoku, Cole Kmet, Pat Freiermuth, Taysom Hill, Tyler Conklin |
| CBS | Dawson Knox, Tyler Higbee, Darren Waller | Cole Kmet, Hunter Henry, Gerald Everett, Pat Freiermuth |
| Yahoo | Evan Engram, Dallas Goedert, Dalton Schultz, Taysom Hill, Pat Freiermuth | David Njoku, Dawson Knox, Cole Kmet, Tyler Higbee, Gerald Everett |
| Sporting News | Taysom Hill, Dawson Knox, Pat Freiermuth, Tyler Higbee, Tyler Conklin | David Njoku, Juwan Johnson, Noah Fant, Hunter Henry, Hayden Hurst |
