The 2022 fantasy football season is over! Congratulations to all of you who won championships. However, there is one more week left in the NFL season. If you’re playing fantasy this week in some capacity, here are the top Week 18 waiver wire pickups and targets that fantasy managers should consider adding to their rosters, which include Treylon Burks and Alexander Mattison.
Note: All roster percentages are from Yahoo, and players are listed by position in order of priority. There will be no FAAB recommendations this week as this is the final week of the NFL season.
If you’re still playing seasonal fantasy football this week, I hope it’s like a fun, bonus week type thing, or on Underdog Fantasy, and not your championship, because we’ve got a lot of teams that might rest starters. In any event, if you are playing your championship this week, you can spend literally every dollar you have left on whoever you need.
Waiver Wire Pickups To Target in Week 18
Alexander Mattison, Minnesota Vikings (30% Rostered)
Following the Vikings’ loss to the Packers, Minnesota no longer has a shot at the No. 1 overall seed. It remains to be seen how much they care about being the No. 2 seed vs. the No. 3 seed. Based on what we saw last season, teams didn’t really care.
As a result, the Vikings could rest their starters in Week 18. If they do, it would be Alexander Mattison as the lead back. We know quite well how good Mattison has been as the lead back. He would be a must-start RB2.
Malik Davis, Dallas Cowboys (1% Rostered)
With Tony Pollard out last Thursday, Malik Davis operated as the Cowboys’ RB2. He played 32% of the snaps, handling 10 carries and saw two targets.
Pollard was likely healthy enough to play, but the Cowboys elected to hold him out in a game the Titans were treating like the preseason. This week, the Cowboys find themselves in an interesting spot.
MORE: Early Fantasy RB Rankings Week 18
Dallas can still secure the No. 1 overall seed if they win and the Eagles lose. However, the Eagles are playing the Giants, who are going to be resting starters in a meaningless game.
Odds are, these two games will occur at the same time. So, while the Cowboys may play their starters to open the game, if they see the Eagles start to run away with it, they may pull the plug in the second half, allowing Davis to operate as the primary back. He’s worth adding early in the week, so you have him once we get a better idea of what teams are doing.
Matt Breida, New York Giants (1% Rostered)
In a shining example of the dangers of Week 18, the Giants are all but certain to rest Saquon Barkley. I can’t say for sure it will be Matt Breida picking up the slack, but he’s the one who played the second-most snaps this week, ahead of Gary Brightwell.
How valuable is Breida playing in a Tyrod Taylor offense? Probably not much. But any starting running back is worth rostering.
Corey Clement, Arizona Cardinals (0% Rostered)
James Conner left Sunday’s game with a shin injury and did not return. While we have no idea how serious it is, we’re heading into the final week of the season. There’s really no reason for Conner to push through an injury.
Following his exit, journeyman Corey Clement played ahead of Keaontay Ingram. Clement played 32 snaps to Ingram’s one. It’s abundantly clear who the lead back would be if Conner were to miss the final game of the season, so Clement’s the one to take a shot on.
Zack Moss, Indianapolis Colts (46% Rostered)
It’s hard to recommend anyone on the Colts, let alone their starting running back. With that said, Zack Moss did play 58% of the snaps and carried the ball 15 times for 74 yards, despite not seeing a target. There’s not much value in Moss, but he comes with a 6-7 point floor, for whatever that is worth.
Treylon Burks, Tennessee Titans (41% Rostered)
We didn’t know what to expect from the Titans’ offense under Joshua Dobbs. All we knew was it couldn’t be worse than Malik Willis.
Dobbs certainly didn’t light the world on fire, but he’s a far more effective thrower than Willis and was capable of getting the ball to Treylon Burks. The rookie first-rounder caught four of eight targets for 66 yards.
With so much unpredictability in Week 18, we know for sure the Titans and Jaguars will be trying, as their game will be for the AFC South crown. Burks is the top wide receiver add of the week.
Richie James and Isaiah Hodgins, New York Giants (18% and 9% Rostered)
The Giants don’t really have clear starters at wide receiver. It’s been Richie James and Isaiah Hodgins, but they aren’t exactly the type of players you think about protecting. So, there’s at least a chance they’ll be out there next week with Taylor and the backups.
MORE: Early Fantasy WR Rankings Week 18
James has scored 17 and 20.6 fantasy points, respectively, in the last two weeks. Hodgins has scored in four of his last five. They’ve both been clear fantasy starters for a few weeks now, and are worth speculative adds as we await reports on how the Giants will approach a meaningless Week 18 game.
K.J. Osborn, Minnesota Vikings (11% Rostered)
If the Vikings do rest starters, K.J. Osborn likely won’t be included. Osborn would probably serve as the WR1 in a Nick Mullens offense and would be startable as a fantasy WR3 based on volume alone.
DeAndre Carter, Los Angeles Chargers (19% Rostered)
The Chargers played Week 17 straight up and smoked the Rams. We’ve seen teams with nothing to play for in the season’s penultimate week before. They rarely rest starters because it’s just too soon. But in Week 18, the Chargers may opt to sit their main guys.
The Chargers are locked into either the No. 5 or No. 6 seed. The difference is negligible. With nothing to play for, DeAndre Carter would start in two receiver sets if the Chargers opt to hold out Keenan Allen and Mike Williams.
Playing with Chase Daniel is less than ideal, but Carter would have a volume-based WR3 claim and is worth a speculative add as we await news on how Los Angeles will approach a largely meaningless Week 18 contest.
Trey McBride, Arizona Cardinals (4% Rostered)
Week 17 was Trey McBride’s breakout game. He caught seven of 10 targets for 78 yards and a touchdown with David Blough at quarterback. Most importantly, McBride played over 90% of the snaps.
Next week’s matchup is as bad as it gets against a 49ers team that still has an outside shot at the top seed in the NFC. You probably don’t want to start McBride, but I would be remiss to not at least mention his name, given his performance.