Depending on how you look at it, Week 18 is either the beginning of the fantasy football offseason, or the last checkpoint before the offseason begins. And…
Wait. You weren’t about to fall for the whole “offseason” thing, were you? What are ya, a quitter?
There is no offseason. This is when serious fantasy gamers either start plotting their revenge after unfulfilling seasons or begin hatching plans to defend their championships.
Our player analysis continues during Week 18 and the NFL playoffs. We’re at the peak of college bowl season, which means opportunities to scout players we’ll be drafting for the first time this summer. And some fantasy analysts are releasing their first set of 2026 fantasy football rankings.
Offseason? Pffft.
If you want to check out for a while, suit yourself. But for those of you who can never get enough fantasy football, we at FantasyPros will continue putting out videos, podcasts and articles.
We hope you’ll stay with us.
Now, let’s get to the 10 most intriguing players of Week 18.
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The 10 Most Intriguing Fantasy Football Players of Week 18
1. Bijan Robinson (RB – ATL)
For years to come, fantasy gamers will tell and retell tales of how Bijan Robinson rode to their rescue in the final game of Week 17 and delivered them a fantasy championship.
Robinson had 22 carries for 195 yards and a touchdown (a 93-yard touchdown, no less) and had five catches for 34 yards and another touchdown. Like Alvin Kamara‘s six-touchdown game in Week 16 of 2020 (which happened to fall on Christmas Day), Robinson’s championship week performance will be remembered for a long, long time.
Already a candidate to be the consensus No. 1 pick in 2026 drafts, Robinson strengthened his case for that honor last week, and he’ll have a chance to present closing arguments when the Falcons host the Saints in Week 18.
2. Travis Kelce (TE – KC)
The Chiefs’ Week 18 game against the Raiders in Las Vegas may be the last time we ever see Travis Kelce play football.
It’s unfortunate that Kelce will be playing with third-string quarterback Chris Oladokun instead of Patrick Mahomes on Sunday, and that the Chiefs are merely playing out the string. But, hey, professional athletes rarely get to go out exactly the way they’d like.
If this is indeed the end of the line for Kelce, let us raise a toast to a standard-bearer at the tight end position who enters Week 18 with 1,077 career catches for 12,990 yards and 82 touchdowns (not to mention a couple of touchdown runs). Kelce finished as the TE1 in PPR scoring six times, including five straight TE1 seasons from 2016 to 2020.
Here’s to you, Travis Kelce. Bravo, good sir.
3. Luther Burden III (WR – CHI)
It took a while to get a breakout game from Luther Burden III, but we finally got it in a nationally televised game, and a lot of people will remember it when 2026 drafts roll around.
Burden caught eight of his nine targets for 138 yards and a touchdown against the 49ers last Sunday night, putting up big numbers while playing only 57.6% of the Bears’ offensive snaps.
Paltry snap shares are among the reasons Burden’s rookie season has been a slow burn rather than an instant ignition. Early in the season, Burden shared slot-receiver duties with veteran Olamide Zaccheaus. It wasn’t until Week 10 that Burden had a single-game snap share above 30%.
A foot injury to Rome Odunze has increased Burden’s involvement in recent weeks. Over his last three games, Burden has 18 catches for 289 yards.
Burden could make another statement in Week 18 with a home matchup against the Lions and their injury-depleted defensive backfield.
4. Derrick Henry (RB – BAL)
The 2025 season had been a mildly disappointing one for Derrick Henry going into his Week 17 game against the Packers, due more to the shortcomings of the Baltimore offense than to any age-related decline for Henry.
After rushing for 1,921 yards and scoring 18 touchdowns in 2024, Henry had 1,253 rushing yards and 12 touchdowns through the first 16 weeks of the 2025 season.
But with Lamar Jackson sidelined by a back injury, Henry put the Ravens on his back last Saturday night in Green Bay, with 36 carries for 216 yards and four touchdowns. The 36 carries were a career high for Henry. He’s had one other game with four touchdown runs, and he’s had three games in which he had more than 216 rushing yards.
Sunday is King Henry’s 32nd birthday. Will he celebrate in high style with another big performance against the Steelers in a game that will decide the AFC North championship? And can Henry continue to make the case that he’s a sound investment in 2026 despite his advanced age?
5. Brock Purdy (QB – SF)
Brock Purdy carried a lot of people to fantasy championships in Week 17 with 303 passing yards, three touchdown passes and a pair of touchdown runs.
Purdy will now try to carry the San Francisco 49ers to the No. 1 playoff seed in the NFC. The Niners host the Seahawks on Saturday night with the winner getting a first-round bye and home-field advantage throughout the NFC playoffs.
It’s a shame that Purdy lost eight games to a toe injury. If he hadn’t missed all that time, he might have rivaled Drake Maye as the best mid-round value at the quarterback position this season.
Over his last three games, Purdy has thrown for 893 yards and 11 touchdowns. It’s great that Purdy has been such a valuable asset in the fantasy playoffs, but some teams might have missed the playoffs because they didn’t get a full season out of Purdy.
6. Trey McBride (TE – ARI)
A barrage of garbage-time catches in Arizona’s lopsided Week 17 loss to the Bengals helped get Trey McBride the single-season record for most receptions by a tight end. McBride has 119 catches on the season and will look to pad that total on Sunday against the Rams.
McBride was wildly productive in 2024 as well, with 111 catches for 1,146 yards. But McBride only scored two touchdowns last season. Entering 2025, he had scored only six touchdowns in 49 NFL games.
The scoring drought ended with a downpour. McBride has 11 touchdown catches this season. He had only one touchdown in his first five games this year, but then Jacoby Brissett replaced the injured Kyler Murray as Arizona’s starting quarterback, and McBride scored 10 touchdowns over his next 11 games.
Remember how gamers used to debate whether Travis Kelce was worthy of a first-round pick in fantasy drafts? We might be hearing debates about whether McBride is worthy of first-round status in 2026.
7. Tyler Shough (QB – NO)
We should probably start taking Tyler Shough seriously, and maybe we even need to consider him as a late-round quarterback target for 2026.
Over his eight starts, Shough has completed 69.6% of his passes, averaging 249.6 passing yards a game and 7.7 yards per pass attempt, with nine touchdowns and four interceptions.
Shough’s numbers are comparable to (and better than in some categories) Drake Maye‘s rookie numbers. And like Maye, Shough adds some fantasy value as a runner. Shough has 150 rushing yards and two touchdown runs in his eight starts.
The 26-year-old Shough finishes his rookie season on the road against the Falcons.
8. Malik Davis (RB – DAL)
The Cowboys are playing for nothing but pride in Week 18, so it seems unlikely that they would let Javonte Williams play through shoulder and eye injuries. That means we could see a lot of Malik Davis in the Dallas backfield this Sunday.
When Williams left the Cowboys’ Christmas Day game against the Commanders in the second quarter, Davis took over and had 20 carries for 103 yards.
Williams only signed a one-year deal with the Cowboys and is about to become an unrestricted free agent. Davis will also be a free agent, but he’ll be much more affordable if the Cowboys want to re-sign him than Williams.
Davis gets an enticing Week 18 matchup against the Giants, who have given up 118.1 rushing yards per game (second-most in the league) and 5.6 yards per carry (most in the league) to opposing running backs.
9. Shedeur Sanders (QB – CLE)
Will Shedeur Sanders be the Browns’ starting quarterback in Week 1 of 2026? Or will Cleveland sign a quarterback in free agency, trade for one or (gasp) give Deshaun Watson one more shot?
Sanders came into the league with plenty of haters. A lot of people think he’s cocky. A lot of people don’t care for his famous and loquacious father, Deion Sanders. Let’s face it: A lot of people wanted to see Shedeur Sanders faceplant.
Sanders has disappointed those hoping to see him flop. While Sanders hasn’t been a smashing success in his first stint as an NFL starter, he certainly hasn’t embarrassed himself.
In six starts, Sanders has averaged 207 passing yards per game and 7.1 yards per attempt. He’s completed 60.3% of his throws and has thrown seven touchdown passes. Sanders has thrown too many interceptions (nine) and has taken too many sacks (15) in his six starts, but sacks and interceptions tend to be frequent among quarterbacks getting their first extended exposure to NFL defenses.
Sanders has one more chance to make his case that he should be the Browns’ starter in 2026. He’ll face the Bengals in Cincinnati, and going toe to toe with Joe Burrow would be a nice way for Sanders to put the finishing touches on his rookie year.
10. Kyle Williams (WR – NE)
Rookie Kyle Williams could be forced into a big role for the Patriots in their regular-season finale.
Mack Hollins is on injured reserve (IR), Kayshon Boutte is trying to return from a concussion that sidelined him in Week 17, and Stefon Diggs‘ Week 18 is uncertain after he was charged with strangulation and assault earlier this week.
After being used sparingly for most of the season, Williams played a season-high 56 snaps last week but had only three catches for 20 yards on five targets. The third-round pick from Washington State had only seven receptions going into Week 17.
With the Patriots facing a personnel shortage at wide receiver for this week, Williams will once again be thrust into a more prominent role. With a successful stretch run, Williams could make the case that he should be a regular in New England’s wide receiver rotation in 2026, and we know that wide receivers attached to Drake Maye are going to be attractive fantasy assets.
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