Senior fantasy analyst Michael Fabiano is setting your lineups for the final week of the 2023 NFL regular season.
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00:00 It's week 18 of the NFL season and if your fantasy football championship is this weekend,
00:05 don't worry, we've got you covered.
00:06 I've brought in Michael Fabriano, our senior analyst at SI.com to help you make those correct
00:12 start-sit decisions and it is a trickier one this week, Fabs.
00:15 We already know that a lot of teams are going to be resting their starters, but you say
00:19 we're good to go to start number four for Dallas.
00:22 Yeah, Dak Prescott and the Cowboys in a game they have to win to secure the NFC East and
00:28 the number two seed and that's what you're looking for.
00:30 Teams that need to win and have something to play for to eliminate any uncertainty in
00:36 terms of snaps and that kind of thing.
00:38 The matchup's also really good against the Commanders.
00:41 They have basically hemorrhaged points to quarterbacks from a fantasy perspective all
00:45 season long, so Dak is a very good play, but to a tongue of a low is not.
00:50 And the Dolphins, they also have something to play for.
00:52 They've already made the playoffs, but they could still win the AFC East, but look at
00:55 his numbers.
00:56 He's scored fewer than 16 fantasy points in five of his last six games.
01:00 Two of those games were single digits.
01:02 He's a little bit banged up and the Bills defense over the last four weeks has allowed
01:05 the second fewest fantasy points to quarterback.
01:08 So Tua is a risk.
01:11 One of the teams we know is not starting all of their starters is the San Francisco 49ers
01:15 and specifically they're not starting Christian McCaffrey because of his cap.
01:19 And so you say green light to Eli Mitchell.
01:22 Yeah, Elijah Mitchell, who played very well last week in CFC's absence.
01:27 Unfortunately, most fantasy managers did not get the points for that.
01:31 And the Rams also their opponent this week are probably going to be sitting some starters
01:34 as well on offense, on defense, and we're looking for volume here, Jen.
01:38 So Elijah Mitchell is going to be a very nice starter as an RB to Jordan Mason could see
01:43 some burn as well in terms of the sit him running backs.
01:46 What about Javante Williams?
01:48 Javante has been such a disappointment this year.
01:50 Fewer than 11 points in six of his last seven games.
01:53 I really liked him last week against the Chargers.
01:55 He did not get the job done.
01:56 Jaleel McLaughlin actually got the start and he could see more burn this week.
02:00 So Javante should be on your bench if you have running back death.
02:06 This weekend is a big one for Texas football teams.
02:08 And you say you are going to fire up Nico Collins because, hey, the Texans have to win
02:13 this game.
02:14 Yeah, this is a big game for Houston.
02:16 Of course, that game is going to be on Saturday.
02:18 So keep that in mind.
02:19 Collins scored almost 16 points last week.
02:22 He's got a good matchup against the Colts this week.
02:24 They've allowed the ninth most fantasy points to perimeter receivers this season, and Collins
02:28 beat them for over 27 fantasy points earlier in the season.
02:32 So start Nico Collins.
02:34 I'm sitting Terry McLaurin, though.
02:36 Now, the Comanders don't have anything to play for except for to be the spoiler for
02:40 our beloved Dallas Cowboys.
02:42 And McLaurin is a guy who has really struggled against Dallas in his career.
02:45 In fact, the Cowboys defense has held him to single digits in four of his last five
02:49 games, including a game earlier this season where he had nine points.
02:53 So McLaurin to me is a risk in that big NFC East matchup.
02:58 Moving finally to the tight end position, the Philadelphia Eagles will be a scoreboard
03:02 watching.
03:03 Their game is going on at the same time as the Cowboys.
03:05 And if the Cowboys lose, they have a chance to still get that number two seed and the
03:09 NFC East title.
03:10 So you say start up Dallas Goddard.
03:13 Yeah, don't don't put that whole Cowboys losing thing out there, Jen.
03:16 We don't want that.
03:17 I am afraid even though it's the commanders.
03:19 But yeah, Goddard had been very bad about a month ago.
03:23 He had been getting into the single digits just about every single week.
03:27 But the last two weeks, much better over 14 points in two straight games.
03:32 Devante Smith is banged up so he could see more targets in this contest.
03:36 And again, as you mentioned, this is a must win for the Eagles.
03:38 So I like Goddard.
03:40 I don't like Kyle Pitts.
03:41 And I promise you right now, as long as Arthur Smith is a head coach of the Atlanta Falcons,
03:46 I'm not drafted anymore.
03:47 Falcons like it to it.
03:48 You know, Pitts had a good matchup last week against Chicago.
03:51 We did nothing.
03:52 He had one catch for five yards.
03:54 He's been held to four point two points in his last game against this week opponent,
03:58 the New Orleans Saints.
04:00 This game somehow has fantasy implications and playoff implications.
04:04 But the bottom line here is that Kyle Pitts just has not been the unicorn type of player
04:08 that we projected would be coming out of college.
04:10 I would sit him this week.
04:12 There you have it, folks.
04:13 Your week 18 start and sits.
04:15 And for all those team motivations, you can check out our list at SI.com.
04:18 I've written up a cheat sheet there of who is motivated to win, which will help you for
04:23 all your DFS and betting picks as well.
04:25 And of course, never, ever miss all of Michael Fabiano's start sits for every position.
04:30 Yes, even including kicker.