Fantasy Football Week 18 Start 'Em Sit 'Em RBs: Devin Singletary, Elijah Mitchell and more

If you play in a season-long league that uses a Week 18 championship, welcome to your nightmare. It’s a slew of players sitting out or possibly playing some before getting pulled. If you are focused on winning a championship then look towards running backs in games that mean something. If a back has any chance of being pulled because the game is meaningless (D’Andre Swift) then I’d find another option.

DFS players unite. This is going to be a wild week where knowing situations better than the field will give you an edge. Each player I list on my RB “Start/Sit” list represents my plays for both season-long and DFS contests.

Fantasy Football Week 18 Start Em' RBs

Melvin Gordon (BAL) – Baltimore is locked into the number one seed in the AFC. They’ll be sitting Gus Edwards and Justice Hill. Enter Melvin Gordon, who 99% of you probably thought retired years ago. Not only is Gordon active, he’s going to have a massive role. That’s exactly what we’re looking for in fantasy. With a backup quarterback under center and no real interest in winning the game, I expect Gordon to grind out 20+ touches.

Zamir White (LV) – News broke that Josh Jacobs would again be inactive leaving the backfield all to White. Since Week 15, White is the RB 7 in PPR points per game with an average of 15.9. He’s touched the ball at least 20 times in all three of those contests. This week, he faces a Denver unit that ranks 31st in points allowed to opposing runners. He’s going to be in a ton of DFS lineups.

Elijah Mitchell (SF) – With San Francisco resting a majority of their starters, including Christian McCaffrey, the burden of running the rock falls on Elijah Mitchell. In relief of CMC last week, Mitchell carried the ball 17 times for 80 yards and a touchdown. I’d expect more of the same as Sam Darnold leads the Niners' attack against the Rams.

Devin Singletary (HOU @ IND) – 19 total touches last week for Singletary. That’s all you need to know. It didn’t turn into much for fantasy, but the role is there. I’m going to lean on him if I need him vs Indy, who have allowed double-digit PPR performances to opposing runners in every game since Week 3.

Houston Texans v Cincinnati Bengals

Be sure to check out our Start/Sit Optimizer for detailed projections this week.

Fantasy Football Week 18 Sit 'Em RBs

D’Andre Swift (PHI) – While the Eagles have looked to grow Swift’s touches of late, this game could be rendered meaningless by halftime. If the Cowboys are up big on the Commanders, the Eagles could (and should) pull their starters, as they would be locked into the five seed. You can’t risk him in your lineup with that hanging over his head. This has all the making of a Boston Scott game against the team he’s scored 11 touchdowns in 10 games on.

Tony Pollard (DAL) – Besides the fact that he’s been killing you all season, this game could get out of hand early, and Pollard would be rested. Let’s be honest: even if there wasn’t a risk of resting Pollard in the second half, you still wouldn’t want to play him. Save yourself the headache. The Dallas RB hasn’t finished in the top 30 at his position since Week 14.

Derrick Henry (TEN) – It’s over for King Henry in Tennessee. His storied music city career will likely come to an end on Sunday. It’s no secret that he’ll be looking for a new home next season. That means more of Tyjae Spears behind one of the worst lines in the NFL. Spears has tons of juice and can get fantasy points in the run-and-pass game. I think they get a good look at Spears in the second half after giving Henry a royal send-off in front of the home fans.