We’ve reached the final week of the NFL Regular Season, and there’s still plenty of excitement and intrigue headed into a jam-packed weekend of football. If your fantasy football league uses Week 18, get ready for a wild ride since there are so many competing priorities and different levels of importance and meaning of this week for each team and each player.
In Week 17, the top tight end coming into Monday Night Football was Trey McBride ($6,200; 33.3 FPTS), who finally found the end zone. He was followed by Zach Ertz ($3,800; 25.2 FPTS), who had the game-winning walkoff on Sunday Night Football. Following just those two stars, Tyler Conklin ($21.7 FPTS; $2,900) crashed the party and produced massive value in the Jets loss to the Bills.
Remaining in my No. 1 spot for Week 18, Brock Bowers will look to add another big game to his impressive season after setting multiple rookie records in the Raiders win over the Saints. McBride and George Kittle go head-to-head in the second and third spot in their NFC West matchup that doesn’t carry any postseason significance for either team following disappointing seasons for the team despite big years from both tight ends.
As the week leading up to Week 18 unfolds, there are sure to be plenty of announcements about players in and out of the plans for this week’s regular-season finale. Given what we know on Monday afternoon, here’s how I’d rank my top 10 tight ends to start during Week 18:
- Brock Bowers (vs. LAC)
- Trey McBride (vs. SF)
- George Kittle (at ARI)
- Jonnu Smith (at NYJ)
- Mark Andrews (vs. CLE)
- Sam LaPorta (vs. MIN)
- Cade Otton (vs. NO) — if healthy
- T.J. Hockenson (at DET)
- Hunter Henry (vs. BUF)
- Kyle Pitts (vs. CAR)
These rankings are based on news and information available as of Monday afternoon. Stay tuned to DraftKings Network throughout the week for ongoing coverage as matchups and situations develop.
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I am a promoter at DraftKings and am also an avid fan and user (my username is z.thompson) and may sometimes play on my personal account in the games that I offer advice on. Although I have expressed my personal view on the games and strategies above, they do not necessarily reflect the view(s) of DraftKings and do not constitute a representation that any particular strategy will guarantee success. All customers should use their own skill and judgment in building lineups. I may also deploy different players and strategies than what I recommend above. I am not an employee of DraftKings and do not have access to any non-public information.
