NFL Waiver Wire: Week 18 Pickups

The Week 18 waiver wire is mostly about finding backups who could play for resting and/or injured starters. Among playoff contenders, determining who's playing and who's not will hopefully become clearer as the week progresses, but here's how it appears heading into the week:

Likely Resting Starters

• Chargers - Need a win AND a Steelers loss for the AFC's No. 5 seed to avoid the Ravens in the first round. Steelers play Saturday, so if they win, the Chargers likely would rest starters Sunday. 
• Rams - Need a win OR a Buccaneers loss for the NFC's No. 3 seed. The Bucs play early Sunday, so if they lose, the Rams could rest their starters in the afternoon. 
• Chiefs, Bills, Texans, Eagles - Locked into seeding. The Eagles' only consideration is getting Saquon Barkley the single-season rushing record.

Likely Playing Starters

• Steelers - Need a win for at least the AFC's No. 5 seed and a first-round matchup against the Texans.
• Ravens - Need a win for the AFC North title. A Steelers loss also gives them the division, but the Steelers play after the Ravens on Saturday. 
• Packers - Need a win to clinch the NFC's No. 6 seed and avoid the Eagles in the first round.
• Commanders - Need a win AND a Packers loss for the NFC No. 6 Seed to avoid the Eagles in the first round. Commanders and Packers play at the same time Sunday.
• Lions, Vikings - Playing for No. 1 Seed in NFC. 
• Buccaneers, Falcons - Playing for the NFC South title.

Like last week, bid prices are not listed. Bid whatever it takes, obviously. 

This column is geared toward "standard" 12-team leagues. Players featured are typically lower than 50 percent rostered. Questions on players not mentioned can be asked about in the comments below.

Quarterback

Michael Penix, ATL - The kid can sling the rock and he'll be atop of a lot of sleeper lists next season. This week's game against the Panthers' (28th against the quarterback position) is a nice matchup and should have him in the top-10 for the position.

Joe Flacco, IND - Flacco will start for the Colts if Anthony Richardson is not healthy. Flacco threw for 330 yards and two scores Sunday in place of Richardson and faces a Jaguars defense that ranks 29th in the league vs. fantasy quarterbacks. 

Carson Wentz, KC - The Chiefs are expected to rest starters in Week 18, which means Wentz starting in place of Patrick Mahomes. Wentz is one of the better backups in the league. He faces a Broncos team need a win to make the playoffs, so he could be throwing a lot in a competitive game.

Mitchell Trubisky, BUF - Coach Sean McDermott said Monday that Josh Allen will start this week but only play a short time, probably one series. After that, it's the Mitchel Trubisky show. 

Running Back

Khalil Herbert, CIN - Chase Brown has helped a lot of fantasy players this season, but he rolled an ankle Saturday and will give way to Herbert for the regular-season finale. Herbert has little mileage on him, and while it's not the greatest matchup against the Steelers, it should be a heavy workload.

Ray Davis, BUF - While the Bills have talked about playing their starters, it's likely they won't play them too long if at all. Davis is a nice story and should see plenty of snaps as the Bills show up and just try to get this game to bed so to speak.

Michael Carter, ARI - James Conner did not return to last week's game after suffering a knee injury even he was apparently healthy enough to re-enter. That would seem to suggest at least a limited workload this week against the 49ers. If so, Carter stands to benefit. He handled 87 percent of snaps and 14 of 15 running back touches after Conner left Sunday.

Kenneth Gainwell, PHI - Saquon Barkley is 100 yards away from Eric Dickerson's all-time mark for rushing yards in a season. But unless he get breaks off a big one early and gets close to the record, it's unlikely the Eagles would risk his health in a meaningless game. That would leave Gainwell with the majority of backfield touches against a Giants team that ranks 29th in the league against running back.s

Raheem Blackshear, CAR - Blackshear rushed eight times for 20 yards Sunday in place of Chuba Hubbard, who was placed on IR. Blackshear could have a more favorable game script this week against the Falcons.

Kimani Vidal/Hassan Haskins, LAC - If the Chargers have nothing to play for, J.K. Dobbins is sure to be rested. Even if he starts, he'll likely be on a limited workload after returning last week from a four-game absence. Vidal and Haskins likely would tag-team the backfield touches without Dobbins. 

Wide Receiver

Jalen McMillan, TB - The last four games, McMillan has 25 targets, 19 receptions, 242 yards and six touchdowns. He's probably not available in season-long points leagues that play Week 18, but in head-to-head leagues, he could still be available as most teams stopped paying attention a few weeks ago. He has another solid matchup this week against the Saints, who rank 25th against wide receivers.

Marvin Mims, DEN - The last week of the season is always a crapshoot so why wouldn't I think Mims could be fantasy worthy? He had two touchdowns Week 17 and while I would like to see him play less special teams snaps, he's seeing more targets from Bo Nix. Kansas City has the No. 1 seed in the AFC locked up, so it could rest defensive starters.

Jahan Dotson/Johnny Wilson, PHI - A.J. Brown and DeVonta Smith likely won't play much Sunday, leaving Dotson and Wilson to get the majority of targets. Third-stringer Tanner McKee looked capable last week in emergency duty. He could start this week if Kenny Pickett's rib injury holds him back.

Tight End

Chig Okonkwo, TEN - He's heading into the prime of his career and should be a name to remember going into next season given the lack of production from the tight end position. 

Defense

Atlanta Falcons D/ST - Atlanta is playing for a playoff berth and the Panthers are a nice home matchup. If you've been streaming defenses all season, here's your pick unless Tampa Bay (vs. NO) is available.