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Who Should I Start for Week 18? Fantasy Football outlooks for Colby Parkinson, Jake Tonges, Juwan Johnson, Jake Ferguson, Kyle Pitts Sr., Mike Gesicki, Michael Mayer, Chig Okonkwo, Pat Freiermuth, Terrance Ferguson.
Who Should I Start? Who Should I Sit? Some of the most common Week 18 fantasy football lineup decisions involve players like Colby Parkinson, Jake Tonges, Juwan Johnson, Jake Ferguson, Kyle Pitts Sr., Mike Gesicki, Michael Mayer, Chig Okonkwo, Pat Freiermuth, Terrance Ferguson. However, don't worry, we are here to help you make these decisions and build winning lineups in Week 18. Set your optimal fantasy football lineups for Week 18 of the 2025 NFL season. Our free Who Should I Start? tool will help make your fantasy football lineup decisions. Compare up to four NFL players, and we tell you who to start... all free! Get your winning lineups set, and make the right decisions.
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Fantasy Football Matchup Outlooks
Below are some fantasy football outlooks written by our NFL team here at RotoBaller, bringing you their fantasy football analysis and advice on which players to consider starting in Week 18:
Jake Tonges, TE, San Francisco 49ers
San Francisco 49ers fourth-year player out of California, Jake Tonges, stepped in for the injured George Kittle (ankle) on Sunday Night Football and made the most of it. He earned himself an impressive nine targets, hauled in seven of them for 60 yards, and scored a touchdown. When given the opportunity in 2025, considering Kittle has now missed seven games this season, Tonges has made the most of it.
On the season, he now has five touchdowns and 293 yards on 34 receptions. The key thing to monitor here will clearly be the status of Kittle's ankle, as Tonges is the clear backup to the superstar. If Kittle remains out, Tonges will be in the low-end TE1 rankings in a crucial Week 18 matchup with the No. 1 seed for the NFC and the division on the line when the 49ers take on the Seattle Seahawks in Santa Clara.
Michael Mayer, TE, Las Vegas Raiders
Las Vegas Raiders third-year tight end out of Notre Dame, Michael Mayer, stepped in for the injured Brock Bowers (knee) on Sunday and dominated, hauling in nine of his 10 targets for 89 yards. The 10 targets were the most on the team, with Tre Tucker with the second most at six targets. With Bowers landing on the Injured Reserve and set to miss the rest of the 2025 season, Mayer will have an opportunity to continue to showcase his skill set for one more game before the regular season is over.
Entering Week 18, Mayer will be in the low-end TE1 conversation against the Kansas City Chiefs, who also have had their fair share of injuries. The biggest question to monitor with Mayer would be whether Geno Smith (ankle) or Kenny Pickett will be throwing him passes. Regardless, Mayer should dominate target share, and because of that, find himself as a valuable fantasy asset in most 12-team or larger leagues.
Chig Okonkwo, TE, Tennessee Titans
Tennessee Titans tight end Chig Okonkwo hauled in three catches for 55 yards and a touchdown on seven targets in his team's 34-26 Week 17 loss to the New Orleans Saints. Okonkwo appears to be finding a nice rhythm with Titans quarterback Cameron Ward, as the veteran tight end has now scored touchdowns in back-to-back games. Across 16 games this season, Okonkwo has recorded 54 catches for 558 yards and two scores on 74 targets. The 26-year-old has earned at least six targets from Ward in each of his team's last three games after hitting the six-target mark just three times in Tennessee's first 13 contests of the season. The Titans split tight end reps between Okonkwo and rookie Gunnar Helm, limiting the production upside of both players.
However, Okonkwo has now earned 21 targets over the last three weeks, compared to just eight for Helm. Okonkwo could be worth a look for deep-league fantasy managers heading into his Week 18 matchup against the Jacksonville Jaguars.
Pat Freiermuth, TE, Pittsburgh Steelers
Pittsburgh Steelers tight end Pat Freiermuth finished with his second-highest total in yardage during Sunday's loss to the Cleveland Browns. Freiermuth hauled in three of his five targets for 63 yards in the loss. He saw 70 percent of the offensive snaps, which is the most for him since Week 3. The increased playing time was because Darnell Washington (forearm) was forced to leave the game.
Washington suffered a broken forearm during that game, so he won't play in the regular-season finale. Freiermuth figures to play a bigger role alongside Jonnu Smith during the Week 18 matchup against the division-rival Baltimore Ravens. Freiermuth has seen four or more targets in three straight games coming into this one. He's worthy of looking at as a TE2 streamer for the regular-season finale.
Terrance Ferguson, TE, Los Angeles Rams
Los Angeles Rams tight end Terrance Ferguson continues to trend upward in the team's offense. ESPN.com's Sarah Barshop wrote about 36 rookies who have learned valuable lessons in their first season, and she identified Ferguson early in the article as one of this season's top risers. He has played at least 75% of the offensive snaps in each of the last two weeks, and he had the best game of his young career in Week 16 with three catches, 33 yards, and one touchdown.
Ferguson has emerged with Tyler Higbee (ankle) sidelined, as he finds himself in a complementary role alongside Colby Parkinson. While Parkinson has been more productive from a fantasy perspective, Ferguson has also carved out a decent role in Los Angeles' high-powered offense. He's a solid dynasty stash but not a dependable fantasy option for Week 17 against the Atlanta Falcons.
Who Should I Start Tool
You can also see the Who Should I Start tool here.
Week 18 Player Decisions. Today's focus is on specific players - Colby Parkinson, Jake Tonges, Juwan Johnson, Jake Ferguson, Kyle Pitts Sr., Mike Gesicki, Michael Mayer, Chig Okonkwo, Pat Freiermuth, Terrance Ferguson. These are some of the most common searches for fantasy football lineups in Week 18.
Using The Tool. This is a simple tool but very powerful. The first step is to enter the player names that you want to compare. In the first box, search for the first player name. In the second box, search for the second player name. Compare up to four NFL players at once, and then click the Who To Start? button to see who the recommended starts are based on weekly fantasy football matchups.
Improvements For Who Should I Start? You may have noticed that our 'Who Should I Start?' tool has gotten an overhaul. We've added lots of great features for you to give you as much information as possible to win your fantasy football matchups each week. You'll see NFL player tiles with headshots and bye weeks, stats, projections, strength of schedule, players news, and enhanced search results with data to compare with a slick new interface. We hope you enjoy!
How It Works. Each week our RotoBaller staff puts together their weekly fantasy football rankings and projections based on their research. That information is the core data that is powering the decision-making in this tool. When you search for player names, you will only see those players who are ranked. If someone is out for the week, they will not appear in the search results.
Scoring Formats. Fantasy football managers play in various types of leagues, and this tool allows you to choose whether it's PPR scoring, Half-PPR scoring, or Standard (Non-PPR) scoring. The second thing you want to do, is to select the scoring format. There are three small radio buttons (small circle), so click on the scoring format you prefer. The results may vary based on the scoring format you select.
Popular Week 18 Searches. Curious to see some tough lineup decisions for Week 18 (2025)? Below you will find a list of some popular Who Should I Start? searches that RotoBaller readers are looking at this week. Click any of the links to see the result and recommendation.
Popular Week 18 Searches - Start/Sit Player Comparisons
Below are some popular searches and comparisons from our Who To Start tool for Week 18 for Colby Parkinson, Jake Tonges, Juwan Johnson, Jake Ferguson, Kyle Pitts Sr., Mike Gesicki, Michael Mayer, Chig Okonkwo, Pat Freiermuth, Terrance Ferguson:
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