Week 18 FanDuel NFL DFS Picks - Main Slate (2024): Baker Mayfield, Brian Thomas Jr., Sam LaPorta

Thunder Dan's FanDuel NFL DFS picks and lineup sleepers for the Week 18 (2024) Main Slate. His top daily fantasy football lineups to target for FanDuel DFS contests.

In this article, I will be providing you with my Week 18 daily fantasy football lineup picks for FanDuel and the 2024 NFL season.

These lineups can vary from higher-priced players and elite options to lower-priced players and value picks on FanDuel.

Be sure to also check out our weekly DraftKings DFS lineup picks and other great NFL DFS articles and NFL DFS tools to help you WIN BIG!

FanDuel Quarterbacks - Week 18 DFS Picks

Baker Mayfield vs. NO ($8,400) 

Baker nuked the slate last week, tossing five touchdown passes and racking up over 350 passing yards against the Panthers. He's one of only a few elite QBs with something to play for this week, as the Bucs need to win this game against the Saints to lock up the NFC South title and secure their spot in the playoffs.

BAKER MAYFIELD WAS ROBBED FROM BEING A PRO BOWLER…

• 4,279 passing yards (3rd)
• 39 passing touchdowns (2nd)
• 386 of 538
• 71.7% completion percentage (T-2nd)
• 107.6 passer rating (4th)
• 3 rushing TDs
• 42 total TDs

BAKER IS THE BEST QUARTERBACK IN THE NFC.

😤😤😤 pic.twitter.com/FQ94TgmeHP

— MLFootball (@_MLFootball) January 2, 2025

Mayfield has been dynamite this year for fantasy purposes, tossing 39 touchdowns and passing for the third-most yards in the league. He's no Lamar Jackson, but he can run a little, too, having piled up 310 yards on the ground and three rushing touchdowns.

With a stud like Mike Evans on the outside and an emerging talent in Jalen McMillan, Mayfield has solid weapons, even with Chris Godwin going out for the season earlier this year. He can dump it off to two really good backs (Bucky Irving and Rachaad White) and let them run after the catch, too. He's not cheap, but I think he's worth paying up for in tournaments for the ceiling that he showed us last week.

Joe Flacco vs. JAX ($7,000) 

Is this the last start that Joe Flacco makes in the NFL? The veteran signal-caller turns 40 in just a few weeks and had a chance to start six games for the Colts this year after helping lead the Browns to the postseason last year.

But even though he's compiled a 91.3 QB rating this season, he's also taken a lot of sacks and thrown seven interceptions. It might be his last hurrah, and if that's the case, then I could see his coach, Shane Steichen, allowing him to go out with a bang against the Jaguars on Sunday.

The last time Flacco faced the Jags, he torched them for 359 yards and three touchdowns. That was good for 29.5 FD points. The Jacksonville secondary continues to be an elite target for opposing QBs, allowing the second-most fantasy points to the position while being rated dead last in DVOA pass defense.

Flacco isn't dirt cheap this week, but he still brings a lot of upside to the table for tournaments - especially since it's very easy to stack him with cheap pass-catchers such as Josh Downs, Alec Pierce, and Michael Pittman Jr.

FanDuel Running Backs - Week 18 DFS Picks

Bucky Irving vs. NO ($7,900) 

I'm not going to tell you to play Bijan Robinson this week because you probably already knew that, and I don't like recommending all the chalk in these types of articles. So, for my chalky pick, I'll continue to roll with the Tampa Bay rookie Irving, who, despite another massive game last week, had his price reduced by $100 on FanDuel for Week 18.

Irving did something truly impressive last week - he scored 24 FD points without scoring a touchdown. He piled up 190 yards from scrimmage on 20 carries and four catches, which was good for an incredible 7.9 yards per touch. Now, Bucky rolls right into another perfect matchup against the Saints in Week 18.

Love this run from Bucky Irving. Sooo many RBs would simply take the hole on the right, Bucky draws the Mike LB into the mess before bouncing right.

Irving gets caught up on the blocker a bit, but still, his creativity makes him one of the NFL's most fun RBs to watch each week. pic.twitter.com/fp6rH8GHc5

— Jacob Gibbs (@jagibbs_23) January 2, 2025

We know the Bucs need to win this game to secure their spot in the playoffs. What we don't know is how much of a fight the Saints will put up. If you think Tampa rolls in this one and jumps out to a big lead, then Bucky makes for a better play than Baker, as the Bucs could be content to just run the ball to close out the game.

But Irving could perform well in a pass-heavy game script, too, as we've seen him be uber-productive as a pass catcher. The matchup here is borderline elite as the Saints rush defense ranks 31st on the season (DVOA), and they've allowed the fifth-most fantasy points to opposing running backs.

Kenneth Gainwell vs. NYG ($5,600) 

The Eagles running game has a huge advantage in this matchup, even if some of the starting offensive linemen will be resting. The only concern here for Gainwell is how many touches he gets and how often the Birds decide to go to the third-team back, Will Shipley.

Gainwell has been productive on very limited touches this season and can do a little of everything well - whether it's running it between the tackles, off-tackle, or working as a pass-catcher. At this price, he's worth a gamble, and in theory, he could still make value with a first-half touchdown even if he ends up giving way to Shipley in the second half.

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FanDuel Wide Receivers - Week 18 DFS Picks

Brian Thomas Jr. @ IND ($8,000) 

Brian Thomas Jr. has been a machine lately and is nearly impossible to fade this week. He's averaging over 25 FD points per game over his last three games and has scored four touchdowns during that span. He has five straight games with double-digit targets, and despite having Mac Jones as his quarterback, he's continued to produce at a high level in the second half of the season.

Was Brian Thomas Jr. SNUBBED of a Pro Bowl selection?

✅ Zay Flowers - 1,047 Yards + 4 TDs
✅ Jerry Jeudy - 1,166 Yards + 4 TDs

❌ Brian Thomas Jr - 1,179 Yards + 10 TDs pic.twitter.com/LDbBBLP6AN

— SleeperNFL (@SleeperNFL) January 2, 2025

This week, Thomas Jr. gets a matchup against an Indy secondary that ranks 24th in passing defense (DVOA) and just got destroyed by Malik Nabers last week. The Jags offense runs through Thomas Jr., and I think he is a near must-play again this week as he's one of the few receivers who we know is going to get a ton of volume in a great spot.

Jauan Jennings @ ARI ($6,800)

Jennings is coming off his best game in a month, as he caught seven of ten targets for 67 yards last week against Detroit. This week, he will face an Arizona team that has been eliminated from the playoffs in a game that only matters for bragging rights within the NFC West, and he will be catching passes from journeyman Joshua Dobbs instead of Brock Purdy.

I don't think it's all that much of a QB downgrade, we saw Dobbs move the ball effectively with Arizona and Minnesota last season and he took the Niners down the field for a TD in the final minutes of the game last week in garbage time.

Jennings could function as the top target-earner this week along with Ricky Pearsall, especially with veterans Deebo Samuel and George Kittle banged up and dealing with injuries. The price on Jennings is quite fair, given what we've seen him do this season, and I'm willing to take a shot at him popping off with Dobbs under center as a very cheap stacking mate for DFS contests.

FanDuel Tight Ends - Week 18 DFS Picks

Sam LaPorta vs. MIN ($6,000)

This is the first time I've mentioned this game, but the FanDuel slate features the best game of the week (Detroit-Minnesota) in the nightcap, while DraftKings hasn't included that game all year. It goes without saying that Sam Darnold, Justin Jefferson, and Jahmyr Gibbs are all great plays, but one of my favorite plays from this game is considerably cheaper - Sam LaPorta.

At the beginning of the season, there were discussions as to whether or not LaPorta was the next Travis Kelce, as he had a phenomenal rookie season in 2023 and was being selected in the early rounds of fantasy drafts.

But LaPorta was not leaned on nearly as heavily this season as the Lions ran the ball incredibly effectively, and we also saw Jameson Williams break out as a legit part of the passing game that had been dominated by Amon-Ra St. Brown and LaPorta a season before.

Sam LaPorta in the fantasy regular season: Fantasy TE13

Sam LaPorta in the fantasy playoffs: Fantasy TE1 pic.twitter.com/C78xb5jpB3

— Yahoo Fantasy Sports (@YahooFantasy) January 2, 2025

But LaPorta has been in great form lately, scoring four touchdowns in his last five games and seeing 25 targets in his last three. LaPorta is seeing the type of volume of a Kelce (in his prime) or Brock Bowers, but he is considerably cheaper. He's more talented than the other players in his price range.

Chig Okonkwo vs. HOU ($5,400)

Chig is on the injury report right now, having only logged some limited practices this week, but I think we will see him play against Houston. And we're not sure what quarterback will be throwing him the ball as the Titans haven't announced if it's going to be Will Levis or Mason Rudolph, but both QBs have peppered him with targets in recent weeks.

Chig has a whopping 28 targets over the last three weeks and has taken advantage of some soft matchups. Houston is a much tougher opponent on paper, but they have no incentive to play all their starters in this one.

Chig took one 70 yards to the house against Houston in the teams' first meeting, and we know he has the athleticism to rack up yards after the catch. He's still really cheap for his recent involvement and talent level - I'm going to have some shares in tournaments.

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