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Who Should I Start for Week 18? Fantasy Football outlooks for Colby Parkinson, Luther Burden III, Rhamondre Stevenson, Kyren Williams, Ashton Jeanty, Michael Carter, DJ Moore, Stefon Diggs, Jaylen Wright, David Montgomery.
Who Should I Start? Who Should I Sit? Some of the most common Week 18 fantasy football lineup decisions involve players like Colby Parkinson, Luther Burden III, Rhamondre Stevenson, Kyren Williams, Ashton Jeanty, Michael Carter, DJ Moore, Stefon Diggs, Jaylen Wright, David Montgomery. 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:
Michael Carter, RB, Arizona Cardinals
Arizona Cardinals running back Michael Carter disappointed fantasy managers in Week 17 with only seven carries for 29 yards (4.1 YPC) in Sunday's 37-14 blowout loss to the Cincinnati Bengals. Carter also added two catches for 14 yards on four targets. In a smash match-up, Carter and the Cardinals' offense came out flat. The Cardinals couldn't get anything going on the ground, as Emari Demercado also only had five rushes for 11 yards (2.2 YPC).
Since seeing 80 percent of the snaps in Week 15 against Houston, Carter has only played 48 percent of the snaps over the past two games, which is not what Carter's fantasy managers were hoping for when they picked him up off the waivers after Bam Knight (ankle) got hurt. At this point, the Cardinals' running game is too hard to trust; they find themselves in pass-happy game scripts, and Carter is splitting work with Demercado. With a much tougher matchup in Week 18 against the Los Angeles Rams, Carter will be no better than a touchdown-dependent RB3.
Stefon Diggs, WR, New England Patriots
New England Patriots wide receiver Stefon Diggs is expected to play in a Week 18 game against the Dolphins, days after being charged with felony strangulation or suffocation and misdemeanor assault and battery. The Patriots released a statement on Tuesday, showing support for their 32-year-old receiver, and with Diggs' arraignment not scheduled until January 23rd, it does not appear that any punishment or suspension is imminent.
Diggs enters the week with 82 receptions and 970 yards, and with contract incentives for both 90 receptions and 1,000 yards, it would come as no surprise if he is heavily involved on Sunday. The number one seed in the AFC is still in play for the Patriots, and they are expected to play their starters, so their final game against Miami is one to be looked at by any fantasy managers still playing for a Week 18 championship.
Colby Parkinson, TE, Los Angeles Rams
Los Angeles Rams tight end Colby Parkinson recorded a season-high six catches for 53 yards while finishing second on the team with seven targets in last week's loss to the Atlanta Falcons. After scoring six touchdowns in Weeks 10-15, Parkinson hasn't scored in each of the past two weeks with receiver Davante Adams (hamstring) out of the lineup. The 26-year-old tight end's run of full playing time could be nearing its end, however, with Tyler Higbee (ankle) on track to be activated from Injured Reserve this week.
It remains to be seen how head coach Sean McVay will deploy his tight end group on Sunday, but the Rams have used plenty of three-tight-end formations and should put up plenty of points against a soft Arizona defense. The Cardinals have allowed the ninth-most PPR points per game to tight ends this season, and with Adams' red-zone targets vacated again, Parkinson should have a good shot at finding the end zone. Parkinson is firmly in borderline TE1 territory for the regular-season finale.
Kyren Williams, RB, Los Angeles Rams
Los Angeles Rams running back Kyren Williams (ankle) is officially questionable to play in his team's Week 18 matchup against the Arizona Cardinals, per Adam Grosbard of the Los Angeles Daily News. Per head coach Sean McVay, Williams is likely to play on Sunday. Williams suffered an ankle injury during the Rams' Week 17 loss to the Atlanta Falcons, but he was able to return to the game.
Los Angeles could be locked into the No. 6 seed in the NFC come game time on Sunday, but McVay said on Friday that he plans to play the team's starters regardless. Rams running back Blake Corum (ankle) is also questionable to play in Week 18, so Williams could be in line to dominate backfield snaps against Arizona if Corum is sidelined. If both Williams and Corum are inactive, the team would likely split work between veteran back Ronnie Rivers and rookie Jarquez Hunter.
Luther Burden III, WR, Chicago Bears
Chicago Bears rookie wide receiver Luther Burden III (quadriceps) has been cleared to suit up for Sunday's Week 18 matchup versus the Detroit Lions. Burden was limited in practice to begin the week, but he has been cleared to play after getting through two full practice sessions to end the week. The rookie wideout is seeing a larger workload with Rome Odunze (foot) being sidelined since Week 13. Odunze carries a questionable tag heading into Week 18, but he's not expected to play. During that span, Burden has seen six or more targets in each of those games.
He's coming off his best performance of the season, where he hauled in eight receptions for 138 yards and one touchdown in the loss to the San Francisco 49ers in Week 17. Fantasy managers should consider Burden a high-end WR2 for this weekend, assuming Odunze remains out.
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, Luther Burden III, Rhamondre Stevenson, Kyren Williams, Ashton Jeanty, Michael Carter, DJ Moore, Stefon Diggs, Jaylen Wright, David Montgomery. 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, Luther Burden III, Rhamondre Stevenson, Kyren Williams, Ashton Jeanty, Michael Carter, DJ Moore, Stefon Diggs, Jaylen Wright, David Montgomery:
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