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Who Should I Start for Week 18? Fantasy Football outlooks for Travis Etienne Jr., David Montgomery, Aaron Jones Sr., Derrick Henry, Josh Downs, Chase Brown, Emari Demercado, Brian Robinson Jr., KaVontae Turpin, Brandin Cooks.
Who Should I Start? Who Should I Sit? Some of the most common Week 18 fantasy football lineup decisions involve players like Travis Etienne Jr., David Montgomery, Aaron Jones Sr., Derrick Henry, Josh Downs, Chase Brown, Emari Demercado, Brian Robinson Jr., KaVontae Turpin, Brandin Cooks. 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.
Compare up to four players and we'll tell you who to start...
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:
Brandin Cooks, WR, Buffalo Bills
Out of nowhere, Buffalo Bills veteran wide receiver Brandin Cooks led the team in receiving yards (101) while catching four of his six targets in the Week 17 loss to the visiting Philadelphia Eagles on Sunday. The Bills needed someone to step up in the passing attack with tight end Dalton Kincaid (knee) out due to injury and receiver Keon Coleman being a healthy scratch. The 32-year-old Cooks hooked up with quarterback Josh Allen a few times deep down the field and averaged a healthy 25.3 yards per reception in his fifth game with the team.
In the first four games with Buffalo, Cooks had only one catch on five targets for one yard. Although Cooks may be more of a long shot to replicate his production from Week 17 going forward, he might have done enough to secure a bigger role going into the Week 18 regular-season finale against the Jets and into the postseason.
Derrick Henry, RB, Baltimore Ravens
Baltimore Ravens running back Derrick Henry has faced some tough times this season in regard to ball security and questionable coaching decisions. While he registered his fourth fumble of the year last week against the New England Patriots, he still accrued 128 yards and two touchdowns on 18 carries. Tyler Huntley is likely to be under center in Week 17 against the Green Bay Packers, which means Henry should see some more carries.
In Weeks 6 and 8, Henry received a combined 45 carries with Huntley as the starter. The Packers, however, are the eighth-toughest team in the league against the position over the last four weeks. They only allow 19.38 fantasy points per game to opposing backfields, but Henry was able to run all over the third-ranked Patriots defense, so he still projects as the RB11 in RotoBaller's rankings.
Brian Robinson Jr., RB, San Francisco 49ers
Across 16 games this season, San Francisco 49ers running back Brian Robinson Jr. has recorded 90 carries for 391 yards and two touchdowns. The 26-year-old has spent the entirety of 2025 in a secondary role behind star 49ers running back Christian McCaffrey, who leads the NFL with 399 touches heading into the team's Week 18 matchup against the Seattle Seahawks. Robinson Jr. has been fairly efficient when given the opportunity so far this season, averaging 4.3 yards per carry.
He's also proven to be a productive lead back at certain points in his career, recording 2,720 rushing yards and 22 total touchdowns across 57 career NFL games. However, his production upside in San Francisco is firmly capped as long as McCaffrey remains healthy. Robinson Jr. should not be on fantasy radars heading into Week 18.
KaVontae Turpin, WR, Dallas Cowboys
Dallas Cowboys wide receiver/kick returner KaVontae Turpin caught just one pass in last Thursday's Christmas Day win over the Washington Commanders, but it was a big one in the 30-23 victory in D.C. Turpin's one catch was an 86-yard touchdown hookup with quarterback Dak Prescott in the second quarter. The 29-year-old speedy receiver also returned five kickoffs on the day for 115 yards. The one catch for Turpin was a season-low, but his 86 receiving yards were a season-high in Week 17. Turpin now has 26 receptions on the year for 396 yards and two touchdowns on 37 targets in 14 games in his fourth year in the NFL.
The former undrafted free agent has only two games in 2025 with more than two receptions, though, so fantasy managers still playing for a championship in Week 18 should consider Turpin a major liability in starting lineups in Sunday's divisional rematch against the New York Giants. Ironically, Turpin's first TD of the year came against the G-Men back on Sept. 14.
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 - Travis Etienne Jr., David Montgomery, Aaron Jones Sr., Derrick Henry, Josh Downs, Chase Brown, Emari Demercado, Brian Robinson Jr., KaVontae Turpin, Brandin Cooks. 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 Travis Etienne Jr., David Montgomery, Aaron Jones Sr., Derrick Henry, Josh Downs, Chase Brown, Emari Demercado, Brian Robinson Jr., KaVontae Turpin, Brandin Cooks:
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