Week 18 injury update, start/sit advice, predictions and more

The Detroit Lions face the Minnesota Vikings in Week 18. Here you’ll find the latest fantasy football news and advice to help you with your lineup this week and going forward, especially regarding WR Jameson Williams.

Will Jameson Williams play in Week 18?

Williams is not listed on the injury report this week, so barring any setbacks, he is on track to play this weekend.

We will continue to monitor the Lions injury report. You can also visit and bookmark our NFL Injury Tracker and Fantasy News Tracker for the latest updates.

Should you start or sit Jameson Williams in Week 18?

It’s been a bumpy ride with inconsistencies and suspensions, but we appear to be at a point where Jameson Williams earns “Lineup Lock” status, a designation I expect him to maintain into 2025.

It’s amazing to see Williams and Xavier Worthy side by side. Both are blessed with elite speed, but both have landed in creative offenses that are equally trying to get a feel for how best to use them. Like Worthy, Williams announced his number in an exotic way – he was the scorer of a hook-and-ladder on Monday night in a game in which he also scored a speed-running play inside the 5-yard line. game.

Detroit knows what they have in Amon-Ra St. Brown and is now excellent at playing to him. Williams has scored at least seven goals in five of his last six games. Even if the distant goals worry you, the sheer number of chances to score is reassuring.

This matchup dampens some of my excitement as the Vikes are among the top five defenses against deep passes in yards per completion and interception rate, but that’s not enough to knock him out of WR2 status.

Looking for starting/sitting tips for other players in your lineup? Read our cheat sheet of Week 18 fantasy starting sit advice for every fantasy-relevant player in every game.

Jameson Williams’ Week 18 Fantasy Points Prediction

As of Sunday, Williams is projected to score 14.3 fantasy points in PPR formats. This includes 3.3 receptions for 63.9 yards and 0.6 touchdowns.

Check out the free PFN Fantasy Start-Sit Optimizer this week for the latest predictions and advice for your lineups.

PFN insight into the Vikings defense

The win over the Green Bay Packers in Week 17 is the second-worst mark for the Minnesota Vikings this season. As far as low points go, their 68.0 (D) grade was only bettered by the 66.3 grade they posted in Week 8 against the Los Angeles Rams.

However, that belies how well the Vikings defense played for most of this game, with a late Packers upset spoiling the whole picture. Isolating just the first three quarters, Minnesota had the 10th-best defense of Week 17. However, in the fourth quarter, the Vikings drop to the 25th-best defense of the week.

Minnesota received a lot of attention for its increased man coverage in the win, a major detriment to the unit’s season-long tendencies. The Vikings man-covered on 36.8% of dropbacks in Week 17, their second-highest rate in a game all season (behind the Arizona Cardinals game in Week 13) and nearly six times the rate they had in Week 4 played against the Packers (6.8%).

The Vikings are playing with the fourth-lowest man coverage rate this season (16.9%). So don’t expect this to be your fastball. Still, it was a deadly off-speed pitch as Brian Flores set the tone. Minnesota ranks first in EPA per dropback (0.19) despite going into man coverage on the rare occasions this season.

Flores took a lot of criticism in 2023 as the Vikings struggled on defense (23rd) and showed only slight improvement compared to last year (27th). But in his second season as defensive coordinator, Flores has turned them into a force that could take Minnesota to the top.

For more insight into all other team defenses, check out our PFN Defense+ Metric Analysis.

Jameson Williams’ fantasy rankings

Below are our weekly consensus PPR rankings – both position-wise and overall. They were last updated on Sunday, January 5th at 7:00 a.m. ET. If you play in a Superflex league, be sure to check out our Week 18 Consensus Superflex Rankings.

Week 18 WR PPR Rankings

1) Ja’Marr Chase | CIN (at PIT)
2) Amon-Ra St. Brown | DET (vs. MIN)
3) Justin Jefferson | MIN (at DET)
4) Mike Evans | TB (vs. NO)
5) Brian Thomas Jr. | JAX (at IND)
6) Drake London | ATL (vs CAR)
7) Ladd McConkey | LAC (at LV)
8) Jaxon Smith-Njigba | SEA (at LAR)
9) Terry McLaurin | WHAT (at DAL)
10) Malik Nabers | NYG (at PHI)
11) Tea Higgins | CIN (at PIT)
12) George Pickens | PIT (vs. CIN)
13) Davante Adams | NYJ (vs MIA)
14) Courtland Sutton | DEN (vs. KC)
15) Jauan Jennings | SF (at ARI)
16) Jordan Addison | MIN (at DET)
17) DJ Moore | CHI (at GB)
18) Nico Collins | HOU (at TEN)
19) Zay Flowers | BAL (vs CLE)
20) Tyreek Hill | MIA (at NYJ)
21) Jameson Williams | DET (vs. MIN)
22) Jalen McMillan | TB (vs. NO)
23) Calvin Ridley | TEN (vs. HOU)
24) Garrett Wilson | NYJ (vs MIA)
25) DK Metcalf | SEA (at LAR)
26) Adam Thielen | CAR (at ATL)
27) Keenan Allen | CHI (at GB)
28) Jakobi Meyers | LV (vs LAC)
29) Jayden Reed | GB (vs CHI)
30) Marvin Harrison Jr. | ARI (compared to SF)
31) Josh Downs | IND (vs JAX)
32) Quentin Johnston | LAC (at LV)
33) Jaylen Waddle | MIA (at NYJ)
34) Michael Pittman Jr. | IND (vs JAX)
35) Romeo Doubs | GB (vs CHI)
36) Darnell Mooney | ATL (vs CAR)
37) Jerry Jeudy | CLE (at BAL)
38) Khalil Shakir | BUF (at NE)
39) Rashod Bateman | BAL (vs CLE)
40) Rome Odunze | CHI (at GB)
41) DeMario Douglas | NE (vs. BUF)
42) Wan’Dale Robinson | NYG (at PHI)
43) Jalen Coker | CAR (at ATL)
44) Dontayvion Wicks | GB (vs CHI)
45) Xavier Worthy | KC (at DEN)
46) Olamide Zacchaeus | WHAT (at DAL)
47) DeAndre Hopkins | KC (at DEN)
48) Nick Westbrook-Ikhine | TEN (vs. HOU)
49) Hollywood Brown | KC (at DEN)
50) Amari Cooper | BUF (at NE)
51) Brandin Cooks | DAL (vs. WAS)
52) Parker Washington | JAX (at IND)
53) Marvin Mims Jr. | DEN (vs. KC)
54) Tim Patrick | DET (vs. MIN)
55) Kayshon Boutte | NE (vs. BUF)
56) Ray Ray McCloud III | ATL (vs CAR)
57) Marquez Valdes-Scantling | BUF (at NE)
58) Devaughn Vele | DEN (vs. KC)
59) Andrei Iosivas | CIN (at PIT)
60) Calvin Austin III | PIT (vs. CIN)
61) Jalen Tolbert | DAL (vs. WAS)
62) Ricky Pearsall | SF (at ARI)
63) Michael Wilson | ARI (compared to SF)
64) Joshua Palmer | LAC (at LV)
65) Keon Coleman | BUF (at NE)
66) Tre Tucker | LV (vs LAC)
67) Jalen Nailor | MIN (at DET)
68) Elijah Moore | CLE (at BAL)
69) Jamison Crowder | WHAT (at DAL)
70) Xavier Legette | CAR (at ATL)
71) Kendrick Bourne | NE (vs. BUF)
72) KaVontae Turpin | DAL (vs. WAS)
73) David Moore | CAR (at ATL)
74) Adonai Mitchell | IND (vs JAX)
75) Demarcus Robinson | LAR (vs SEA)
76) Mike Williams | PIT (vs. CIN)
77) Malik Washington | MIA (at NYJ)
78) Alec Pierce | IND (vs JAX)
79) Allen Lazard | NYJ (vs MIA)
80) Tyler Lockett | SEA (at LAR)
81) John Metchie III | HOU (at TEN)
82) Robert Woods | HOU (at TEN)
83) Darius Slayton | NYG (at PHI)
84) Van Jefferson | PIT (vs. CIN)
85) Troy Franklin | DEN (vs. KC)
86) Mack Hollins | BUF (at NE)
87) Tutu Atwell | LAR (vs SEA)
88) Kevin Austin Jr. | NO (at TB)
89) Dante Pettis | CHI (at GB)
90) Luke McCaffrey | WHAT (at DAL)
91) Xavier Hutchinson | HOU (at TEN)
92) Ryan Miller | TB (vs. NO)
93) Greg Dortch | ARI (compared to SF)
94) Lil’ Jordan Humphrey | DEN (vs. KC)
95) DJ Chark | LAC (at LV)
96) Michael Woods II | CLE (at BAL)
97) Cedrick Wilson Jr. | NO (at TB)
98) JuJu Smith-Schuster | KC (at DEN)
99) Devin Duvernay | JAX (at IND)
100) Justin Watson | KC (at DEN)
101) Tylan Wallace | BAL (vs CLE)
102) Jahan Dotson | PHI (vs. NYG)
103) Josh Reynolds | DEN (vs. KC)
104) Ryan Flournoy | DAL (vs. WAS)
105) Trey Palmer | TB (vs. NO)

Vikings at Lions trends and insights

Minnesota Vikings

Team: Since the start of 2022, Minnesota has played two more games and won two more games than any other team in games decided by a single score.

QB: Sam Darnold has 12 multi-pass touchdown games this season; only Joe Burrow has more (13).

Attack: On Sunday, Minnesota averaged over 40 yards per drive for the third time this season (and is 8-0 with an average of over 32 yards per drive).

Defense: Green Bay completed 57.1% of its third downs against Minnesota last weekend, the highest rate the Vikings have allowed this season.

Fantasy: Jordan Addison ranks sixth among receivers with at least 75 targets above expectations this season (+28.9%, just ahead of Ladd McConkey and Ja’Marr Chase).

Betting: Minnesota is 4-1-1 ATS in their last six away division games.

Detroit Lions

Team: The Lions currently have a lead of +200 points. Nine teams finished a regular season on such a note in the 2000s – none of them won the Super Bowl.

QB: Jared Goff stands alone at the top of the NFL in games with at least three touchdown passes and zero interceptions (six; Lamar Jackson and Joe Burrow are the only others with more than three).

Attack: Jahmyr Gibbs is now just one touchdown away from tying the franchise record (Jamaal Williams and Barry Sanders currently hold the mark with 17).

Defense: Detroit allowed 55.4 yards per drive on Monday night, its worst defensive performance of the season.

Fantasy: Sam LaPorta has three straight games with 100 yards or a touchdown catch – before this run, he had three such games all season.

Betting: After a streak in which they played eight straight divisional home games, the Lions are just 1-3-1 in their last five such berths.