Fantasy Football 2024: One player I’m fading vs. starting in Week 18 for each position

We've reached the end of the NFL regular season. Next week, the playoffs begin, with 14 of the league's 32 teams set to continue on and battle for the championship. For the rest, this is the end of the line for the 2024 season.

It's also the end of the line for season-long fantasy football, though a majority of leagues finished up last week. This article is for your fantasy degenerates who are still out there playing during the toughest week of the year as far as determining fantasy value goes.

There are a number of teams with nothing to play for this week, but the teams you should specifically avoid in fantasy because they're locked into their playoff seed are the Chiefs, Bills, Texans and Eagles. I'm fading every starter on those four teams.

Here is one player to fade and one player to start at each position in fantasy football for Week 18 of the 2024 NFL season.

Week 18 quarterbacks to fade and start

Fade: Aaron Rodgers - New York Jets

Could this be it? Aaron Rodgers has hinted that Sunday's game against the Dolphins could be his last NFL game. It's a shame that one of the greatest quarterbacks of all time might go out with a very tough matchup.

Miami enters the week having allowed just 18 passing touchdowns all year as well as the ninth-fewest passing yards and most importantly for this matchup, the fewest fantasy points per game to opposing quarterbacks.

Rodgers was decent in the first meeting, throwing for 339 yards and a touchdown, but that was also the only 300-yard game Rodgers has all season. It's more likely that game was a fluke than it was a sign he can be good against Miami, right?

Also of note: Rodgers has finished outside the top 20 in fantasy in three of the last five games and was awful against Buffalo last week, throwing for 112 yards and two interceptions.

Start: Bo Nix - Denver Broncos

The Chiefs have clinched the No. 1 seed and will play their reserves. The Broncos need a win to get the No. 7 seed and Kansas City probably wants that to happen, as it would eliminate a very dangerous Bengals team from the postseason.

So this has a chance to be a big one for the Broncos, with Bo Nix tossing the ball against backups in a must-win game. After finishing as QB14, QB15 and QB13 since the bye, Nix has a shot to end the year with a top 10 fantasy finish, something he last did against the Raiders in Week 12.

Week 18 running backs to fade and start

Fade: Tyrone Tracy Jr. - New York Giants

The Eagles will be playing their backups this week, but that doesn't mean you need to go all-in on the New York Giants offense.

Running back Tyrone Tracy Jr. has shown some solid flashes this season, but he enters this game having failed to run for 4.0 yards per carry in five consecutive games. He's just kind of plodding around back there.

Last week, Tracy had 20 carries and three targets, but only compiled 73 scrimmage yards and finished as the RB25. With nothing to play for except draft positioning, we probably see a little extra Devin Singletary this week as well for the Giants.

Start: Rico Dowdle - Dallas Cowboys

I faded Rico Dowdle last week against the Eagles, thinking that the bad matchup would spell doom for him, but I was wrong as Dowdle rushed for 104 yards, marking the fourth time in the last five games he hit the 100-yard mark.

With Ezekiel Elliott released this week, expect Dowdle to once again dominate the backfield touches for the team. He had 23 carries to Elliott's three and wide receiver KaVontae Turpin's two last week.

In his first game against the Commanders, Dowdle rushed for 86 yards on 19 carris while adding three receptions for 12 yards.

Week 18 wide receivers to fade and start

Fade: Garrett Wilson - New York Jets

I'm fading Aaron Rodgers and I'm also fading his No. 2 receiver Garrett Wilson, who scored a touchdown last week but has been largely inconsistent all year.

In fact, Wilson hasn't had consecutive games with 60 or more receiving yards since Week 9 and while he had a huge game against Miami earlier this year with seven catches for 114 yards, that's the only 100-yard game he's had since Week 8. It's just hard for me to trust the Jets offense this week.

Start: Drake London - Atlanta Falcons

Rookie quarterback Michael Penix Jr. has started two consecutive games for Atlanta and has already targeted wide receiver Drake London 21 times in that span.

Last week, London caught seven of his 13 targets for 106 yards, his first 100-yard game since Week 5 against Tampa Bay.

In his previous meeting with Week 18 opponent Carolina, London was targeted 10 times, catching six passes for 74 yards and a touchdown. Look for the Atlanta passing attack to make an impact against a struggling Panthers defense.

Week 18 tight ends to fade and start

Fade: George Kittle - San Francisco 49ers

While San Francisco 49ers tight end George Kittle is coming off consecutive top five fantasy finishes, it's hard to justify playing him in a meaningless Week 18 contest against the Cardinals.

That's for two main reasons. First, the matchup is a rough one, as Arizona has allowed just two touchdowns to the tight end position this season, giving up the fifth-fewest fantasy points to the position.

The other reason is that this is a meaningless game for San Francisco and Kittle is a hugely important piece for the franchise. I'm not saying Kittle will be benched, but I can easily see the Niners playing it safe with him and giving him more time off the field than usual.

Start: Pat Freiermuth - Pittsburgh Steelers

The Steelers have clinched a playoff spot, but with a win and a Ravens loss the team would take the AFC North and be able to host a playoff game instead of going on the road to face Houston.

That should be good incentive for the Steelers to push things on Sunday, which is good news for Pat Freiermuth since the Bengals allow the most fantasy points per game to opposing tight ends.

Freiermuth has finished as the TE16 or better in five of the past six games, with three top 10 finishes in that span. He caught seven passes for 60 yards against the Chiefs last week.