Fantasy football 2024: One QB, RB, WR and TE primed for huge Week 18 performances

We've reached the final week of the NFL regular season. For the majority of people, your fantasy football season is over, but there are some real football diehards out there who play Week 18 championships. I'm not going to say I agree with those of you who do, but milking everything you can out of the regular season is admirable, I suppose, even if I refuse to do it.

Overall though, most of the fantasy football that will be played this week will be of the DFS variety, so hopefully, this column can help you make lineup decisions in that fantasy format as well.

Below is one player at each skill position who is set to have a strong 2024 Week 18 performance for fantasy football.

Quarterback: Michael Penix Jr. - Atlanta Falcons

Michael Penix Jr. hasn't shown a ton through his first two NFL starts, throwng one touchdown and two interceptions, but he has a chance to deliver a strong end to his rookie season against the Carolina Panthers in Week 18.

But in a week where it can be tough to figure out what quarterbacks to play because there aren't many stakes around the league, Penix bubbles up into the low-end QB1 tier for two key reasons.

First is simply that the Falcons have all the incentive in the world to let Penix go out there and sling the ball around. The team has to figure out what it has in the rookie out of Washington before heading into this offseason. While he'll almost certainly be the starter next year, Atlanta still needs to figure out how to build around him in free agency and the draft.

Then there's the matchup with Carolina. The Panthers have one of the league's worst pass defenses, allowing a league-high 33 passing touchdowns.

Running Back: Bucky Irving - Tampa Bay Buccaneers

There's a good chance that Bucky Irving just dragged your team to a fantasy football championship after he finished as the overall RB4 last week, his fourth top 10 weekly finish since Week 10.

Heading into the offseason, Irving looks set to be a second-round pick next year in fantasy leagues, a huge jump from where he was at heading into his rookie season. But before that, Irving has one more shot to shine in Week 18.

His string of extremely plus matchups continues this week against the Saints, the third game in a row that the Buccaneers face a team that ranks in the top 10 for most fantasy points allowed to running backs.

In the first meeting of these two teams back in Week 6, Irving played a career-high 64% of Tampa's offensive snaps, with 14 carries for 81 yards and a touchdown. At the time, the 81 yards were the most of Irving's NL Career, though he's since surpassed that, rushing for 100-plus yards in three of the past five games.

Wide Receiver: Jordan Addison - Minnesota Vikings

We've got a huge one this week, as the Lions and Vikings play on Sunday Night Football. The winner is the No. 1 seed. The loser drops to the No. 5 seed. Expect both teams to throw out all the stops.

Jordan Addison has found the end zone in two consecutive games coming into this one, including catching six passes for 69 yards and a score against Green Bay last week.

In the first meeting of these teams, Addison was targeted four times, catching three passes for 66 yards. But since Week 11, he's dropped below eight targets just once, so expect heavier usage for Addison this week against a Lions defense that is dealing with a number of injuries still and allows the second-most fantasy points per game to wide receivers.

(Who allows the most? It's the Vikings, actually. This could be a very pass-happy game here with a number of players who can explode for huge numbers.)

Tight End: Chig Okonkwo - Tennessee Titans

After finishing as a top 10 fantasy tight end in back-to-back games, Chig Okonkwo's numbers came back to earth a bit last week as he caught five passes for 42 yards.

Still, his seven targets were his third-most of the season, and all three of those games have come over Tennessee's past two contests.

What's changed? The Titans have made the move to Mason Rudolph, benching Will Levis during the Week 15 games against the Bengals and then sticking with Rudolph.

With a new quarterback under center, Okonkwo is finally delivering on some of the hype that made him a preseason sleeper candidate. He might have floundered around for a bit, but Okonkwo is now on the right path forward and is a top 10 play at the position this week against the Texans.

In the first meeting of these two teams, Okonkwo caught just one pass, but he made that one count, hauling in a big 70-yard touchdown.