Fantasy Football Week 18 Wide Receiver Rankings

The 2021-22 NFL season has only one week left. Bye weeks have been over and the fantasy leagues that are still active are in their fantasy championship. This time of year COVID-19 is running rampant which makes it important to have backup options on your fantasy roster. Also since a majority of teams have clinched their playoff spots teams will rest their starters this week. On top of all of that, injuries are continuing to mount up. It is always a great idea to evaluate backup options so that way fantasy managers are prepared if star players miss time. Here are the Fantasy Football Week 18 wide receiver rankings.

*Ratings are subject to change due to injury reports or possible move to reserve/COVID-19 list*

(Check out the section below for details on players already rumored to possibly miss this week and how their replacement options rank for the week)

Key:

Must Start- a player who is in your lineup regardless of the matchup or most circumstances. They will likely finish near the top of the league in points that week and in most weeks.

Starting WR1- a player who makes fantasy owners comfortable starting week after week. Regardless of the matchup, this player has a high floor.

High WR2- a player who may isn’t likely to carry a lineup that week, but has the ability to have a breakout game and is teetering between WR1 and WR2 category.

Starting WR2- a player who should be started in most lineups and should reach their point projection. This player is started is because of their consistency and moderately high floor

Low WR2- a player who may not be a lock to start for a team every week, but will start more times than not. Their production may not be pretty or win a person their lineup but the production is consistent enough to make a fantasy owner comfortable starting them.

Flex- a player who could float around the territory of being benched, but is started due to the potential to play better than their point projection. However, this player has the potential to flop and causes a fantasy team to lose if he has a bad game.

Deeper League Flex- a player who has starting value in deeper leagues. There are enough reasons to leave this player on the bench, but their upside makes them an attractive option. Desperate times may call for a player like this to be inserted into starting lineups.

Upside Player- a player who is boom or bust. This player can exceed expectations in a given week or could flop and be the reason why someone lost their fantasy matchup.

Leave on the Bench- a player who should be avoided in all lineups that week. Many times this player could even be left on waivers.

Possible Changes that can occur before Sunday

WR10 Diontae Johnson, Pittsburgh Steelers

Diontae Johnson was placed on the Reserve/COVID-19 list earlier this week. If Johnson misses this week’s game against the Baltimore Ravens then Chase Claypool moves up to WR22 between K.J. Osborn and D.J. Moore. Ray-Ray McCloud would become the WR47 between Gabriel Davis and Cedrick Wilson. James Washington would become WR62 between Rondale Moore and Kendrick Bourne.

WR25 Marquise “Hollywood” Brown, Baltimore Ravens

Marquise “Hollywood” Brown missed practice Thursday with an ankle injury. If he cannot play this week against the Pittsburgh Steelers then Rashod Bateman would move up to WR26 between Brandon Aiyuk and Tee Higgins. Devin Duvernay would become an interesting DFS play this week as well.

New York Jets Wide Receivers: WR41 Braxton Berrios, WR44 Elijah Moore & WR65 Jamison Crowder

Braxton Berrios missed practice Wednesday and Thursday with a quad injury. Elijah Moore is still on the Reserve/COVID-19 list and dealing with a quad injury. Jamison Crowder missed the past two games with a calf injury. If all three are out the number one receiver for the Jets would likely be Keelan Cole. But overall it would be hard to trust any Jet this week besides any of these three against the Buffalo Bills.

WR53 Robby Anderson, Carolina Panthers

Robby Anderson missed practice Wednesday and Thursday with a quad injury. If he was to miss this week’s game against the Tampa Bay Buccaneers then Brandon Zylstra would become the WR78 between Rashad Higgins and Laviska Shenault Jr. Shi Smith would step into that role if he is activated from the Reserve/COVID-19 list before the game.

WR55 Tre’Quan Smith, New Orleans Saints

Tre’Quan Smith missed last week’s game with a chest injury. If he is out this week against the Atlanta Falcons then Deonte Harris would step into his WR55 slot.

WR58 Emmanuel Sanders, Buffalo Bills

Emmanuel Sanders has missed two of the past three games with a knee injury. If Sanders were to miss this week’s game against the New York Jets then Gabriel Davis would move up to WR31 between Jakobi Meyers and A.J. Green.

WR60 Rondale Moore, Arizona Cardinals

Rondale Moore missed the past two games with an ankle injury. He was limited in practice both Wednesday and Thursday because of the injury. If Moore misses this week’s game against the Seattle Seahawks then Antoine Wesley would move up to WR54 between Robby Anderson and Nico Collins.

WR73 Nelson Agholor, New England Patriots

Nelson Agholor missed the last two games because of a concussion. If he misses this week’s game against the Miami Dolphins then Kristian Wilkerson would move up to Agholor’s WR73 role.

WR77 Darius Slayton, New York Giants

Darius Slayton was limited in practice Thursday because of a shoulder injury. If he was to miss this week’s game against the Washington Football Team then John Ross would step into Slayton’s WR77 role.