FanDuel NFL DFS Picks: Week 18 Saturday Slate

Week 18 brings with it a two-game NFL Saturday slate -- perfect for some NFL DFS on FanDuel.

The AFC North will be on full display as the Cleveland Browns take on the Baltimore Ravens at 4:30 p.m. ET followed by the Cincinnati Bengals visiting the Pittsburgh Steelers at 8 p.m. ET. Weather is expected to be a factor in both games. Browns-Ravens should be warmer given the earlier kickoff while Bengals-Steelers will feel like single-digit temperatures. Both games are anticipating wind speeds around 15 MPH with gusts over 30 MPH.

Using our NFL DFS projections as a guide, let's take a look at some of the best daily fantasy football plays at each position -- accounting for salary -- on the Week 18 FanDuel Saturday Slate.

NFL DFS Picks for Week 18 Saturday Slate

Slate Overview

Here is a snapshot of each team's outlook, including opponent, implied team total, over/under, and spread based on the NFL odds at FanDuel Sportsbook.

Quarterbacks

Lamar Jackson, Baltimore Ravens

FanDuel Salary: $9,000
Matchup: vs. CLE

Lamar Jackson is set up really well on Saturday. He's up against a Browns defense which ranks 28th in schedule-adjusted pass defense (per numberFire) and has allowed the fourth-most passing FanDuel points (FDPs) per game. Lamar cruised to 24.16 FDPs when they faced off in Cleveland, and there's not much standing in his way of replicating that kind of performance this weekend. The only drawback here is game script; the Ravens are 19.5-point favorites, so we could see Baltimore take their foot off the pedal with the postseason looming. But Lamar cleared 25 FDPs in each of his lowest-pass-attempt games this season, so any real concern is nitpicking.

Joe Burrow, Cincinnati Bengals

FanDuel Salary: $8,600
Matchup: at PIT

There's a pretty clear 1A/1B situation between Lamar and Joe Burrow on this two-game slate. Burrow's been fantastic, and he's shown as much (if not more) high-end upside as Jackson this season. Joe Cool torched numberFire's No. 2 pass defense for 39.98 FDPs last week, alleviating some concern with this week's matchup -- Pittsburgh is 14th against the pass and top-10 in fewest FDPs allowed to QBs. He went for 23.27 FDPs and more than 300 yards through the air the first time Cincy faced the Steelers, anyway. The biggest concern here is the wind. With sustained winds around 15 MPH and gusts approaching 29 MPH, I'm inclined to give Lamar a slight edge given his rushing proficiency.

Others to Consider

Russell Wilson ($7,300 vs. CIN) - Russ is the only viable salary-saver at quarterback as the Browns may deploy two different quarterbacks. There's definitely some appeal here given the matchup. The Bengals are 17th in adjusted pass defense and have permitted the 11th-most passing FDPs per dropback. Wilson fileted them for a season-high 30.86 FDPs the first time they matched up, so a back-and-forth affair could make Wilson a great play at his salary. I do worry about the wind, especially considering Russ hasn't exceeded 220 passing yards in four games since that last Bengals matchup. He's a clear tier below Jackson and Burrow.

Running Backs

Derrick Henry, Baltimore Ravens

FanDuel Salary: $10,000
Matchup: vs. CLE

Derrick Henry is the highest-salaried player on the slate, but it's hard to argue against him in a game Baltimore's favored by 19.5 points. Henry has cracked 140 rushing yards in three of his last five games, and he's put up 49.4 FDPs the last two games alone despite scoring just one touchdown in that stretch. He's scored 1.6 fewer touchdowns than expected (per PFF) over the last five games, so we could see some positive TD regression against a Browns front that's given up the 12th-most rushing touchdowns to RBs. Henry is an intriguing building-block given the unfriendly weather expected for both Saturday games, but I wouldn't call him a priority at his lofty salary. He hasn't cleared 30 FDPs since Week 4, and Cleveland is 12th in schedule-adjusted run defense.

Chase Brown, Cincinnati Bengals

FanDuel Salary: $7,800
Matchup: at PIT

Chase Brown (ankle) looks like a true game-time decision after failing to practice this week. That makes things tricky given that he's in the later game, but he's someone well worth planning around. Brown has been a revelation since taking over as Cincy's top back, averaging 29.9 adjusted opportunities (carries plus 2x targets), 116.3 scrimmage yards, and 18.3 FDPs over his last eight games. The Steelers are top 10 against the run, but Brown managed 17.5 FDPs against them in early December, and his volume is too good to ignore at $7,800. If Brown can't go, Khalil Herbert ($6,000) would be a natural pivot.

Jaylen Warren, Pittsburgh Steelers

FanDuel Salary: $5,800
Matchup: vs. CIN

Taking into account health and salary, Jaylen Warren will likely be my highest-rostered running back on Saturday's slate. Warren has yet to exceed 14 FDPs in a single game this season, but he's been trending up with 11.7 and 13.7 FDPs over his last two games. He recorded five receptions and double-digit rush attempts in both of those outings while out snapping Najee Harris in four straight games. The Bengals are just 26th in adjusted rush defense, and they've let up the second-most rushing yards over expectation (RYOE) per attempt to the position. Especially if the weather is rough, Warren's in a nice spot.

Others to Consider

Najee Harris ($6,200 vs. CIN) - Harris benefits from the same plus matchup as Warren, and he's still seen more red zone work despite being out-snapped over the last four games.

D'Onta Foreman ($5,900 at BAL) - With Jerome Ford and Pierre Strong Jr. out, D'Onta Foreman is in line to lead the Cleveland backfield this week. That's intriguing at $5,900, but it's hard to imagine much upside against Baltimore's No. 2 rush defense when the Browns have an 11.0-point implied total.

Keaton Mitchell ($4,800 vs. CLE) - Mitchell played a season-high 26.2% of snaps with Justice Hill sidelined last week. Hill has been ruled out for Saturday, so Mitchell is actually decent leverage off Henry if the Ravens get up big and want to rest their star back. Even so, he's strictly a tournament play for me.

Wide Receivers

Ja'Marr Chase, Cincinnati Bengals

FanDuel Salary: $9,500
Matchup: at PIT

There's not a player with more slate-breaking upside than Ja'Marr Chase, even if the weather and matchup this week isn't the best. The Steelers "held" Chase to 86 yards and 17.7 FDPs when they faced off last month, though they're just 14th in adjusted pass defense and middle of the pack in FDPs per target allowed to WRs. It's not easy to get to Chase on a two-game slate, but he's the high-salary stud most likely to burn you if you don't use him. Our projections peg him for 17.9 FDPs, most among non-quarterbacks.

Tee Higgins, Cincinnati Bengals

FanDuel Salary: $8,300
Matchup: at PIT

Tee Higgins makes a lot of sense regardless of what build you're going with on Saturday. He's an excellent double-stack with Burrow and Chase if you can find the salary for it, but I'm certainly into him as a one-off attached to Lamar Jackson, too. Last week showed the kind of touchdown upside Higgins has, and he's also maintained a 28% target share and team-leading 39% air yards share over the last three games. Higgins has a similar floor to Chase's at $1,200 less in salary.

George Pickens, Pittsburgh Steelers

FanDuel Salary: $7,400
Matchup: vs. CIN

George Pickens returned last week from a three-game absence to a 20% target share and team-leading 39% air yards share in Week 17 -- all while pacing Pittsburgh's skill-position players in snap rate (90%). Though that usage resulted in only 6.5 FDPs, this week's matchup puts Pickens back on the DFS radar at a manageable salary. He recorded 14.9 FDPs when these two sides met in early December.

Others to Consider

Jerry Jeudy ($6,600 at BAL) - It's really hard to pass up a receiver salaried at $6,600 coming off an 18-target game, but it's similarly difficult to trust whatever Cleveland is planning on offense this week. Neither Dorian Thompson-Robinson nor Bailey Zappe provide much hope Jeudy can reach his ceiling, so he'll be reserved for Lamar bring-backs.

Zay Flowers ($6,800 vs. CLE) - Flowers has been held to single-digit FDPs in four of the last five games, and this game environment doesn't exactly scream upside. But he saw a season-high 12 targets the first time the Ravens faced Cleveland, securing 7 receptions for 115 yards and 18 FDPs. He's a near-lock in Lamar Jackson lineups.

Rashod Bateman ($ vs. CLE) - Most of my Bateman shares will be reserved for Lamar double stacks, and there's a real ceiling here. We saw him crack 20 FDPs just two weeks ago thanks to 80 yards and 2 touchdowns, and he logged 5 targets the first time he faced Cleveland.

Tight Ends

Pat Freiermuth, Pittsburgh Steelers

FanDuel Salary: $5,500
Matchup: vs. CIN

Given the salary and matchup, Pat Freiermuth is my TE1 for Saturday's slate. Freiermuth has been much more involved in recent games, boasting a 19% target share while averaging 10.1 FDPs per game dating back to Week 13. Coincidentally, the game that really got him going was Pittsburgh's first date with Cincy. He caught 6 of 7 targets for 68 yards and a touchdown against the Bengals -- though that's been an ongoing issue for Cincy. The Bengals have surrendered the third-highest target rate and yards per route run to opposing tight ends, setting Freiermuth up for a strong encore performance.

Mark Andrews, Baltimore Ravens

FanDuel Salary: $6,400
Matchup: vs. CLE

The utilization still scares me, but it's hard to argue with Mark Andrews' production of late. Andrews has cracked double-digit FDPs in eight of his last 11 games, a stretch during which he's seen a 17% target share and scored 10 touchdowns. The Browns have defended tight ends well enough, but they let Andrews secure all five targets and score against them in the first matchup. If you're all in on Baltimore's 30.5-point implied total, Andrews make a ton of sense.

Others to Consider

Mike Gesicki ($5,300 at PIT) - I'd be more interested in Mike Gesicki if Tee Higgins (questionable) didn't go, but he still makes for a fair tournament play. He caught all 5 targets for 53 yards the first time they matched up, and the Steelers have permitted the fourth-highest target rate to tight ends.

Defenses

Baltimore Ravens

FanDuel Salary: $5,000
Matchup: vs. CLE

Baltimore is the clear top defense on this slate -- so much so that I'm happy to spend up at defense. The Browns are an absolute dumpster fire on offense, and they have the lowest implied total (11.5 points) on the entire week. They're expected to play two quarterbacks on Saturday -- neither of whom should scare us. After 14 and 17-FDP outings, the Ravens' D/ST is a tier above the rest for Saturday's slate.

Others to Consider

Cincinnati Bengals ($3,800 at PIT) - Cincy's defense has been surprisingly viable over the last five games -- thanks largely to their 13 takeaways in that time. Turnovers are hard to predict, and the Steelers have limited giveaways this season. But Cincy's the lowest-salary defense I can stomach, and at least the weather will be bad.

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The above author is a FanDuel employee and is not eligible to compete in public daily fantasy contests or place sports betting wagers on FanDuel. The advice provided by the author does not necessarily represent the views of FanDuel. Taking the author's advice will not guarantee a successful outcome. You should use your own judgment when participating in daily fantasy contests or placing sports wagers.