FanDuel Picks Week 18: NFL DFS lineup advice for daily fantasy football GPP tournaments

Week 18 marks the end of the regular season and sets the stage for our final main slate lineup. Like last week, we want to focus as much as possible on players from teams still vying for playoff positioning. Our Week 18 FanDuel Tournament Lineup is built around Jonathan Taylor this week — in spite of his exorbitant price tag — but there are multiple lower-priced DFS pieces we’re excited about as well that’ll fit perfectly in GPP tournaments.

Before we get into this week’s lineups, here are the basic rules for FanDuel contests. Scoring is pretty standard, with the only notable settings being four-point passing TDs and half-point PPR.

WEEK 18 FANTASY RANKINGS (PPR & STANDARD):
Quarterback | Running back | Wide receiver | Tight end | D/ST | Kicker

FanDuel Picks Week 18: NFL DFS lineup for GPP tournaments

Sunday main slate, $60,000 budget, no more than four players from one team

QB Taysom Hill, Saints @ Falcons ($7,700). We know the type of ceiling Hill has in his game, and we’re going to roll the dice on him scratching it on Sunday. The Saints still have a pulse in their pursuit of postseason play, and probably couldn’t have asked for a more favorable NFC South opponent (their Week 9 loss to the Falcons notwithstanding).

RB Jonathan Taylor, Colts @ Jaguars ($10,200). The Colts aren’t out of the playoff picture yet, and they can thank the schedule makers for providing them with a late Christmas gift — a Week 18 date with the Jaguars. Who can forget his 39.7-point explosion against Jacksonville that capped off his 2020 season? The Jags are playing out the string, and Taylor is well worth forcing into our lineup this week.

RB D’Onta Foreman, Titans @ Texans ($6,900). The Titans are still fighting to earn the AFC’s first-round bye, and the Texans have liberally surrendered fantasy points to backs. Foreman recorded 26 touches in last week’s smothering win over the Dolphins, and a similar performance won’t be out of the question Sunday.

WR Darnell Mooney, Bears @ Vikings ($6,300). The efficiency wasn’t quite there last week (seven catches, 69 yards), but the volume certainly was (13 targets). Mooney also returned to the end zone. The Bears are playing for pride, but Mooney (929 receiving yards) can notch his first 1,000-yard season. Teams with nothing to play for collectively will often make it a point to push their players to reach individual milestones. That’s the bet we’re making here.

WR Marquez Callaway, Saints @ Falcons ($5,900). We like the chemistry that Callaway and Hill have been demonstrating in recent weeks, so we’re going to stack the pair in this build. Callaway is coming off of 10 targets against the Panthers and nine looks in Week 15 against the Buccaneers. He corralled 12 of those 19 chances and will have the opportunity to serve as Hill’s top target once again.

WR Donovan Peoples-Jones, Browns vs. Bengals ($5,500). This is our main “sacrifice spot,” where we’re crossing our fingers for a long touchdown or a couple of big plays. He’s at least five targets in each of his past six games, so we like the volume he’s receiving in a run-heavy offense. We also like the glimpses he’s provided this season — i.e. 101 yards and two touchdowns against the Cardinals. 

TE Dawson Knox, Bills vs. Jets ($6,000). Knox has been quiet in recent weeks — an understatement if you’re stuck on his two-target, zero-point effort from last Sunday. A season finale against the Jets is a great spot for him to lock back in ahead of the postseason though. He’s only three games removed from 15.5 FD points, and the opportunity for a healthy, double-digit performance will be present this weekend.

FLEX (RB) Devin Singletary, Bills vs. Jets ($6,700). It’s not our favorite strategy to deploy two players from the same team in a non-stacking fashion, but the Bills are in such a good position to impose their will on Sunday. Both Knox and Singletary will be able to eat in a game in which the Bills opened as massive 17-point home favorites over the lowly Jets.

DEF Colts @ Jaguars, ($4,800). The Colts are in a must-win spot against the hapless Jaguars, and we expect them to demolish them much like the Patriots did last week. It’s more than reasonable to question how engaged the Jaguars players will be in their final week of practice and in another punishing game against a physical opponent. Don’t be surprised if the Jags submit early.