2025 Fantasy Football Waiver Wire Week 18: Blake Corum, Parker Washington Top Picks

We aren’t here to judge your fantasy football leagues. Heck, I play in a ton of weird leagues myself (like Chuck Bass’s Ozempic Trials Patients Zero league, where you need to cut a player from your roster every single week with no waivers or trades). So if you want to have your championship in Week 18, then go for it. 

Obviously, you know what, with Week 18, there are a lot of moving parts here. So we’re going to do our best to cover who we are adding/streaming. But you never quite know which teams are going to pack it in before the game is over. So just keep that in mind - Week 18 is not a perfect science, which is why a lot of leagues avoid it in fantasy football.

Lucky for you, as things stand now, there’s really only a couple of teams that can’t really improve their standing and could rest guys. The Packers are guaranteed the 7 seed, so I expect them to rest starters. The Chargers have opted to rest Justin Herbert, basically gifting the #1 seed to the Broncos. The Buffalo Bills could also prioritize the health of Josh Allen’s foot over the battle for the 5th, 6th, or 7th seed. The Bears could also pull starters if the Commanders are beating the Eagles, and the Texans could do the same if the Colts are beating the Jaguars. But those would require upsets and wouldn’t likely hit until the fourth quarter. So, for the most part, we are playing things straight (unless some other news drops). So let’s jump in. 

2025 Fantasy Football Waiver Wire Week 18 Top Targets

For Week 18, we are doing things slightly differently. There are obviously no more stashes, so instead of doing two articles with the second being Streamers and Stashes, we are just doing the one. But the honorable mentions section here will have a little note on each player, so if you play in really deep leagues, we have you covered. Sound good? Good. 

Also, make sure to take advantage of our League Sync Tool to directly connect YOUR league to our systems for customized waiver wire/free agent advice based on YOUR league! Can’t take any chances now that playoffs are here!

NFL Week 18 Waiver Wire Quarterbacks

Tyler Shough - New Orleans Saints Yahoo: 9% | ESPN: 7% | Sleeper: 18% 

Tyler Shough was our top add last week, too - and we hope you used him. He’s now scored 17 or more points in four-point passing leagues in five straight games, including last week against Tennessee. This final matchup against Jacksonville 

Kirk Cousins - Atlanta Falcons Yahoo: 9% | ESPN: 7% | Sleeper: 18% 

It would be fun to use Aaron Rodgers in a must-win scenario with the Ravens. But he’s missing a bunch of key weapons, including DK Metcalf. The Falcons don’t have their own pick, as they traded it to the Rams, so they have less incentive to tank. So I expect Kirk Cousins to keep auditioning for future employment, and he has the weapons to make things happen.

Honorable Mention or Deep League Options: 

• Aaron Rodgers - Pittsburgh Steelers: As we said, it’s a must-win game for the Steelers, so Rodgers will hopefully be on his A-game. Just wish his top WR didn’t punch a fan.
• Bryce Young - Carolina Panthers: Another must-win situation. Bryce Young has flashed at times, but he’s also faceplanted equally hard, including last week. This matchup is a little better, though, so he can bounce back here. 

NFL Week 18 Waiver Wire Running Backs

Blake Corum - Los Angeles Rams Yahoo: 41% | ESPN: 30% | Sleeper: 59%

If we can avoid it, we don’t like playing the “start the backups from team resting starters” game. Why? Well, some of these teams view their backups as being just as important as the starters. Example: Emanuel Wilson has been a contributor for the Packers all year. If they rest the starters like Josh Jacobs, who’s to say they don’t give Wilson a light workload and utilize guys further down the depth chart? Not to mention, we don’t really want RBs from teams that don’t care about winning.

Blake Corum has had a decent role. His offense is good. And the Week 18 game has some implications here. There is a big difference in the 5 seed vs. the 6 seed, as the 5 seed plays the winner of the Panthers/Buccaneers, whereas the 6th seed has to face either the Eagles or Bears. So I expect the Rams to be playing to win, and I expect Corum to be involved. 

• Waiver Priority: Low to Medium Priority
• FAAB: 15-20%

Dylan Sampson - Cleveland Browns Yahoo: 6% | ESPN: 9% | Sleeper: 10%

The Browns hedged their bets in the 2025 NFL Draft, selecting both Quinshon Judkins and Dylan Sampson. Judkins is more of a bruiser, and Sampson profiles more like Jerome Ford as a guy with some burst and good hands. Well, with both Judkins and Ford out, Sampson was put in position to be the lead back for the Browns. He returned from injury to start for the Browns, where he led in touches, though Raheim Sanders mixed in too. In a good matchup this week against the Bengals, he should be on the table. 

Malik Davis - Dallas Cowboys Yahoo: 6% | ESPN: 9% | Sleeper: 10%

If you do want to play the “teams will rest guys because it’s a Week 18 game, this is probably where we are willing to play it. Javonte Williams has been dealing with injuries, and that saw him leave early in the game on Christmas Day against Washington. And, with Williams out, Malik Davis ran 20 times for over 100 yards. 

Davis isn’t much of a pass-catcher with only 2 receptions on the season. But maybe that could change if he were given the full role this week. The Cowboys are eliminated, so it’s not only in their best interest to make sure Javonte Williams doesn’t turn minor injuries into serious ones but also to see what they might have in some of these other guys. At the very least, it could help negotiations with Javonte Williams - and we know Jerry Jones loves to negotiate. 

• Waiver Priority: Low to Medium Priority
• FAAB: 15-20%

Honorable Mention or Deep League Options:

• Audric Estime - New Orleans Saints: After giving Taysom Hill a chunk of work in what might be his final home game, the Saints actually leaned on Estime in Week 17. Unfortunately, he’s still the starting running back for the Saints, but they have a decent matchup with Atlanta. 
• Emanuel Wilson - Green Bay Packers: We mentioned earlier that we are nervous that Wilson might be important enough for the Packers to rest with the other starters. But in deeper leagues, it could be worth a shot to see if he just gets the full workload. 
• Tyler Allgeier - Atlanta Falcons: Tyler Allgeier has been mixed in all year long. In a meaningless game for the Falcons in Week 18, it doesn’t really make much sense for them to run Bijan Robinson into the ground. 

NFL Week 18 Waiver Wire Wide Receivers

Parker Washington - Jacksonville Jaguars Yahoo: 43% | ESPN: 38% | Sleeper: 48%

Liam Coen’s offenses have had a ton of success with guys operating out of the slot, going back to Cooper Kupp and Chris Godwin. Well, Parker Washington has led this team in routes run from the slot in back-to-back weeks. And, in both of those weeks, he’s had 10 targets and over 100 yards. If he’s out there, he needs to be added and started.  

•  Waiver Priority: High Priority
• FAAB: 50%+

Luther Burden - Chicago Bears Yahoo: 16% | ESPN: 29% | Sleeper: 37%

Luther Burden is a guy I’m looking to buy in every dynasty league I can. He’s flashed here as a rookie, and he’s not even a full-time player. It’s easy to forget that guys like CeeDee Lamb, Jaxon Smith-Njigba, and Chris Godwin were all part-time players as rookies as well (in fact, in took Godwin til year 3 to break out). But Burden also has a big enough role as of late to be useful in redraft leagues as well. So go get him.

• Waiver Priority: Medium to low Priority
• FAAB: 25-50%

Honorable Mention or Deep League Options: 

• Adonai Mitchell - New York Jets: This guy gets peppered with targets. He now has 9 targets or more in three of his last five games and no less than six in any of them. Will he catch them his week? Hard to say. But opportunity is king.
• Jayden Higgins - Houston Texans: We wish Higgins had a slightly bigger snap share. But he gets looks every week and also plays in 2 WR sets, which is good near the red area. 
• Jalen Coker - Carolina Panthers: He didn’t have a great week last week. But Coker is the clear WR2 now for this team, and they also just lost tight end Ja’Tavion Sanders for the season. 

NFL Week 18 Waiver and Yin & Yang Tight End

Colston Loveland - Chicago Bears Yahoo: 37% | ESPN: 20% | Sleeper: 38%

Our top two adds from last week are on the table again this week (though the rostership numbers have changed slightly). Colston Loveland is obviously rostered in more leagues now, and he showed us why with his second-best performance of the year. 

This is not a fluke either, as his top performance came in Week 9 when he had a ~79% route participation. With Rome Odunze out, Loveland had had route participations of 81% and 85% the last two weeks. With Odunze potentially resting again this week before the playoffs, Loveland should be on the table again. 

• Waiver Priority: Medium Priority
• FAAB: 15-20%

Michael Mayer - Las Vegas Raiders Yahoo: 5% | ESPN: 11% | Sleeper: 8%

Many had said the Las Vegas Raiders were “packing it in” by preventing Brock Bowers and Maxx Crosby from playing. But that didn’t stop Michael Mayer from going out and having a monster day. Guys like Mayer are still auditioning for their future, so he went out and played a big snap share while running nearly 90% of the routes. That led to him catching 9 of 10 for 89 yards. I don’t see why they wouldn’t do something similar this week. 

Honorable Mention or Deep League Options: 

• AJ Barner - Seattle Seahawks: Barner has played more in recent weeks with Elijah Arroyo out, but his usage was a bit scary this week. He was asked to block on 9 pass plays, which kept his route participation below 60%. So not a smash play here.
• Pat Freiermuth - Pittsburgh Steelers: Both Jonnu Smith and Pat Freiermuth got 5 targets with DK Metcalf out. But Muth ran double the routes, 34 to 13. With Metcalf out again in a must-win game, we should see something similar. 
• Tommy Tremble - Carolina Panthers: Unfortunately, Ja’Tavion Sanders broke his ankle on the first play of the game. So his season is over. Tremble and Mitchell Evan saw a boost in snaps, but Tremble’s 22 routes were double Mitchell’s 11. 

NFL Week 18 Waiver DST

Minnesota Vikings DST Yahoo: 38% | ESPN: 30% | Sleeper: 40%

Pretty simple math here. The Vikings have a good defense. And the Packers have nothing to play for, so they will be resting starters. The Vikings should be able to make at least something happen here against the backups.

Cincinnati Bengals DST Yahoo: 5% | ESPN: 3% | Sleeper: 7%

This is not a good defense. But sometimes you just need to play the matchups. There really aren't many good defenses with good matchups available, so we are basically just targeting Shedeur Sanders and the Browns here. 

Honorable Mention or Deep League Options: Dallas Cowboys DST vs. NYG, Las Vegas Raiders DST vs. KC

NFL Week 18 Waiver K

Andy Borregales - New England Patriots Yahoo: 23% | ESPN: 38% | Sleeper: 28%

Borregales still was not added in as many leagues as I expected. That’s what happens when you have a Week 14 bye and a bunch of teams get eliminated. He’ll be a great option this week against Miami. 

Eddy Pineiro - San Francisco 49ers Yahoo: 31% | ESPN: 13% | Sleeper: 15%

Another one here that we will continue to ride. Similar situation where he was dropped for the Week 14 bye, but should be rostered in more leagues. This is a must-win game with Seattle, so the 49ers will be taking things very seriously. 

Honorable Mention or Deep League Options: Harrison Mevis