Davante Adams is still that guy, pal 🏆

And just like that, the fantasy football season is officially over. Thanks to everyone who followed along with us during the season on Instagram, our podcast, and here on the newsletter – your support means the world to us and we’re excited to continue to deliver to you guys throughout the offseason!

What’s in store:

• Christian McCaffrey set to miss meaningless game in Week 18. Hopefully you’re not still playing through your league’s championship.

• The Eagles also might not be playing their starters… Which wouldn’t be good. It also wouldn’t make a whole lot of sense.

• The Bengals lay an egg in Cleveland. If you started any of their players this week, you’re probably heading into MNF down a lot of points.

• Davante Adams reminds everyone that he’s that guy, pal. A week after catching one pass, Adams tied a career-high in targets. 😳

• 49ers RB Christian McCaffrey slated to miss the 49ers regular season finale on Sunday vs. Rams

  • For fantasy managers who have made it all the way to their league’s championship on the back of Christian McCaffrey, the early report ruling him out for Sunday’s game against the Rams pulls the rug out from underneath any hopes of a smooth cruise to the title. With the 49ers having already locked up the NFC’s No. 1 playoff seed and their opponent, the Rams, also locked into a wild card spot for this year’s tournament, it’s unlikely that either squad allows their starters to see any significant, fantasy-relevant snaps in Week 18. That being said, it was Elijah Mitchell last week who handled the bulk of the carries in relief of McCaffrey against the Commanders, and he was able to turn in a relatively efficient performance with 80 yards and a touchdown on 17 attempts. He’ll be the running back to add this week for the final game of the regular season if you’re still playing through your fantasy championship in Week 18, but expectations should be tempered with the stakes in this game being just about zero for both teams.

• Eagles HC Nick Sirianni neglects to rule out potentially sitting key starters in Week 18 vs Giants

  • This comes as a relatively surprising development, especially considering that the Eagles are still very much in play for the NFC’s No. 2 seed and will play their game simultaneously along with the Cowboys. For fantasy managers who are still playing out their league’s championship in Week 18, it’ll be important to monitor the reports out of Philly throughout the week this week to have the best idea of which starters could see the field and which ones could be relegated to the bench in the final week of the regular season. Among players who will have an uphill battle to fight to see the field on Sunday is WR Devonta Smith, who was spotted leaving the Eagle’s game on Sunday on crutches and with a walking boot on his foot. He has since been diagnosed with an ankle sprain, and his status remains uncomfortably up in the air going into the Eagles’ matchup against the Giants. If he would miss and A.J. Brown would play, Brown would be in a nice spot to potentially atone for his sins since the bye and finally get back into the WR1 column vs a shaky-at-best Giants defense.

• Buccaneers QB Baker Mayfield expected to be good to go for Tampa Bay’s final regular season game against Carolina

  • Mayfield is reportedly dealing with sore ribs following the Buccaneers’ Week 17 loss to the Saints, but the injury isn’t expected to sideline him for the team’s pivotal Week 18 matchup against the reeling Panthers. With the Buccaneers still squarely in the playoff mix and positioned with a very good matchup to ensure that they maintain their spot in the playoffs, Mayfield and the rest of Tampa Bay’s offense is likely to see at least a half of action against the Panthers where they’ll attempt to build up a lead and take the rest of the day off. Despite their 2-14 record, the Panthers have been quite stingy against opposing quarterbacks and wide receivers, so fantasy managers should absolutely temper expectations heading into a game where snaps could be limited.

A few guys that got it done for you: CeeDee Lamb absolutely dominated on Saturday night against the Lions. We knew going into that matchup that the path to fantasy points was through the air and not on the ground - the Lions had been really tough on running backs all year - but it’s tough to say that anyone saw 227 yards coming. The Lions have been vulnerable on the backend, but not THAT vulnerable. 40 points this weekend helped Lamb vault over Tyreek Hill as the overall WR1 in total points scored on the season - but Tyreek Hill still owns the distinction as the overall WR1 in fantasy points per game. But what an absolute tear Ceedee Lamb has been on since Week 8: first in receiving yards by over 300 yards over second place, 20 more receptions than second place, tied for first in touchdown receptions, and first in fantasy points per game by over six whole points per game. Not a single game under 16 PPR points in that span, either - he’s my fantasy MVP this year.

Isiah Pacheco wasn’t a sure thing to play in the fantasy football championship, but he cleared the concussion protocol at the last second and ended up having the best fantasy day of his career. 29.5 PPR points definitely won a lot of people their leagues or kept them up to speed with their opponent - but we talked about the potential for Pacheco with McKinnon out to take on that receiving role on top of the early down role, and that played out to a T. Seven receptions on seven targets to go along with 165 scrimmage yards and two touchdowns… Pacheco is really separating himself in the Chiefs backfield and it’s going to be really interesting to see where he’s going to be going next year in drafts. Because if McKinnon play yesterday, I don’t think he has nearly as big a day as he did. Pacheco did have a great matchup against Cincy and came through, but to have spent all week stressing about whether he’d play and then getting 30 points out of him has to be right up there with some of the best feelings in the world.

Jordan Love put it all together in the fantasy championship against the Vikings, and it suddenly looks like Green Bay has the makings of a potentially dangerous fantasy offense now and moving forward. Him and Jayden Reed both came through with big days, but Jordan Love’s four total touchdowns constituted his best fantasy day of the season and really offers us a lot of hope for him moving forward with plenty of young weapons in his offense. Reed, Kraft, Wicks, Bo Melton even, and this was without Christian Watson on the field, too! It seems like Love is going to get at least another year in Green Bay with the Packers right in the playoff mix, and I’m all for that given the success he’s had this season.

After five straight games of scoring double-digit fantasy points from Weeks 10-14 – and offering some consistency following a stretch of games from Weeks 5-9 where he scored <10 fantasy points in four out of five – Davante Adams bottomed out in the fantasy football playoff semifinals in Week 16, scoring just one fantasy point on a day where QB Aidan O’Connell threw for just 62 yards. Things were looking bleak for Adams ahead of a championship matchup against the Colts – but Adams was able to turn back the clock for an absolutely vintage performance that reminded fantasy owners that he’s still that guy despite the rough QB situation he’s been dealing with in 2023.

In the fantasy football championship in Week 17, Davante Adams went nuclear. His 47% target share was his second-highest of the season, but his raw total targets (21) on the afternoon tied a career high set all the way back in 2015 during his Aaron Rodgers & Packers days. That came with a 60% air yards share, as well - also the second highest he earned all season - and Adams was able to turn that utilization into 13 catches, 126 yards, and two touchdowns to leave fantasy managers with a sweet, not sour taste in their mouths to cap off his up-and-down 2023.

Looking ahead beyond this year and into 2024, the Raiders QB situation is likely to experience a significant shakeup this offseason - barring a commitment by the front office to O’Connell for another season. Even in an up and down season that featured just four weekly top-10 finishes, Adams proved that he’s still got it and can be a top fantasy option given serviceable QB play. He’s unlikely to find himself inside the top-24 picks of fantasy drafts come next summer, but he’ll still be a perfectly viable part of many a fantasy team by next season.