Week 18 Saturday Fantasy Football QB/RB Start/Sit Decisions: Should You Start Mason Rudolph, C.J. Stroud, Melvin Gordon, Devin Singletary and Others?

Week 18 of the NFL season is here. A majority of fantasy football leagues have wrapped up, but a few leagues use this coming week as their championship round.

With that in mind, let’s take a look at some starting quarterbacks and running backs from Saturday’s pair of games and determine the best starting options from the game. Check back later in the week for possible start/sit decisions between players in games on Saturday and Sunday.

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Quarterback Options

In the first game of the week, the Pittsburgh Steelers will start Mason Rudolph, while the Baltimore Ravens trot out Tyler Huntley. In the nightcap, C.J. Stroud will start for the Houston Texans, while Gardner Minshew gets the nod for the Indianapolis Colts.

Rudolph has thrown for over 250 yards in back-to-back games. He threw two touchdowns and no interceptions two weeks ago, but went without a touchdown or interception last week. 

His matchup with the Ravens’ defense is the toughest for a quarterback, but with Baltimore’s spot in the playoffs locked up, it’s fair to assume several of the top defenders won’t be out there. You can also bet that Baltimore would love nothing more than to top Pittsburgh and eliminate any chance they have of making the playoffs.

Huntley will be making his first start of the season, but has starting experience in Baltimore (with eight starts over the past two years). His matchup against the Steelers isn’t great, and he won’t likely have a full disposal of offensive weapons to work with.

Stroud looked solid in his first game back last week, throwing for 213 yards, one touchdown and no interceptions.

Stroud’s matchup with Indy’s defense is an average one on paper. Stroud went off for 384 passing yards, two touchdowns and no picks in the team’s first meeting this season.

Minshew has played about as well as anyone could have expected, and is part of the reason why the team is in the playoff hunt still. He hasn’t topped 250 passing yards in each of the past four games, but has gone over 200 yards in each one and has four touchdowns to two interceptions over that span.

His matchup with the Texans is a pretty favorable one on paper. He was 19-of-23 for 171 yards, a touchdown and no interceptions in the first meeting.

Between these four quarterbacks, Stroud is definitely the one I like the most. I’d take Minshew next. 

It’s a tough call when you are trying to figure out how a game in which only one team will be playing their regulars is going to turn out. Pittsburgh is favored to win, but that doesn’t mean Rudolph is automatically a better fantasy option than Huntley. If forced to choose, I’d take Rudolph slightly ahead of Huntley, but those two are distant options to both Stroud and Minshew for me.

Running Back Options

There’s a number of pretty solid fantasy backs playing on Saturday.

Pittsburgh has Najee Harris and Jaylen Warren. Indianapolis has Jonathan Taylor and potentially Zack Moss, while Houston has Devin Singletary and Dameon Pierce. Baltimore could use Gus Edwards, Justice Hill or Melvin Gordon.

Harris was limited in the team’s first practice of the week and then didn’t practice the next day. It might seem like a troubling thing, but he’s been dealing with injuries for some time now and hasn’t missed a game.

Harris has been the leader in touches in each of the past two weeks, with 46 to Warren’s 30 combined. Harris tallied just 40 total yards on 15 touches the last time these teams met, but again, Baltimore’s defense might look a lot different this week. Warren had 79 total yards on 12 touches in the previous meeting.

It’s a below-average matchup on paper for the two Pittsburgh backs.

While Jackson won’t be at quarterback, the Ravens haven’t ruled out anybody else at this point. I think it’s possible that Edwards, Hill and Gordon all split the workload this week.

Edwards and Hill have been splitting the workload the past few games after the season-ending injury to Keaton Mitchell, so I also don’t expect them to play full games this Saturday. I’d guess that Gordon ends up getting the most snaps and touches. It’s a pretty average matchup for the Baltimore backs.

Singletary has been Houston’s lead back for some time now, with Pierce filling in here and there. Singletary has 31 touches over the past two games, while Pierce is at 13 touches.

It’s a very favorable matchup for the Texans’ backs. Singletary only got five touches, going for 24 yards the last time the teams met in mid-September. Pierce was held to 35 total yards on 17 touches.

Taylor has gotten 40 total targets over the past two weeks. Moss hasn’t played in those two weeks. It’s an average matchup for them this weekend.

Taylor didn’t play in the first matchup against Houston. Moss went for 107 total yards and a touchdown on 22 touches.

There’s an annoying mix of uncertainty, strong fantasy options against good defenses and so-so fantasy starting options against lackluster defenses for Saturday’s games. It makes it tough to choose a favorite.

In these situations, I’d trust the most talented back, and that’s Taylor in my eyes. I think Indy leans on him on Saturday, so give me Taylor first among this group.

I really like what Harris has shown lately and would take him second unless a report comes out that he’s going to be limited this week. I’d go with Singletary next.

I’m torn on where to stick a Baltimore back, and I’d pass on them again here in favor of Warren. I’d slot Gordon in here as I simply think his workload will help him outscore whatever Hill and Edwards could do in limited action. Oddly enough, I’d take those two guys next, in that order.

If Moss plays, I think he and Pierce get a similar amount of touches. I’d give the edge to Moss because he’s a decent pass catcher.