Week 18 Fantasy Football Stars Who Will Struggle: Kyler Murray, De'Von Achane, Davante Adams, Garrett Wilson and Brock Bowers

Last week’s attempt at finding fantasy stars who would struggle to excel was another brutal failure, a running theme the past few weeks:

• Joe Burrow continued his MVP-level play against the Broncos, throwing for 412 yards and three touchdowns while adding 25 yards and a score on the ground.
• Josh Jacobs had a decent day against the Vikings, gaining 69 yards on the ground and scoring a touchdown. He didn’t catch any passes, setting him back in PPR leagues, and he lost a fumble.
• Amon-Ra St. Brown caught eight passes for 60 yards and a touchdown in San Francisco. It wasn’t an efficient day, but the fantasy points added up.
• Sam LaPorta followed the lead of his WR1, catching six balls for 64 yards and a score of his own.

It’s a good thing the season is coming to an end because I’m having trouble recovering from these beatings. It’s also a good thing I didn’t have money on the line against any of these guys. Let’s do it one last time, though, and choose one weekly starter at each offensive fantasy position who will struggle to excel in Week 18.

I used stats from NFL.com and our FantasySP defensive fantasy rankings to help determine the toughest matchups. I will reference those numbers often.

Quarterback

Kyler Murray, Arizona Cardinals vs. San Francisco 49ers

Murray has played mostly back to his pre-injury form. He’s 178 yards from his second-highest career passing total, and his 7.1 yards per attempt are a hair better than his career number (and right at league average).

From a fantasy perspective, the best thing Murray has done is recapture his running prowess, something that isn’t guaranteed after a major knee injury. Murray is at his second-highest rushing yard total and tied for his second-most rushing touchdowns.

Murray is QB11 heading into the last week. He has consistently been a top-10 fantasy quarterback, and that’s a good way to think of him moving forward. Murray is likely to stay fantasy relevant as long as he runs the ball effectively.

The 49ers aren’t a good matchup, though. They have given up the fourth-least yards per pass attempt and seventh-fewest fantasy points per game to quarterbacks. Specific to Murray’s case, San Francisco has allowed the 10th-least rushing yards to QBs, lowering both his ceiling and his floor.

Murray will probably have at least an OK fantasy day. Last time these teams faced off, Murray had just 195 passing yards, but he added 83 rushing yards and a touchdown on the ground; that’s the upside. Play Murray with caution, though you might not have a better option.

Running Back

De'Von Achane, Miami Dolphins @ New York Jets

We know Achane’s upside. There’s no longer a need to debate if he can be a lead back, as Achane has stayed healthy and touched the ball 270 times. His 78 receptions, nearly 1,400 total yards, and 11 touchdowns have him in top-10 position in standard scoring and top five in PPR.

He finishes the season against a tough run defense in New York. The Jets have given up the fifth-least yards per rush attempt and eighth-least fantasy points per game to running backs. They succeed in limiting backs in the pass game, too, ranking in the top seven in least receptions, receiving yards, and receiving touchdowns allowed to the position.

Also against Achane’s interests is the fact that Tua Tagovailoa will miss this game. Tyler Huntley is a much better runner than Tagovailoa, and that will help open some lanes, but New York’s defense will be able to key on the running game early until the Dolphins prove they can throw the ball.

Achane is a must-start player, so owners aren’t sitting him in the final week of the season, but don’t be surprised if Miami’s running back has a modest performance in this one.

Wide Receiver

Davante Adams and Garrett Wilson, New York Jets vs. Miami Dolphins

It’s the last week, so why don’t we throw in an extra player, a little New Year’s bonus! Adams and Wilson might be playing their last game with Aaron Rodgers. The venerable QB is showing his age, averaging career lows or close to it in completion percentage (63%) and yards per pass attempt (6.6).

Wilson is over 1,000 yards and has seven touchdowns. Adams has only played 10 games, but he’s averaging 76.6 yards per game and has scored six times. They are both decent fantasy options many weeks, especially in the right matchups.

This isn’t one of those matchups. The Dolphins have allowed the second-fewest yards per pass attempt and fourth-least fantasy points to wide receivers. Tua not playing could set the defense back based on field position, but this unit is strong, especially against the pass.

Even if one of these guys has a good game, it’s unlikely both will excel. It’s hard to choose who will get the extra few receptions or find his way into the end zone, and that makes both players risky. I favor Wilson having the better game, but it’s close to a 50/50 proposition.

You will be able to find better matchups this week. Adams and Wilson have talent, but they are facing one of the toughest pass defenses around.

Tight End

Brock Bowers, Las Vegas Raiders vs. Los Angeles Chargers

Bowers is in the process of breaking rookie records as his first season comes to an end. Much like Sam LaPorta after his huge rookie year in 2023, we might be looking at Bowers as fantasy TE1 heading into next season, especially if the Raiders get a real quarterback.

Bowers has 108 catches, 1,144 yards, and four touchdowns. He is TE2 is standard scoring (behind only George Kittle) and TE1 in PPR. He’s doing all this while catching his passes from Aidan O'Connell, Gardner Minshew, and Desmond Ridder; what could he look like under the best conditions?

The Chargers have allowed the fifth-least yards per pass attempt and the fifth-least fantasy points per game to tight ends. They have given up the fewest points through 16 games, one touchdown better than the Chiefs.

These teams first played way back in Week 1: The rookie had a good debut, catching six passes for 58 yards. Those numbers aren’t too far from his season averages of 6.75 and 71.5, respectively. There is a history of the young tight end performing well against this team.

Week 1 was a long time ago, though, and LA has become one of the best defensive teams in the league. Bowers is also undoubtedly one of the best tight ends, but he has subpar quarterback play and is going against one of the toughest matchups around.