In fantasy football, there are oftentimes players that go overlooked heading into a week of games. Sleepers are left on benches every single week, but sometimes that “big game from out of nowhere” could have been easily predicted and utilized in starting lineups. In this piece, I’ll be tiering and listing some of the sleepers I’ve identified ahead of Week 18 of the 2023 fantasy football season. If they’re on your bench, feel comfortable playing them over a starter with a worse outlook for Week 18. There’s also a chance they could be on the waiver wire, so snatch them up if you’re in need of their services. At this stage of the season, it’s hard to have the gall to bench consistent starters, so I’ll focus more on the scarcely-available positions, TE and QB, for championship week.

I’ll be looking at players rostered in at least 50% of Yahoo! leagues and tier them in descending order of their percentage started on fantasy teams. In other words: the further down the list, the deeper the sleeper for Week 18’s matchups. Interested in a defense to stream for your Week 18 championship? Check out the link below for Arnold’s take on which defenses to trust with everything on the line in the final year of the NFL regular season.

Related Article: Week 18 Defenses

Tier One: Started in >50% of fantasy leagues

QB Jordan Love – Green Bay Packers (81% rostered / 44% started)

Jordan Love is among the more attractive QB options in Week 18, simply because he’s been among the hotter fantasy QBs in recent weeks and still has something worth playing for in Week 18. The Packers find themselves among the “win, and they’re in” crowd, so they have all the reason in the world to try and smother their lesser division rivals, the Chicago Bears. Chicago has surrendered the ninth-most fantasy points to opposing quarterbacks on the season, so Love has a good shot to light up the Bears as the Packers look to lock in a playoff berth.

RB Zamir White – Las Vegas Raiders (60% rostered / 38% started)

Zamir White has been on a tear over the last few weeks, with 2023 rushing champion Josh Jacobs absent for a few games as he works through a quad injury. Now, the Raiders go into the season finale with their playoffs hopes completely shattered, and Jacobs has nothing to push to play for after accepting the franchise tag reluctantly to start the year. Jacobs hasn’t played in three weeks, but he still hasn’t even logged a limited return to practice participation as of Thursday. Jacobs’s season was over before we ever knew it, and Zamir White will get one last audition for the Raiders before the end of the 2023 season. He gets a date with the Broncos in Week 18, who allow the second-most fantasy points to opposing RBs on the year.

TE Dalton Kincaid – Buffalo Bills (80% rostered / 35% started)

Dalton Kincaid had his best game in a hot minute in Week 17, catching 4-of-7 targets for 87 yards in the Week 17 win vs. the Patriots. Now, the Bills are playing for the AFC East in a Sunday Night Football showdown with the Miami Dolphins to cap off the NFL regular season. The matchup with the Dolphins is one that always possesses shootout potential, but regardless is a good matchup for the rookie tight end. Miami surrenders the 10th-most fantasy points to opposing tight ends on the season, and fantasy managers can do a lot worse than looking for points out of Kincaid in this spot.

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