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Week 18 DraftKings Cash-Game Picks

By Jared Smola 9:55pm EST 1/6/23

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This is the trickiest cash-game slate of the season, with a couple of teams (Giants, Bucs) likely to rest starters, a couple more teams (Vikings, Chargers) potentially resting or pulling starters early and a bunch more teams with nothing to play for.

These are the 10 teams we know will be playing all-out to win on Sunday:

Eagles
49ers
Bills
Bengals
Seahawks
Cowboys
Steelers
Dolphins
Patriots
Ravens

Focus on those 10 teams when building your cash-game lineup this week.

QB

Joe Burrow, Bengals ($7,300)

The Bengals have been the league’s pass-heaviest offense by a significant margin over the past 5 weeks. Expect that to continue on Sunday vs. the Ravens, who have been tougher against the run than the pass all season.

Burrow disappointed with a 217-1-1 passing line vs. Baltimore earlier this season. WR Tee Higgins was limited to just 10 snaps in that one, though. And in 2 meetings with the Ravens in 2021, Burrow exploded for 416-3-1 and 525-4-0 lines.

Also consider: Dak Prescott ($6,600), Geno Smith ($6,000), Brock Purdy ($5,700)

RBs

Ken Walker, Seahawks ($6,400)

The Seahawks have fed Walker 26 and 23 carries the past 2 weeks. With their season on the line, expect another big workload for the rookie on Sunday.

Walker gets a Rams defense that’ll again be without stud DL Aaron Donald. With Donald out the past 5 weeks, the Rams rank 26th in Football Outsiders’ run defense DVOA and have coughed up 4.7 yards per carry to RBs.

Cam Akers, Rams ($6,200)

Akers has emerged as a workhorse down the stretch. He’s registered a 75+% snap rate and 60+% route rate in 3 straight, totaling 54 carries and 7 targets over that span. Akers ranks 13th among RBs in expected PPR points per game over the last 3 and has tallied 13.0, 37.7 and 17.3 DK points.

Akers wraps up his season in a plus matchup against the Seahawks, who rank 28th in Football Outsiders’ run defense DVOA over the last 5 weeks and 28th in adjusted fantasy points allowed to RBs on the season.

Najee Harris, Steelers ($6,100)

Looking healthier than he has all season, Harris has racked up 62 carries and 12 targets over the past 3 weeks. Only 3 RBs have tallied more expected PPR points over that span. Harris has turned that volume into 14.6, 15.5 and 23.3 DK points.

Harris’ Steelers need to win to keep their playoff hopes alive and get a bad Browns run defense that ranks 29th in adjusted fantasy points allowed to RBs.

Also consider: Miles Sanders ($5,900), Tyler Allgeier ($5,600), Zack Moss ($5,200), Jonathan Williams ($4,300)

WRs

D.K. Metcalf, Seahawks ($6,700)

Metcalf is coming off a 1.3-point dud vs. a tough Jets secondary. He’d averaged 17.6 points on 9.5 targets over his previous 8 games, though – a stretch that included a big 29.7-pointer vs. the Rams

Metcalf is a strong target bet in Sunday’s rematch, especially with WR Tyler Lockett dealing with shin and finger injuries.

Garrett Wilson, Seahawks ($5,800)

Wilson dudded with a 3-11 line against a tough Seahawks WR defense last week. But he saw another 11 targets, giving him 10.2 per game over his last 5.

Joe Flacco will be back under center for the Jets this weekend – which should at least be an upgrade over the banged-up version of Mike White we saw last week.

Wilson posted the following lines in Flacco's 3 starts to open the season:

4-52-0 (8 targets)

8-102-2 (14 targets)

6-60-0 (11 targets)

Wilson drew 21% of Jets targets across those 3 games, despite running a route on just 64% of pass plays. He’s been at 90+% of the routes in each of his last 9 games.

Drake London, Falcons ($4,900)

London posted a 5-47 line for 9.7 DK points last week. But he saw another 8 targets, bringing him to 28 total on a 33% share from QB Desmond Ridder over the past 3 weeks.

London gets a Bucs defense on Sunday with nothing to play for. DT Vita Vea, DE Carl Nassib, CB Carlton Davis and S Logan Ryan have already been ruled out – and it’s likely a bunch more defensive starters are held out or pulled early.

Also consider: Jakobi Meyers ($5,100), Greg Dortch ($3,800)

TEs

Hayden Hurst, Bengals ($3,100)

Although no longer official stats, Hurst caught 2 balls for 25 yards early in last week’s game vs. the Bills – his first since injuring his calf in Week 13.

He’s been a steady floor option this season, catching 4+ balls in 7 of 10 healthy games. That includes a 6-53-1 line in Week 5 against the Ravens, who rank a middling 16th in adjusted fantasy points allowed to TEs.

Also consider: Pat Freiermuth ($3,800)

DST

Vikings ($2,900)

The Vikings get Bears backup QB Nathan Peterman, who has impressively managed to toss 13 INTs on 141 career pass attempts. Assuming 35 pass attempts in a game, Peterman has thrown the equivalent of 4 INTs per game.

Also consider: Jets ($2,600)