Fantasy Football Week 18 Waiver Wire: Alec Pierce And More Top Free-Agent Targets

The end of the 2024 NFL regular season is upon us, and with it will come the conclusion of the fantasy football campaign for the leagues that have yet to crown a champion.

If you participate in a fantasy format that spans the entire season and have battled through the playoffs to reach the final game, it's now critical to review your starting lineup. It's imperative to identify players who may not suit up or play meaningful snaps and make necessary adjustments ahead of an action-packed Week 18 slate.

Managers must be aware that several high-profile fantasy standouts are likely to see the field sparingly, if at all, on Sunday. Several star-studded teams—notably the Kansas City Chiefs and Buffalo Bills—are locked into their playoff seeding and have nothing left to play for. Expect these squads to capitalize on the situation by resting starters ahead of a grueling postseason slate.

While the tactic may help a team in its quest to win a Super Bowl, it certainly won't endear a club to fantasy managers still competing for a championship of their own. Keep that in mind when making Week 18 waiver wire claims, as potential replacements found on teams that aren't projected to hold anyone out will be at a premium.

With that in mind, here is one viable free-agent option at each position who you can count on to lead you to fantasy football glory.

Fantasy points and rankings courtesy of FantasyPros' PPR data taken prior to this week's Monday Night Football matchup. Fantasy points against stats courtesy of Pro Football Reference. Suggested free-agent acquisition budget (FAAB) bids are based on a $100 dollar starting budget, although don't shy away from going all-in to secure a player with your season on the line.

Suggested FAAB Bid: $2-4

Russell Wilson may have had an up-and-down season with the Pittsburgh Steelers, but the veteran quarterback has led his side to a playoff berth and still has a chance to improve the team's seeding despite a tough Christmas Day loss.

Wilson went through some lean weeks without George Pickens in the lineup, but the team's top wideout returned to action in time for a Week 17 clash with the Kansas City Chiefs. Although Pickens was held to a mere three catches for 50 yards in the contest, his presence opened things up for Pittsburgh's offense and allowed Wilson to put up a respectable 18.7 fantasy points—the QB's most productive outing of the past month.

Expect Wilson to build on that QB12 performance in the regular-season finale. He has a fortunately-timed rematch with the Cincinnati Bengals—a team Wilson posted season-high numbers against—to close out the campaign and could eclipse his impressive marks from the first meeting.

Wilson carved up Cincinnati's defense back in Week 13, completing 21-of-28 throws for 414 yards and a trio of touchdowns. His 27.9 fantasy points were his most since signing with the Steelers and his QB4 ranking was his second-best of 2024, narrowly trailing a QB3 finish in his Week 7 debut.

Although Cincinnati is still in the playoff hunt after notching a key overtime victory in Week 17, the team's defense has remained highly suspect. The unit allows an average of 19.4 fantasy points to opposing QBs—the fifth-most in the league—and just gave up a trio of passing touchdowns to rookie signal-caller Bo Nix on Saturday.

If you have been leaning on Patrick Mahomes or Josh Allen this year, don't be afraid to bench them and turn to Wilson in Week 18. Given the stakes and soft matchup, he's a shoo-in to finish as a top-10 QB with clear top-five upside.

Suggested FAAB Bid: $4-6

Although Jaleel McLaughlin's 2024 numbers aren't too impressive, he's looked like the Denver Broncos' best running back since the calendar flipped to December. Inconsistent playing time and a recent injury have kept the second-year talent from taking over the backfield, but that could change as soon as Week 18.

After missing Week 16 with a quad injury, McLaughlin returned to action on Saturday to face the Cincinnati Bengals. While he wasn't able to help his team lock up a playoff berth, McLaughlin did rush for 69 yards on a meager 10 carries and secured both his targets for an additional seven yards.

Those efforts resulted in 9.6 fantasy points and an RB22 finish, McLaughlin's best ranking of the season thus far. He's now well-positioned to close out 2024 by tallying a double-digit number of points and potentially even earning his first top-10 finish since Week 5 of last year.

While McLaughlin still had to share time with both Audric Estime and Javonte Williams, the second-year back was far more efficient against Cincinnati than his backfield mates.

Williams led the platoon with 30 offensive snaps but was a non-factor in the rushing attack and failed to gain a single yard on his two catches. Estime was on the field for 18 offensive plays—four more than McLaughlin—but mustered a meager 24 yards on his nine totes.

With McLaughlin averaging around 5.7 yards per carry over his last four appearances—two yards more than Estime and nearly four yards more than Williams in that same span—it's abundantly clear which of Denver's backs deserves the lion's share of work going forward.

Considering the Broncos cannot afford to lose for a third straight week with both the Bengals and the Miami Dolphins lurking just behind in the standings, head coach Sean Payton should opt to ride the hot hand in Week 18. McLaughlin should be able to do real damage with a playoff berth on the line against the Kansas City Chiefs, an opponent that has already clinched the AFC's top seed and is likely to trot out a ragtag group of backups for the matchup.

Suggested FAAB Bid: $8-11

The Indianapolis Colts' faint hopes of reaching the playoffs went up in smoke after suffering a disheartening defeat at the hands of the lowly New York Giants. While the team now has little more than pride left to play for, the Colts can still earn a morale-boosting victory over the lowly Jacksonville Jaguars in Week 18.

One player who should be prominently involved is Alec Pierce, whose third NFL season was inconsistent but looks poised to end on a high note. The field-stretching wideout displayed a strong rapport with quarterback Joe Flacco this past weekend as the battery connected six times on nine targets for 122 yards and a score.

It was a promising showing from Pierce, who started 2024 hot—notching a trio of top-20 finishes over the first five weeks—but cooled significantly following that initial surge. The receiver posted just a single WR38 or better finish between Weeks 6 and 16 before busting back out with a season-high 24.2-fantasy point performance on Sunday.

Pierce is a good bet to finish as a top-10 wideout for the second consecutive week thanks to an extremely favorable matchup against Jacksonville's sieve-like defense. The Jags have struggled to limit the opposition's passing attack, allowing 23.7 fantasy points—the fifth-most in football—to wideouts in 2024.

It's worth noting that Pierce already gashed the Jags for 134 yards and a score on just three catches back in Week 5, a dazzling offensive outburst that occurred during Flacco's first start of the season. Given the likelihood that the veteran signal-caller will remain under center in Week 18 while Richardson recovers from a back injury, the stars have aligned for Pierce to have another phenomenal showing.

Consider Pierce an ideal fill-in for any fantasy team needing a boost at the receiver position. He has championship-winning upside and a safe floor with Flacco under center.

Suggested FAAB Bid: $3-5

The Cincinnati Bengals just picked up a massive win over the Denver Broncos, a victory spurred on by a rather unlikely performance from inconsistent tight end Mike Gesicki.

Coming off their Week 12 bye, the Bengals appeared to have phased Gesicki out of their plans. The veteran was sparsely utilized in the four games that followed and failed to draw more than five targets in any of those contests, seeing just 14 looks in total during that span. .

That slow stretch made it all the more shocking that Cincy leaned heavily on the pass-catching tight end to save their season in Week 17. Gesicki was prominently featured throughout the team's 30-24 overtime victory and finished the contest with 10 catches on 12 targets for 86 yards.

Gesicki's performance was good for 18.6 fantasy points—his second-highest total of 2024—and a TE5 finish, marking his third top-five placement since signing with the Bengals this past offseason.

While it's far from a guarantee that Gesicki will continue to see heavy volume when Cincinnati takes on the Pittsburgh Steelers to close out the 2024 campaign, managers won't find a better free-agent tight end to roll the dice on in Week 18.

Gesicki will square off with the Steelers at an opportune time, as their defense has been struggling to contain tight ends in recent weeks. Travis Kelce notably racked up 84 yards and a score on his eight receptions against Pittsburgh's defense, a unit that allowed both Mark Andrews and Isaiah Likely to haul in touchdowns the prior week.

Don't be afraid to deploy Gesicki in Week 18, as he has plenty of upside against a defense that concedes an average of 8.0 fantasy points to his position—tied for the ninth-most in the league—especially with a red-hot Joe Burrow (who is averaging over 330 yards and nearly 3.5 touchdowns in his last eight starts) under center.