ASK THE EXPERTS appears weekly from training camp through the Super Bowl with answers to a new question being posted Thursday morning. How the guest experts responded when we asked them: Which nobody will be somebody in Week 18?
DAVID DOREY
I would like to say Will Shipley, at home, against the No. 29 run defense of the Giants should be a surprise, but he's out with a concussion and may not make it back in time. I'd like to say Trey Benson, since James Conner finally had his annual injury, but Benson is on IR with an ankle injury. So I'll land at Ray Davis, rookie running back for the Bills. They have won the AFC East and are locked into being the No. 2 seed so can take Week 18 easy. They play at the Patriots who need to tank to keep the No. 1 draft pick and there's no reason to open James Cook up to any possible injury. Ray Davis should happen against the No. 25 defense versus running backs.
Dorey co-founded The Huddle.com in 1997. He's ranked every player and projected every game for the last 26 years and is the author of Fantasy Football: The Next Level. David has appeared on numerous radio, television, newspaper and magazines over the last two decades.
SAM HENDRICKS
In the spirit of the holidays and giving I will present a full lineup of lesser backups who might just shine this week. Joshua Dobbs, S.F.: he has done it before and has a talented crew to throw to. Michael Carter, Ari.: New job audition. Blake Corum, LAR: Love his potential and as lead dog who knows. Olamide Zaccheaus, Was.: Just love his name. Tutu Atwell, LAR: Shown flashes of brilliance previously. Jordan Atkins, Cle.: No reason just generous. Happy 2025!
Hendricks is the author of Fantasy Football Guidebook, Fantasy Football Tips and Fantasy Football Basics, all available at ExtraPointPress.com, at all major bookstores, and at Amazon and BN.com. He is a 30-year fantasy football veteran who participated in the National Fantasy Football Championship (NFFC) and finished 7th and 16th overall in the 2008 and 2009 Fantasy Football Players Championship (FFPC). He won the Fantasy Index Open in 2013 and 2018.
JASON WOOD
Tanner McKee threw two touchdowns in late game action this week against the Cowboys. With the Eagles locked into the No. 2 seed, there’s no reason to bring Jalen Hurts back. Saquon Barkley is 101 yards shy of the rushing record, but he'll be held out, making the running game unlikely to do much. I expect the Eagles to try and put up points with McKee.
Wood is Senior Editor at Footballguys.com and has been with the company since its start in 2000. For more than 20 years, Footballguys has provided rankings, projections, and analysis to help fantasy managers dominate their leagues.
ANDY RICHARDSON
Motivation is important this week; I want no part of teams with nothing to play for, especially star players from those teams who might be held out to protect them from injury. But the Bengals have an outside chance at the playoffs, and Chase Brown isn't practicing, so Khalil Herbert might be a starting, full-time running back in Joe Burrow's offense. I'm very cool on the New Orleans offense in Tampa Bay, but assuming Kendre Miller isn't cleared from his concussion, Clyde Edwards-Helaire could play fairly close to full-time and (while not having much success running the ball) catch 5-6 passes for 30-40 yards, perhaps scoring in the latter stages of Tampa Bay's double-digit win. (CEH has something to play for: an NFL job in 2025.) Finally, I like Tyler Allgeier to get an extra amount of work in Atlanta's game against Carolina's league-worst (by a wide margin) run defense. Allgeier rushed for 105 yards and a touchdown in the earlier meeting, and I expect Bijan to get an early seat once the Falcons have a big lead, or once the Bucs have a big lead against New Orleans (since that will eliminate Atlanta from the playoffs).
Richardson has been a contributing writer and editor to the Fantasy Football Index magazine and www.fantasyindex.com since 2002. His responsibilities include team defense and IDP projections and various site features, and he has run the magazine's annual experts draft and auction leagues since their inception. He writes a weekly gambling newsletter, Index Bets, during the NFL season and also previews all the games on Saturdays and writes a wrap-up column on Mondays.