Devin Singletary or Jaylen Warren: Who should I start in Week 18 Fantasy Football?

Devin Singletary and Jaylen Warren have both seen their fantasy football value increase during the course of the 2023 NFL season. They both opened the year as the RB2 on their NFL rosters, but have been productive enough to earn a larger offensive role. This has helped them to emerge as solid contributors in fantasy football, combining to finish among the top 25 running backs 16 times this year.

Many managers may be debating which of the two running backs to use in their Week 18 lineups. Both of them play their games on the two-game Saturday slate this week, so this decision could have a major impact on getting off to a good start or not for the final round of the fantasy playoffs. The following breakdown can help.

Is Devin Singletary a good fantasy pick in Week 18?

Devin Singletary

The Houston Texans signed Devin Singletary ahead of the 2023 NFL season to initially serve as their RB2 behind Dameon Pierce. Their roles have clearly flipped as the year has gone on, with Singletary now serving as the featured back and dominating the backfield workload.

Since being promoted to an elevated role in their offense in Week 10, Singletary has averaged 19 touches and 97 yards per game for the Texans. He has now ranked among the top 25 fantasy football running backs in six of his past eight games, including three finishes among the top ten in pointes per reception(PPR) leagues.

Up next for Singletary is a Week 18 matchup against the Indianapolis Colts. Their rushing defense has struggled all season long, allowing the fifth-most fantasy points per game to the position. This gives him a favorable matchup this week, especially considering his reliable volume over the past two months.

Is Jaylen Warren a good fantasy pick in Week 18?

Jaylen Warren

The Pittsburgh Steelers have been inconsistent in distrubuting their backfield workload this year, but Jaylen Warren has been able to maintain a steady role. He has exceeded ten touches in 13 of his 16 games this season, despite taking a backseat to Najee Harris at times. Warren has consistently been more efficient and explosive than Harris, earning him a larger role in recent weeks.

All five of Warren's games with double-digit carries have come in the second half of the 2023 fantasy football season, as well as all four of his games with 15 or more total touches. This has resulted in nine fnishes among the top 25 running backs in PPR leagues this year, including in two of his past three games.

Warren has an interesting matchup in Week 18 due to the circumstances. The Baltimore Ravens have announced that they will be resting some of their starters after already clinching the number-one overall seed in the AFC for the upcoming NFL Playoffs.

The Steelers are in a must-win situation, or they will be eliminated from postseason contention. The Ravens are usually one of the best in the NFL in defending fantasy football running backs, but their situation may provide a favorable matchup for Warren this week.

Devin Singletary vs. Jaylen Warren: Who should I start in Week 18 fantasy football?

Singletary vs Warren

According to the Start/Sit Optimizer, Devin Singletary makes for a better running back option than Jaylen Warren in Week 18 fantasy football lineups. This valuable tool weighs every possible variable for any player in a given week to generate fantasy projections and lineup suggestions. In this particular scenario, it favors Singletary for a higher output.

The Optimizer favors the Texans running back by a narrow margin, despite Warren being projected to be more involved as a receiver out of the backfield. Singletary's touchdown probability is one of the biggest reasons for his superior projections, as as the Steelers prefer using Najee Harris at the goalline.

The Colts have also proven to be a weak defense against fantasy football running backs, although it's unclear what this version of the Ravens will provide with many backups getting extended playing time. While it could be favorable for Warren, that isn't enough for him to surpass Singletary as the preferred Week 18 lineup option.