The first Week 18 in the history of Fantasy Football is a lot like Week 17 used to be, or Week 16 before that. More than 80% of leagues are over, but there's still plenty to discuss.
We'll break down DFS more in depth this week, and we'll start talking 2022. For those of you more interested in 2022, Jamey Eisenberg will have our early 2022 rankings published next week. For those of you interested in. beyond 2022, I'll have a full Dynasty update the week after that. And yes, for those of you playing Week 18, I have waiver wire adds below.
One thing the Week 18 rankings have in common with my 2022 rankings and my Dynasty quarterback rankings is that Josh Allen and Patrick Mahomes are first and second in both. Who ends up first is not something I'm really ready to commit to, at least in Dynasty. In Week 18 it's pretty clearly Allen because he faces the Jets and needs to win the game to win the division.
As for the future, there's a case to be made for each. For Allen, it's that he's been better this year and he was just as good as Mahomes last year. He also has more depth in his weapons, with Dawson Knox and Gabriel Davis emerging. And, of course, there are the rushing touchdowns.
The case for Mahomes is basically that he showed upside in 2018 that Allen hasn't matched. But 2018 is now four years ago. I do also think Mahomes is less of an injury risk and at least some of Allen's rushing production is likely to decline over the next five years. For that reason, I will likely still have Mahomes No. 1 in Dynasty even if I rank Allen is No. 1 in 2022.
If Lamar Jackson remains out, Huntley would be my favorite quarterback who is widely available. Just make sure Taysom Hill or Carson Wentz isn't out there.