Still playing fantasy football into Week 18? ClutchPoints has you covered with start-sit advice and the best choices for waiver-wire pickups. Also, it’s the last week of the 2024 season for defense rankings.
When the season started, the Baltimore Ravens didn’t get a lot of pub as a top defensive unit. But the Ravens have grown and matured into a force. And this week, thanks in a big way to a matchup against lowly Cleveland, the Ravens are the A-plus star unit for fantasy football purposes.
The Ravens finished No. 4 and No. 2 in Weeks 16 and 17, respectively, and will continue to carry teams to fantasy football championships.
Top Fantasy Football Picks

Everybody seems to be taking notice of the Ravens. Sure, Kansas City is also concerned about Buffalo, but the Ravens are at the top of the list. Just ask Ben Roethlisberger, according to a post on YouTube by Channel Seven via baltimoreravens.com. And the defense is a prime reason.
“You do not want to go play in Baltimore right now, with two MVP candidates in Lamar (Jackson) and (Derrick) Henry,” Roethlisberger said on his “Footbahlin with Ben Roethlisberger” podcast. “And that defense in Baltimore is starting to play. They were their Achilles heel earlier in the season. Now they're playing much better football. I'm telling you right now, the way Baltimore's playing, you don't want that.”
One of the reasons for the upgraded fantasy football performances has been the play of defensive Ar’Darius Washington, according to baltimorebeatdown.com writer Joshua Reed.
Reed wrote: “Washington's ascension into a full-time role next to Kyle Hamilton as deep safeties has coincided with the turnaround of the Ravens' pass defense. Washington began to take his game to an even higher level as of late, emerging as a playmaker who can generate clutch takeaways and big hits for key stops. Washington has recorded career highs in total tackles (60), tackles for loss (five) and pass breakups (seven) to go along with two interceptions, a forced fumble, a sack and two quarterback hits.”
The Browns offense is like a snail
Now factor in the atrocious Browns’ offense. Here are the point totals for the last three weeks: 7, 6, 3. That’s 16 points. How hideous is it? The Browns have barely scored enough points over their last three games to match their season average of 15.5
Add now they may turn to Bailey Zappe. Yep. Bad days. Head coach Kevin Stefanski said Zappe and Dorian Thompson-Robinson could both see playing time, according to clevelandbrowns.com.
“It's a great opportunity for me to go out there and play some football and get some film out there for people to watch,” Zappe said. “Hopefully it's good film. But I'm excited for the opportunity.”
Yep. Ravens feast.
Don't sleep on the Buccaneers as good unit
The other premier fantasy football defense resides in Tampa. The Buccaneers get a second-rate Saints offense, plus the motivation of earning a playoff berth.
Spencer Rattler will likely start at quarterback for the Saints, and that’s good news for the Buccaneers. In six games, Rattler has thrown five interceptions while being clobbered for 20 sacks. Yikes. Also, the Saints have averaged a Browns-esque 11 points in Rattler’s five starts.
Buccaneers head coach Todd Bowles said his team will be ready, according to a post on X by Rick Stroud.
“It won't be difficult. We've got to win a ballgame,” Bowles said. “If we don't win a ballgame, we don't give ourselves a chance. We've got to focus on ourselves like we've been doing and we've got to correct our mistakes.”
Other Standouts
In a normal world, the Denver Broncos would not be a safe play this week. They face the two-time defending Super Bowl champions. But the Chiefs have nothing to play for and will rest their starters. That means Carson Wentz behind center for the Chiefs with a coach, Andy Reid, who won’t change his offensive approach.
That’s good fantasy football news for the Broncos. And Denver recently has a stretch of four straight top-10 finishes.
However, another good pick is the Atlanta Falcons. They have a nice matchup against the lowly Panthers. The Falcons have been great at getting to the quarterback of late. They have at least four sacks in four of their last five games, and three in the other one. They should be able to harass Bryce Young and rack up fantasy football points.
Fantasy Football Sleepers
Also, it’s hard to trust defenses late in the season against a division rival without much on the line. Proceed with caution here as the Chargers are locked into the No. 6 spot if the Steelers beat the Bengals on Saturday. If the Chargers have something to play for, their defense is worth using.
With Dan Quinn proclaiming his team will go for a higher seed and not rest his starters in Week 18, the Commanders are worth a fantasy football flier against the Cowboys. Quinn said the Commanders will go hard, according to Sports Illustrated.
“I think the seeding portion of this is really important, and that's what we discussed as a team,” Quinn said. “We thought (against the Falcons) the vibe was awesome at the game. We thought we left some plays out there, and so for us that leveling up as we're heading into this week with Dallas would be really important. But we recognize having a six seed and going into the playoffs with that is a good thing. And so, we're going to fight like hell to keep that.”
Fantasy Football Week 18 Defense Rankings
1. Baltimore Ravens (BAL) vs. CLE
2. Tampa Bay Buccaneers (TB) vs. NO
3. Denver Broncos (DEN) vs. KC
4. Atlanta Falcons (ATL) vs. CAR
5. Los Angeles Chargers (LAC) @ LV
6. Washington Commanders (WAS)
7. Green Bay Packers (GB) vs. CHI
8. Philadelphia Eagles (PHI) vs. NYG
9. Miami Dolphins (MIA) @ NJY
10. Buffalo Bills (BUF) @ NE
11. Seattle Seahawks (SEA) @ LAR
12. Indianapolis Colts (IND) vs. JAC