The Fantasy Football Laboratory: Week 18 (2025)
Welcome to the Fantasy Football Laboratory here at Fantasy In Frames!
Welcome to the Fantasy Football Laboratory here at Fantasy In Frames! I’m no doctor nor a scientist in the traditional sense, but I love getting into the numbers and uncovering key insights to help you win your fantasy football leagues! Since we all are keeping our eyes on the prize, check out all the great content here at Fantasy In Frames, but each week, make a quick stop to the lab to check out some of this week’s case studies. Today, we are going to take a deep look at why Luke McCaffrey should be on your offseason wish list.
Case Study: Trade for Luke McCaffrey This Offseason
Wait.. Why? Why would I trade for a guy who in 16 games this season has caught just 18 of 24 targets for 168 yards? He’s averaging 1.1 receptions and 10.5 yards per game… Here’s why.
Take a look at some rankings for McCaffrey on the year amongst wideouts who have run at least 175 routes through the first 17 weeks of the season, per Fantasy Points’ Data Suite:
| McCaffrey | Rank | |
| Average Separation Score | 0.141 | 17th |
| Percent of graded routes to earn a negative grade | 5.0% | 2nd-lowest |
The guy can get open, and he just needs to take advantage of the opportunity, and continue to build a rapport with Jayden Daniels. Now, the opportunity could be there, because…
Going into 2025, Terry McLaurin and McCaffrey are the only wide receivers under contract. Dyami Brown, K.J. Osborn, Jamison Crowder, Olamide Zaccheaus, and Noah Brown are all free agents after this season. Yes, Washington is going to add to the receiver room in the offseason, but McCaffrey can be the starting slot receiver for this team in 2025, and in fact, that should be the team’s plan.
Other managers in your league are going to be disappointed about McCaffrey’s regular season, so throw a late round pick their way and take a chance on McCaffrey.
Other Notable Observations Around the NFL (courtesy of Pro Football Focus, Pro Football Reference, and Fantasy Points Data Suite)
- Of wide receivers with at least 100 routes run this season, here are some notable rankings in terms of win rate: Romeo Doubs (3rd), Dontayvion Wicks (4th), Adonai Mitchell (8th), and Rashod Bateman (18th).
- Over the last six weeks, Rico Dowdle is one of just five running backs to average over 100 rushing yards per game.
- Over the last six weeks here is the list of wide receivers with at least 40 percent of their team’s air yards and a 30+ percent target share: A.J. Brown, Brian Thomas Jr., Malik Nabers
- In Weeks 15-17, here are some notable rankings for QBs in fantasy points per dropback with at least 50 pass attempts: Bryce Young (8th), Drake Maye (13th), Kyler Murray (21st), and C.J. Stroud (25th)
Cookin’ Up Something For Week 18
While we do a good bit of looking back while in the lab, we’ll also do a very, very brief look ahead to the upcoming week to help you as you head into the week ahead. After crunching some numbers, I’m here to say:
John Metchie will lead the Texans in receiving yards in Week 18. The starters are only going to play a handful of series, and Metchie could be featured in this game to build some confidence heading into the playoffs. He’s got a good matchup out of the slot against Tennessee’s Roger McCreary, and Davis Mills loves to throw it short of the sticks. Metchie will effectively be the featured wideout once Nico Collins is removed from the game, so he’s my favorite Houston receiver in this game that Houston is likely treating as a preseason game.