“Buy or Bye”™ – Daily Fantasy Football Plays for Week 18 2023 Cash Games

January 6, 2024

By Ha Kung Wong

In 2022, we were over 70% for cash lineups again and we’re back with more Daily Fantasy Football advice for Cash Games for Week 18 of the 2023 season!

You’re welcome.

As usual, before we get to winning you more bragging rights (and DFS cash), remember, the point of this article is not just to give you one or two lineups for each site, it’s to give you examples of a few POSSIBLE lineups. Getting exposure to a few different lineups is always a good idea, so don’t forget to mix and match additional lineups from my suggestions below. Trust me, it’s a lot more fun that way AND you’ll improve your chances of cashing!

And as we did last year, we’re also adding our top two player prop picks to help you win even MORE money!

Let’s get to winning you some CASH in Week 18 of the 2023 NFL season!

Cash Games, for those who don’t know, are essentially the lowest risk games. They include “50/50” games, in which half the entrants win about 1.8x the entry fee, and “Double Ups”, in which slightly less than half the entrants win 2x the entry fee.

Since there’s so many different sites, and I can’t cover them all, I’ve decided to cover just the most popular sites, including Fan Duel, Draft Kings and Yahoo! Daily Fantasy.

First of all, as a general rule for 50/50 Cash Games, there’s a basic target of points per salary cap spent that you’d like to look for:

For Fan Duel try to target at least 2 fantasy points per $1000 spent.
For Draft Kings, try to target at least 2.5 fantasy points per $1000 spent.
For Yahoo! Daily Fantasy, try to target at least 0.6-0.7 fantasy points per $1 spent.

Remember, this article is not focused on GPP (Tournament) Games, JUST Cash Games. Feel free to use a few of these suggested players as a base when constructing a GPP lineup, but you’ll have to take some chances on a few low cost, upside players as well.

As per usual, I’m going to provide you with a few sample lineups on each site and give you a few notes to consider. You’re welcome.

So, without further to do, here are my suggestions for the Best Daily Fantasy Football Plays for Cash Games and player props for Week 18 contests, along with they’re prices.

FanDuel

Draft Kings

Yahoo! DFS

Game Notes:

For those new to this column, note that I never advocate against you paying up at any particular position for DFS. We all know that the likes of Patrick Mahomes and Christian McCaffrey are probably going to have the most consistent upside in terms of potential fantasy points from week to week. But remember that DFS is a salary cap game. You can feel free to sprinkle high priced players into your lineups, but you can’t pay up at every position because there’s simply not enough salary to go around. I try my best each week to provide my thoughts on how you might want to balance your cash lineups in terms of points potential and salary.
My approach to DFS in Week 18 is to pay up for a at least one high end RB and at least one high end WR to anchor your team and fill up on value for the rest. I’m also taking two different approaches at QB, either paying way up or paying way down and building around that.
“Free Square of the Week”™ is Zamir White. Josh Jacobs has been ruled out again for Week 18, so I’d expect the Raiders offense to run through White for another week this time against the Broncos and their 31st ranked run defense. White had 69 rush yards on 17 carries and a rushing TD along with 3 receptions for 16 receiving yards in Week 15 followed up by 145 rush yards on 22 carries in Week 16, and then 71 rush yards on 20 carries along with 35 receiving yards on 5 receptions in Week 17. Week 18 should be no different. He’s priced down across industry, so lock him in and enjoy the extra cap space.
- Honorable mention for “Free Square of the Week”™️ is Jordan Mason, who should get the lion’s share of the carries for the 49ers with Christian McCaffery out and most of the starters resting since the 49ers have the 1-Seed locked in.
The Dallas Cowboys vs. Washington Commanders game has the highest over/under of the weekend slate (47.5) and a spread of -13.5 so I’m in on particular skill players on both sides. The Commanders have the WORST ranked defense this season, so I see big time opportunity all over the Cowboys skill players, including CeeDee Lamb, Dak Prescott, and Tony Pollard, in that order. The Commanders have allowed the most fantasy points to QBs this season and they allow passing TDs at the highest rate in the NFL. Since trading Montez Sweat, Washington ranks 31st in pressure rate and have allowed at least 28 points in 6 straight games, so there’s plenty of opportunity for the Cowboys passing offense. The 49ers defense is 5th against the pass, but 20th against the run, so there’s some potential there for Brian Robinson Jr., but I’m probably fading them.
The Philadelphia Eagles vs. New York Giants game has an over/under of the weekend slate (41.5) and a spread of -5.5 with questionable defenses on both sides, the Eagles being just 28th against the pass and the Giants being just 20th against the pass. In terms of value, it’s hard to beat Tyrod Taylor and his top target Darius Slayton. Taylor had 319 passing yards, a passing TD and 40 rush yards in Week 17. I’d expect to have to as much just to keep pace with the Eagles this weekend and he’s got essentially the minimum price tag across industry. Slayton has quietly been a monster and his price is just not keeping up. He’s had back-to-back weeks with at least 90 yards and a TD. With that extra cap space, I’m a fan of several Eagles including AJ Brown, D’Andre Swift and Jalen Hurts. The Eagles can still get the 2-Seed if they win and the Cowboys lose, so you can bet the Eagles won’t be limiting any of their skill players.
Rachaad White has been incredibly solid in the rushing a receiving game during the second half of the season. Prior to Week 17, White had at least 77 total yards and a TD in 4 straight weeks. He now gets to face the Carolina Panthers and their 23rd ranked run defense, whom the last time he faced he tallied 84 rush yards and a TD.
Greg Dortch quietly has been on the rise over the last 2 weeks. He had 2 receptions for 45 yards and TD in Week 16 and 7 receptions for 82 yards in Week 17. Marquise Brown is out on IR, so Dortch should remain involved in Week 18 against the Seahawks 19th ranked pass defense. Trey McBride is also a solid play this week against the Seahawks, as he’s been on a heater since Zach Ertz was injured back in late October, averaging just over 70 yards on 7 receptions from 9 targets per game since then.
Who needs Luke Musgrave when you have Tucker Kraft? Over the last 5 games, Kraft has averaged 53.2 yards on 4.2 receptions from 5.6 targets. He’s priced entirely too low across industry, so I like getting the cap savings.
On defense, I love taking value and paying down, which means I like the Los Angeles Rams Defense at a very discounted price facing a 49ers team that’s resting all its starters.