Fantasy Football Outlook: D’Andre Swift, Kyler Murray, Jaxon Smith-Njigba, CeeDee Lamb (Week 18)

Every week we’ll bring you The Primer, a deep dive into every fantasy-relevant player from every NFL game of the week. You can find the full weekly Primer here. Below we dive into a few notable players ahead of this weekend’s games.

Fantasy Football Outlook

D’Andre Swift: Swift is again a viable GPP play this week, but only in MME or large field. His production has been spotty lately. His 20 carries and 92 rushing-yard outing against the Giants last time was his best in a while. Swift has only one rushing touchdown over his last six games. In that same span, he hasn’t had more than seven receiving yards in any game. Since Week 12, he has averaged 14.7 touches and 62.6 total yards. Among 65 qualifying backs, he ranks 42nd in missed tackles forced per attempt and 50th in yards after contact per attempt. It has not been pretty for Swift lately after a hot start to the season. Hopefully, he can bounce back this week. Since Week 12, the Giants have allowed the 10th-most rushing yards per game, the sixth-highest explosive run rate, and the 11th-highest yards after contact per attempt.

Kyler Murray: Murray has finished with at least 20 fantasy points in four of his seven starts. He ranks seventh in rushing yards and red zone carries per game, which has helped his fantasy output immensely. Murray has struggled since his return as a passer. Among 48 qualifying signal callers, Murray ranks 34th in yards per attempt, 25th in passer rating, 42nd in CPOE, and 32nd in highly accurate throw rate. Seattle has displayed more pliability as a pass defense in recent weeks. Since Week 12, they have allowed the 14th-most passing yards per game, the sixth-highest yards per attempt, and the ninth-highest passer rating.

Jaxon Smith-Njigba: Smith-Njigba has taken more of the receiving workload over the back half of the season with at least 12.1 fantasy points in three of his last five games. He has four red zone targets across his last six games. Since Week 12, Arizona has had the second-highest rate of two high (70%). Since Week 8, against two high, Smith-Njigba has had a 19.9% target share, 1.67 YPRR, and a 23.4% first-read share (second on the team behind only Lockett). If you’re doubling Chef Geno this week, Walker and Smith-Njigba are the targets.

CeeDee Lamb: Lamb is the WR2 in fantasy and has been balling. He ranks first in receptions, second in receiving yards and total touchdowns, and sixth in yards after the catch. Since Week 12, Washington has had the fourth-highest rate of two high (63.1%). Since Week 8, against two high, Lamb has had a 29.8% target share, a 39.7% air-yard share, 2.56 YPRR, and a 37.4% first-read share. Washington does not have a corner on their roster that can contain Lamb.