Fantasy Football Week 18 Waiver Wire: Top QB, RB, WR and TE pickups feat. Elijah Mitchell and more

The purpose of a waiver-wire column at this point of the season is either to add a player who can help you win your fantasy championship this week or block your opponent from trying to do the same. There is no more looking ahead.

Week 18 is a different animal, however, as teams like the 49ers and Ravens will play their starters limited snaps - if they play at all - while teams that have already been eliminated from playoff consideration will typically roll with younger players to see what they have in them before they head into the offseason. One thing is certain this week: uncertainty.

The players listed below are available in at least 75 percent of ESPN leagues and have a realistic chance of helping you secure a league championship:

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Fantasy Football Week 18 Waiver Wire Pickups: Quarterbacks

New York Giants v Philadelphia Eagles

Tyrod Taylor, Giants

Week 17 game log: 319 passing yards, one touchdown and one interception; six carries for 40 yards

Taylor is one of very few quarterbacks who has enough of a track record to start in fantasy with some level of confidence this weekend and meets the ownership threshold mentioned above. Assuming he starts over Tommy DeVito again this week, Taylor should be trusted to play the entire game after doing so last week against the Rams. In that contest, he kept a Giants team with little to play for in the game against one of the hottest teams in the league.

While the Eagles can be expected to play their starters as long as they know they have a shot to win the NFC East (in the unlikely event the Cowboys stub their toe against the Commanders), we have already seen Taylor produce on limited snaps in Week 16. Philadelphia has been shredded by opposing passing attacks all season long and there is little reason to think that will change in the regular-season finale.

ESPN ownership: 1.8 percent

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Fantasy Football Week 18 Waiver Wire Pickups: Running Backs

Elijah Mitchell, 49ers

Week 17 game log: 17 carries for 80 yards and a touchdown

Christian McCaffrey probably was not going to play much - if at all - in Week 18 anyway, but a minor calf strain in the third quarter of San Francisco's Week 17 win guaranteed it would not happen. Despite how well Jordan Mason has played in spots this season, Mitchell remains the preferred backup to McCaffrey and showed why with his best performance of the season over the Commanders. With that said, the 49ers could also easily decide to limit Mitchell's touches ahead of what they hope is a long playoff run and ride Mason hard this weekend.

The Rams have been very stingy against running backs this season, but they are another team with very little to play for (locked into a No. 6 or No. 7 seed) that may rest most of their starters. A Los Angeles defense playing without Aaron Donald, for example, makes the Rams a potentially much more inviting matchup for a running game that typically produces regardless of the matchup.

ESPN ownership: 13.4 percent

Other potential adds: Roschon Johnson, Bears (23.7 percent); Jamaal Williams, Saints (20.3); Jaleel McLaughlin, Broncos (10.8); Chase Brown, Bengals (8.7); Jordan Mason, 49ers (1.1); Pierre Strong Jr., Browns (0.4); Melvin Gordon, Ravens (0.1)

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Fantasy Football Week 18 Waiver Wire Pickups: Wide Receivers

Darius Slayton, Giants

Week 17 game log: Four catches for 106 yards and a touchdown on six targets

As with most of the players listed in this week's column, there is a decent - if not very good - chance that Slayton loses snaps to a younger player the coaching staff wants to see in more of a full-time role, such as rookie Jalin Hyatt. However, New York could have opted to do that very thing a week or two ago with its postseason fate sealed then and chose to go with its known quantities.

The Tyrod Taylor-to-Slayton connection has been running hot over the last two weeks, as the pair connected for a 69-yard touchdown pass in Week 16 versus the Eagles and again on an 80-yard TD in Week 17. While big plays of that magnitude tend to be extremely fluky, Philadelphia's pass defense has struggled enough that Slayton could hit on a big-play score for a third straight week.

ESPN ownership: 3.3 percent

Other potential adds: Wan'Dale Robinson, Giants (6.7 percent); Michael Wilson, Cardinals (4.8); Dontayvion Wicks, Packers (4.3); Greg Dortch, Cardinals (2.7); Julio Jones, Eagles (1.5); Bo Melton, Packers (0.0)

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Fantasy Football Week 18 Waiver Wire Pickups: Tight Ends

Juwan Johnson, Saints

Week 17 game log: Eight catches for 90 yards and a touchdown on 12 targets

Although there is almost no rhyme or reason to it, Johnson is going on a touchdown binge over the second half of the season for a second straight year. In 2022, he scored five of his career-high seven TDs over a five-game span from Week 9 until Week 15. He is in the midst of a three-game TD streak that started in Week 15 this time around, highlighted by a career-best performance in catches, targets and yards last week.

The Saints still have faint playoff hopes, so they can be expected to play their starters for as long as necessary this weekend versus the Falcons. Atlanta has been quite forgiving against tight ends this season despite not facing many tight ends of consequence since its Week 11 bye. In Week 16, a pair of Colts tight ends combined for 19.9 PPR fantasy points against them. With Derek Carr playing his best football of the year, it is conceivable Johnson has one more big game left in him.

ESPN ownership: 19.0 percent

Other potential adds: Hunter Henry, Patriots (20.2 percent); Tyler Conklin, Jets (19.6); Tucker Kraft, Packers (13.3); Harrison Bryant, Browns (0.2); Charlie Kolar, Ravens (0.0)