Fantasy Football Week 18 Start ‘Em, Sit ‘Em: Chris Godwin vs. Jauan Jennings

Evaluating who to play in fantasy football in week 18 between Tampa Bay Buccaneers WR Chris Godwin and San Francisco 49ers WR Jauan Jennings.

Nov 30, 2025; Tampa, Florida, USA; Tampa Bay Buccaneers wide receiver Chris Godwin Jr. (14) makes a catch against Arizona Cardinals cornerback Garrett Williams (21) during the first half at Raymond James Stadium. | Nathan Ray Seebeck-Imagn Images

Coming off week 17, WRs Chris Godwin from the Tampa Bay Buccaneers and Jauan Jennings from the San Francisco 49ers will be in action for week 18 on Saturday. Here is a breakdown on who to start and who to sit between the two this week in fantasy football.

Jauan Jennings 

Dec 28, 2025; Santa Clara, California, USA; San Francisco 49ers wide receiver Jauan Jennings (15) runs to score a touchdown against the Chicago Bears in the second half at Levi's Stadium. | Kyle Terada-Imagn Images

With a phenomenal game from the 49ers’ QB Brock Purdy, the output Jauan Jennings had was mild. Out of Purdy’s 303 passing yards, Jennings had 42 receiving yards, on two receptions, with one of the two being a touchdown. WR Ricky Pearsall being back from missing week 16 due to injury certainly ate into Jennings’ fantasy potential in week 17. The second-year receiver out of Florida had five catches for 85 yards. Jennings will look to bounce back from this game and have a big fantasy performance in the last regular-season game of the season.

The 49ers on Saturday will take on the Seattle Seahawks. These two teams last played each other in week 1 of this season. In that contest, Jennings struggled. He had just two receptions on five targets for 16 yards. With that, Jennings has not been the only WR to struggle against Seattle this season. They are allowing the 12th fewest passing yards per game, and in the PPR fantasy formats, they are giving up the fifth fewest fantasy points to the WR position. Only three opposing WRs this season have had over 100 receiving yards against them.

Chris Godwin

Oct 21, 2024; Tampa, Florida, USA; Tampa Bay Buccaneers wide receiver Chris Godwin (14) looks on before a game against theBaltimore Ravens at Raymond James Stadium. | Nathan Ray Seebeck-Imagn Images

In week 17 against the Miami Dolphins, Chris Godwin had his best game of the season. In the game, he had seven receptions for 108 yards and a TD. In fantasy football, PPR formats this slated him as a WR4, the highest he has been ranked all year. He will look to continue this success in week 18, but it will be tough with the Carolina Panthers being his opponent.

The Panthers and Buccaneers played in week 16, and Godwin and essentially every other Tampa Bay pass catcher did not perform well in this matchup. Godwin had five receptions for 30 yards in what ended up being a 23-20 loss. In the game, QB Baker Mayfield just threw for 145 passing yards. This performance from Mayfield was tacked on to a solid showing of passing defense from Carolina in their last three games. Over this stretch, they ranked seventh in fewest passing yards allowed per game in the NFL.

Final Verdict

When it comes to who should start and who should sit between Godwin and Jennings in week 18 in fantasy football, Jennings should sit, and Godwin should start. Neither player has ideal matchups. But the fact that Godwin is coming off a great game with all his WRs healthy, while Jennings did not produce significantly with star TE George Kittle out, gives Godwin the slight edge in getting the start in this debate. Also against their week 18 opponents, Godwin had a slightly better game than Jennings did in their first meetings.