Here are my fantasy football rankings, tiers and outlook for notable players Week 13.
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Fantasy Football Rankings, Tiers & Start/Sit Lineup Advice: Week 13
Quarterbacks Rankings & Tiers
Fantasy Football Start/Sit Lineup Advice: Quarterbacks
Is there any doubt you’re starting Joe Burrow in his first game since Week 2? It’s Joe Freaking Burrow. What’s there to talk about? The Bengals’ terrible defense is going to thrust Burrow into some shootouts down the stretch, and he could have one against the Ravens on Thanksgiving night in a game with a Vegas total of 51.5. In two games against Baltimore last season, Burrow had 820 passing yards and nine TD passes. I’m ranking him QB8 this week.
In four Thanksgiving Day starts for the Lions, Jared Goff has averaged 241.0 passing yards, with two TD passes and no interceptions in each of those four games. But in Goff’s three starts against the Packers since Jeff Hafley became Green Bay’s defensive coordinator, Goff has averaged 217.7 passing yards, with five TDs and two interceptions. His weekly fantasy finishes in those three games: QB27, QB6, QB21. The Packers are giving up 13.9 fantasy points per game to QBs this year, tied for third-fewest in the league. I’m fading the “Goff rocks Thanksgiving” narrative and ranking him as a high-end QB2 rather than as a must-start.
Trevor Lawrence is QB17 in fantasy points per game among quarterbacks with at least four starts. He’s unpredictable week to week, but the matchup against the Titans looks good. The Titans have the fifth-worst opponent passer rating in the league and are giving up 7.8 yards per pass attempt. Lawrence is a playable high-end QB2.
It’s not a matter of whether Sam Darnold can solve the Minnesota defense. The Vikings’ defense has allowed the 10th-fewest fantasy points to quarterbacks but only ranks 20th in DVOA. This is a neutral matchup at worst for Darnold. One reason quarterbacks aren’t putting up big numbers against Minnesota is that the Vikings aren’t scoring enough to push opponents into shootouts. And that’s the concern for Darnold this week. The Seahawks will go run-heavy if they can. Darnold has thrown fewer than 30 passes in seven of his 11 starts. The Vikings are 11.5-point road underdogs against the Seahawks and might be starting undrafted rookie free agent Max Brosmer at quarterback. I’m ranking Darnold as a high-end to midrange QB2 because I’m worried that his ceiling is limited in this matchup.
Running Backs Rankings & Tiers
Fantasy Football Start/Sit Lineup Advice: Running Backs
Travis Etienne is having a splendid November. He’s RB6 in half-point PPR fantasy points per game for the month with 381 yards from scrimmage and four touchdowns in four games. The concern with Etienne earlier this year was that his value was too TD-dependent. Also, rookie backup Bhayshul Tuten loomed as a potential challenger to Etienne’s primacy in the Jacksonville backfield, and Tuten flashed in Week 11 with 15 carries for 74 yards and a touchdown against the Chargers. But Etienne appears to have warded off the challenge and has averaged 20.5 touches over his last four games. Now he gets a primo matchup against the Titans, who are giving up the sixth-most fantasy points per game to RBs.
Bucky Irving is expected to play this week after being sidelined for eight weeks with shoulder and foot injuries. I’m ranking him as a midrange RB2. Irving has been electric for most of his 21-game NFL career and gets a Week 13 matchup against a Cardinals run defense that ranks 21st in DVOA and has been slipping. The Buccaneers’ offense might be less potent if Teddy Bridgewater has to start at quarterback in place of the injured Baker Mayfield, but it stands to reason that the Buccaneers would probably want to run the offense through their running backs more than usual. Rachaad White and Sean Tucker might chip in, but I expect Bucky to handle at least half the RB touches this week.
When we last saw the Broncos before their Week 12 bye, Harvey had a season-high 61% snap share against the Chiefs. The matchup was a tough one, however, and Harvey had 11 carries for 30 yards and three catches for 20 yards. The rookie from UCF gets a much better matchup against the Commanders this week. Washington is allowing the fourth-most fantasy points per game to RBs. The Commanders have given up the fifth-most rushing yards and 11th-most receiving yards to RBs. Consider Harvey a midrange to low-end RB2.
We generally don’t think of RBs averaging 17.3 carries a game as TD-dependent, but that’s pretty much the case with Quinshon Judkins these days. Judkins punched in two touchdowns last week against the Raiders and now has seven touchdowns in 10 games. It was his second multiple-TD game of the season. Judkins scored three touchdowns against the Dolphins in a bad-weather game in Cleveland in Week 7. But it’s basically TD or bust for Judkins. Since Week 6, he’s averaged 3.2 yards per carry and has caught five passes for eight yards. I’m ranking him as a low-end RB2 just outside the top 20 at running back this week against the 49ers.
Kenneth Walker is becoming a safer fantasy play. He had a season-high 62.5% snap share last week and has had at least 14 touches in three straight games. Zach Charbonnet is still involved to an annoying degree and is always a threat to poach a short-yardage touchdown from Walker, but Walker should be regarded as no worse than a low-end RB2 this week with the Seahawks double-digit home favorites against the beleaguered Vikings. It should be a run-friendly game script for Seattle.
I don’t want to go overboard with the Kenneth Gainwell appraisal after he had 10-92-0 rushing and 6-30-0 receiving last week against a Bears defense that was playing without all of its starting linebackers. But Gainwell has had 16 touches in each of his last two games, including 13 receptions. Now, he gets a matchup against a Bills defense that has been shredded in the running game. Even in a backup/timeshare role behind/with Jaylen Warren, Gainwell is a playable fantasy option as a high-end RB3.
Congratulations to those of you who acquired Devin Neal on waivers. With Alvin Kamara having a sprained MCL and Kendre Miller out for the season, Neal is now the Saints’ lead RB by default. Behind him are Broncos cast-off Audric Estime and the newly acquired Evan Hull. But there are two problems here (1) We classify Taysom Hill as a tight end for fantasy football, but he’s basically a running back, and he out-carried Devin Neal 10-7 in Week 12; and (2) the Saints’ offensive line has been shredded by injuries, so the Saints don’t have much of a running game. Kamara, Neal and Hill had a combined 20 carries for 46 yards against the Falcons last week, and the Falcons do not have a good run defense. I’m ranking Neal as a midrange RB3 this week.
Wide Receivers Rankings & Tiers
Fantasy Football Start/Sit Lineup Advice: Wide Receivers
George Pickens has been fully unleashed in the Dallas offense. The only bad game he’s had for fantasy this season was in the NFL’s Thursday-night season opener, when Pickens had three catches for 30 yards. He atoned last week in his rematch with the Eagles, catching nine passes for 146 yards and a touchdown. Pickens went over 1,000 yards in that game and is now on pace for 104 catches, 1,629 yards and 12 touchdowns. As good as CeeDee Lamb is, Picken has been more productive on a per-game basis, and I’m ranking Pickens ahead of Lamb this week (although they’re both top-10 WR options).
Keep riding the wave with Michael Wilson. In the two games Marvin Harrison Jr. has missed since undergoing an appendectomy, Wilson has 25 catches for 303 yards on 33 targets. Based on how quickly Marvin Harrison Jr. was ruled out last week, the guess here is that he’ll probably miss at least one more week. If Harrison is out, Wilson will check in as a midrange WR2. If Harrison plays, I’ll still rank Wilson ahead of Harrison and will consider Wilson no worse than a midrange WR3 in a reasonably favorable matchup against the Buccaneers.
In the summer of 2024, a lot of people fretted about Justin Jefferson being paired with Sam Darnold. When Jefferson smashed that season, most people assumed Jefferson was QB-proof (even though it turned out that Darnold is actually good). Unfortunately, we now know that Jefferson isn’t QB-proof. With the struggling J.J. McCarthy at quarterback, Jefferson has produced fewer than 50 receiving yards in three of his last four games. McCarthy could be out with a concussion this week, which would leave undrafted rookie free agent Max Brosmer as Minnesota’s starter in a tough road game against the Seahawks. But could Brosmer be any worse than McCarthy, who has a passer rating of 57.9 this season? I’m ranking Jefferson just inside the top 20 at receiver, but even that seems too high.
Wan’Dale Robinson‘s target counts over his last six games: 12, 4, 11, 11, 9, 14. Wan’dale is coming off his biggest game of the season, a 9-156-1 explosion against the Lions in Detroit, but he’s been a viable fantasy option all season. He’s a midrange WR2 this week against a New England defense that’s better against the run than the pass. The Giants might be getting QB Jaxson Dart back from a concussion this week, but Wan’Dale is no less dangerous with Jameis Winston at quarterback for the Giants, as we saw last week.
Emeka Egbuka has been a revelation in his rookie season, but the Buccaneers’ passing game has hit skid row of late, and I’m not crazy about Egbuka’s outlook this week even in a pretty good matchup against the Cardinals. Buccaneers QB Baker Mayfield has averaged 5.3 yards per pass attempt since Week 7, and Egbuka has produced 40 or fewer receiving yards in three of his last four games. Mayfield is in danger of missing Week 13 with a shoulder injury, which might mean a Teddy Bridgewater start for the Bucs. I’m ranking Egbuka as a low-end WR2.
Troy Franklin underwhelms in some metrics — 1.49 yards per route run and 6.3 yards per target — but maybe he’s just one of those players whose surface stats will usually outpace the numbers that we nerds obsess over. Franklin is WR14 in half-point PPR fantasy scoring since Week 7. Some of that is touchdown-driven, with four TDs over those five games. But Franklin has been consistently drawing targets, with no fewer than eight targets in any game over that stretch. Franklin is pretty much a must-start this week against the league-worst Washington pass defense.
I liked Andrei Iosivas as a Week 12 play, but his numbers were just OK: four catches for 61 yards on seven targets vs. the Patriots. Iosivas led the Bengals in receiving yardage in a game that Ja’Marr Chase missed due to suspension. Chase is back this week, but Tee Higgins is out with a concussion, so Iosivas is still going to be the Bengals’ No. 2 receiver. But now Iosivas will be working with QB Joe Burrow, who’s making his return from a toe injury, rather than the slumping Joe Flacco. Iosivas is a reasonable dart throw as a WR4.
Tight Ends Rankings & Tiers
Fantasy Football Start/Sit Lineup Advice: Tight Ends
Mark Andrews & Isaiah Likely (BAL)
Yes, Mark Andrews is annoyingly touchdown-dependent. But of course you’re starting Andrews against the Bengals, who bleed out production to tight ends at a remarkable level. Opposing TEs have bashed the Bengals for 76 catches, 962 yards and 13 touchdowns. No other team has given up more than 799 receiving yards or seven touchdowns to tight ends. Andrews is a midrange TE1 this week, and I think you could potentially play the Ravens’ other tight end, Isaiah Likely, even though he’s been quiet (and injured) this season. I’m ranking Likely as a midrange TE2.
I’m way above consensus on Taysom Hill this week, ranking him TE15 in half-point PPR (but slightly higher in standard-scoring formats and slightly lower in PPR). With Alvin Kamara out with an MCL injury, Hill is probably going to get a lot of work as a runner, and he’s generally the Saints’ preferred goal-line option. Hill had a team-high 10 carries for the Saints last week but gained only 17 yards. This week, Hill faces an improved but hardly impregnable Miami run defense. He’ll probably need a touchdown to pay off in fantasy, but I like Hill’s chances of getting at least one.
Colston Loveland has shown us in recent weeks why the Bears took him 10th overall in this year’s draft. Loveland has 262 receiving yards and three touchdowns and has flashed the athleticism that had the Bears’ front office so anxious to draft him. But I can only rank Loveland as a midrange TE2 in a tough matchup against an Eagles defense that has given up the second-fewest fantasy points per game to TEs behind only the Bills.
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