The final week 📖of the fantasy football regular seas𓆏on is upon us.
The Buccaneers and Panthers have the final bye in Week 13. Don’t forget to remove Tom Br𒉰ady, Chris Godwin, Rob Gronkowski, Teddy Brid🅷gewater, Mike Davis, D.J. Moore, et al. from your lineups.
Whether you’ve already clinched the one-seed, or you’re vying for the last playoff spot in your league, or you’re just playing for pride, make sure to set your lineups and check out some good plays at each position below, as well as some other players you should consider avoiding.
If you need a streaming option or bye fill-in, check out Week 13 waiver wire pickups here.
Who to Start in Week 13
Kirk Cousins (QB), Minnesota Vikings vs Jacksonville Jaguars
Cousins has sneakily finished as QB11, QB5 and QB3 over the last three games and has finished as a top-12 quarterback in six games this sea🥃son. He was near-perfect against the Panthers in Week 12 and completed 34 of 45 attempts for 307 yards, three touchdowns and zero interceptions. The Vikings face the Jaguars in Week 13, who rank 30th in average points allowed per game (29.3). Cousins is a sneaky low-end QB1 play this week.
J.K. Dobbins (RB), Baltimore Ravens vs. Dallas Cowboys
Dobbins needs to be started in every league assuming the rookie returns from the COVID-19/ಌreserve list this week. Before the Week 12 outbreak, he appeared to have finally separated himself in this three-man committee and saw 15 carries for 70 yards and a touchdown and caught two of two passes for 15 yards against the Titan🐎s. The Ravens have a plush Week 13 matchup against Dallas at home, who are allowing an NFL-worst 32.6 points per game. Slot Dobbins in as a high-end RB2 with high upside.
Frank Gore (RB), New York Jets vs. Las Vegas Raiders
The 37-year-old Gore has seen at least ten carries in ten of 12 games this season and has seen an uptick in workload with rookie La’Mical Perine on injured reserve. He rushed 18 times for 74 yards and caught three passes for 12 yards in the Jets’ 11th loss this year against Miami; Ty Johnson saw two carries for three yards while Josh Adams saw one carry for one yard. Gore has the Raiders on deck this week, who are allowing the fourth-most points to running backs this year. He is a RB2 in Week 13 based on workload and the positive matchup.
Jarvis Landry (WR), Cleveland Browns at Tennessee Titans
Landry (finally) produced in Week 12 and caught eight of 11 targets for 143 yards and a touchdown against Jacksonville. It was far and away his best game of the year after some anemic weeks in which the Browns’ offense was hampered significantly by weather. Their Week 13 matchup comes against the Titans, who are giving up the seventh-most fantasy points to wide receivers this season. The game will also take place in Tennessee, meaning weather shouldn’t be a factor. Pencil Landry in as a WR2 in this favorable matchup.
DeVante Parker (WR), Miami Dolphins vs. Cincinnati Bengals
Parker caught eight of 14 targets for 119 yards in Sunday’s win over the Jets. He has finished as a top-15 wide receiver in two straight weeks, due in part to Ryan Fitzpatrick taking over at quarterback while Tua Tagovailoa recovers from a thumb injury. Head coach Brian Flores says Tagovailoa has a chance to return for this game if he’s, “100 percent,” though Fitzpatrick is arguably the better quarterback at this time, independent of Tagovailoa’s health. Fitzpatrick’s style of play clearly boosts the fantasy value for Parker, who is a borderline WR1 if the veteran gets the start. If Tagovailoa starts, Parker is still a decent play in this favorable matchup against the Bengals, but he would land more in the WR2 range.
Robert Tonyan (TE), Green Bay Packers vs. Philadelphia Eagles
As with most tight ends this season, Tonyan has been boom-or-bust, posting five top-five finishes through 11 games. That said, he has s൲een a fairly consistent stream of targets from Aaron Rodgers, and has caught all ten of his targets for 111 yards and two touchdowns over the past two games. Expect the hot streak to continue as the Packers make quick work of the Eagles in Week 13.
Who to Sit in Week 13
Matt Ryan (QB), Atlanta Falcons vs. New Orleans Saints
Ryan has been shaky all season and only managed to eke out 15 fantasy points last week against the Raiders in a game in which the Falcons scored 43 points. He faces a much tougher opponent this week against the Saints, who are allowing the third-fewest fantasy points to opposing quarterbacks. To add to his woes, Ryan may be without star wideout Julio Jones — who did not participate in practice on Thursday. He falls shy of the QB1 tier this week.
Ezekiel Elliott (RB), Dallas Cowboys at Baltimore Ravens
You’re probably not in a position to sit Elliott, but there’s a good chance you want to based on his recent performance. The star running back has looked lackluster ever since Dak Prescott went down with an injury in Week 5 and has fumbled five times through 11 games, which ties his career total prior to this year. He recorded ten carries for 32 yards and zero touchdowns in Week 12 against Washington and will see another brutal matchup in Week 13 against the Ravens, whose defense is allowing the third-fewest points per game (19.5). Elliott slides into the low-end RB2 conversation this week.
Latavius Murray (RB), New Orleans Saints at Atlanta Falcons
Murray dominated the Saints’ backfield ahead of Alvin Kamara in Week 12 against the Kendall Hinton-led JV Broncos team. Murray saw 19 carries for 124 yards and two touchdowns, but it feels like his usage could have been game script-dependent, as this game was barely a contest at any point. He and the Saints face the Falcons in Week 13, whose run defense has actually turned a corner of late and have not allowed more than 10 PPR points to any running back since Week 7. Murray had a mediocre day for fantasy when these teams met two weeks ago, tallying 12 carries for 49 yards. He is a RB3/flex play heading into this week.
Marvin Jones Jr. (WR), Detroit Lions at Chicago Bears
Kenny Golladay has not practiced this week and it’s looking like he could miss his fifth straight game while still recovering from a hip injury. That said, Jones hasn’t been fantastic without Golladay on the field and has posted one top-12 finish in the past four games. He recorded six catches on 12 targets for 48 yards in Week 12 against Houston’s soft secondary and will face the Bears on the road in Week 13. He is a boom-or-bust flex against Chicago’s defense, which is allowing the third-fewest fantasy points to opposing wide receivers this season.
Tyler Boyd (WR), Cincinnati Bengals at Miami Dolphins
Boyd disappointed in Week 12 and caught three of six targets for a season-low 15 yards in the Bengals loss to the Giants. His fantasy value has taken a palpable hit ever since Joe Burrow was injured. He and rookie Tee Higgins are WR3/flex plays in the right matchup, which isn’t this week against the Dolphins. The Miami defense is much improved and is allowing just 18.6 total points per game, which ranks second behind Pittsburgh in the NFL. Boyd and Higgins have a near-zero floor this week and can’t be trusted in your crucial Week 13 lineups.
Tyler Higbee (TE), Los Angeles Rams at Arizona Cardinals
Higbee caught just one pass on two targets for six yards in the Rams’ Week 12 loss to the 49ers. All three of his touchdowns this season came in Week 2, and he is averaging just 3.7 targets per game. He faces a tough matchup this week against the Cardinals, who are no longer a laughingstock against tight ends. Arizona is allowing the sixth-fewest fantasy points to tight ends this season which drops Higbee far outside the TE1 conversation.