Fantasy Football Week 13 Positional Power Rankings

Sportz Nation Staff
26 minutes ago
4 min read

by Zak Drapeau, Matt Hylen and Joseph McLaughlin

Quarterbacks

(Zak Drapeau)

Tier 1

Lamar Jackson vs CIN
Jalen Hurts vs CHI
Josh Allen at PIT
Patrick Mahomes at DAL
Matthew Stafford at CAR

Tier 2

Drake Maye vs NYG
Dak Prescott vs KC
Justin Herbert vs LV

Tier 3

Bo Nix at WAS
Jacoby Brissett at TB
Daniel Jones vs HOU

Tier 4

Jared Goff vs GB
Caleb Williams at PHI
Jaxson Dart at NE
Trevor Lawrence at TEN

After Baker Mayfield's arm injury on MNF, he is questionable to play this week, and I have kept him out of the list this week.

The playoff race is ramping up, and thus the elite quarterbacks have begun separating themselves, so I will now be ranking them in tiers...

Tier 1 is the guarantees... Jackson, Hurts, Allen, Mahomes, and Stafford have been lighting it up and should be anywhere from 15-25+ points.

Tier 2 has the chance of going off but with not as high of a floor. Drake Maye is more of a game manager than he is likely to light up the scoreboard, as is Justin Herbert, and Dak may be having a great year but is facing Kansas City.

Tier 3 are the guys without much of a high-end upside but are likely to be serviceable in fantasy and get you around 10-15 points.

Tier 4 has some serious upside but are facing some really tough defenses and thus are just as likely to only score a few points as well.

Running Backs

(Matt Hylen)

Photo by Michael Owens/GettyImages — Photo by **Michael Owens/GettyImages**

Tier 1

Jahmyr Gibbs vs GB
Johnathon Taylor vs HOU
De'Von Achane vs NO
Christian McCaffrey at CLE

Tier 2

Breece Hall vs ATL
Bijan Robinson at NYJ
Derrick Henry vs CIN

Tier 3

James Cook III at PIT
Kyren Williams at CAR
Chase Brown at BAL
Saquon Barkley vs CHI

Tier 4

Javonte Williams vs KC
Ashton Jeanty at LAC
Josh Jacobs at DET
Tre'Veyon Henderson vs NYG

This week, my rankings are a little scattered due to the tough matchups the top RBs have. Nevertheless, my first tier in my ranking ranges from 1-4. These are pretty interchangeable to me, as Gibbs, Taylor, Achane, and McCaffrey have proven to be above the rest almost every week when it comes to fantasy. Beware of the bust potential because of the tricky matchups, but I have faith these guys will be just fine.

My second tier of RBs ranges from 5-7. Heading into Week 13, Hall, Robinson, and Henry have a favorable matchup that could result in some big-time numbers in terms of Fantasy.

My third tier ranges from 8-11. A somewhat bigger tier than the others, but I feel as though these RBs have enough talent to outplay their tough matchups. However, the bust potential is a little higher than the tiers above, making me wary of ranking them any higher.

My fourth tier of RBs are the rest, 12-15. This tier consists of RB1s with extremely tough matchups or borderline RB1s that provide inconsistent boom-or-bust potential. They are a high-risk, high-reward type of RB1 heading into Week 13.

Wide Receivers

(Joseph McLaughlin)

Tier 1

Jaxon Smith-Njigba vs MIN
Ja'Marr Chase at BAL
Amon-Ra St. Brown vs GB
Puka Nacua at CAR
CeeDee Lamb vs KC

Tier 2

George Pickens vs KC
Rashee Rice at DAL
AJ Brown vs CHI
Davante Adams at CAR

Tier 3

Nico Collins at IND
Zay Flowers vs CIN
Emeka Egbuka vs ARI

Tier 4

Chris Olave Q at MIA
Devonta Smith Q vs CHI
Jaylen Waddle Q vs NO

My tier 1 group here is the cream of the crop when it comes to receivers. Each of these players is projected to earn 20+ points in each of their respective games. This even goes for Puka Nacua, who will have to face a stout Panthers secondary, but he will still be the No. 1 target for Matt Stafford this Sunday.

Tier 2 is another solid group of receivers that can put up between 16-19 points with room for potential booms. George Pickens and Rashee Rice will be names to look for in Thursday's game between the Chiefs and Cowboys, which features two solid offenses duking it out.

Tier 3 is a group of other solid options, but they are projected to get around 15 points. Flowers against Cincinnati's defense will be someone to look out for, especially since the Bengals have struggled defensively all season. Though they have improved in recent games, they even gave the Patriots trouble on Sunday.

Tier 4 is a group of players who are technically projected to get more points than Tier 3; however, each of them is listed as questionable for this week. Chris Olave was limited in Wednesday's practice due to a back injury. Devonta Smith, who is battling a shoulder/chest injury and an illness, did not practice on Wednesday, and Jaylen Waddle was limited on Wednesday due to a foot injury. Each is expected to return to their respective games this weekend.

Tight Ends

(Zak Drapeau)

Tier 1

Trey McBride at TB
George Kittle at CLE

Tier 2

Travis Kelce at DAL
Tyler Warren vs HOU
Juwan Johnson at MIA
Brock Bowers at LAC

Tier 3

Dalton Kincaid at PIT
Jake Ferguson vs KC
Hunter Henry vs NYG
Brenton Strange at TEN

Tier 4

Mark Andrews vs CIN
Dallas Goedert vs CHI
Oronde Gadsden vs LV
Theo Johnson at NE
Mason Taylor vs ATL

Tier 1 is the best of the best and the only ones that I trust to get 10+ points.

Tier 2 includes the other big names that are either in the middle of a slump, like Brock Bowers, or facing one of the toughest defenses this week, like Tyler Warren.

Tier 3 has a chance to go off and have done so over the last few weeks, like Hunter Henry, but could easily get blanketed against their opponent, like Brenton Strange.

Tier 4 is just "Best of the Rest" with guys like Mike Andrews and Theo Johnson, who could have touchdown-upside but haven't shown me much of anything to make me happy or trust their starting potential.