Week 13 Flex Rankings

Thanksgiving Week is always an interesting one in the NFL. All 32 teams are in action, which is great for having as many options as possible to fill our fantasy football lineups. But a quarter of this week’s games are played during the week, with three on Thursday and one on Friday.

That leaves some ambiguity about many of the players on the injury report. And of course, Thanksgiving Week is often the busiest travel week of the year. It is a tough week for many of us to keep up with the latest news from around the NFL. Did I mention it’s also a pivotal week for many of us jockeying for playoff position? So, yeah, a lot is going on. Hopefully, my Week 13 Flex rankings can help you sort through the chaos.

I may tweak some of these rankings between now and kickoff. I usually do not do much tinkering between Thursday and Saturday. But with four of this week’s games being played before Sunday, most bets are off. I will add a few notes below regarding the skill positions and highlight a few players who could be teetering on the start/sit line for many fantasy managers. As always, I base my rankings on Half-PPR scoring formats. Use your best judgment based on your league specifications, and feel free to comment below with any specific questions you may have regarding your Week 13 lineup decisions. Now, to paraphrase the great Jameis Winston, let’s all finish off our Thanksgiving meals by eating a big fat W!

Running Back Notes

Running backs on both sides of the Week 13 matchup between the Tampa Bay Buccaneers and Arizona Cardinals could be making their returns from prolonged absences. Bucky Irving and Trey Benson have both been out of the lineup since suffering injuries in Week 4. I think Irving is more likely than Benson to suit up, but we should know the status of both running backs over the next few days. Their returns would kill most of the fantasy value of the other running backs of their respective teams. As of now, I have Irving at RB20 and Benson at RB27 in Half-PPR formats. I would not move either player much higher than that, considering the long layoffs.

Los Angeles Chargers running back Omarion Hampton is also nearing a return to action. The team has opened up the rookie’s 21-day window to come off Injured Reserve. Hampton has been out since Week 5 with an ankle injury. Even if he returns this week, I am not sure I would rush to get him into starting lineups. I think Los Angeles would look to ease Hampton back into the fold, as they have their eyes on the playoffs. They can probably defeat the Las Vegas Raiders with or without Hampton on the field. For now, I have both Hampton and Kimani Vidal as RB3s in 12-team leagues. That means either could be a potential Flex depending on your other options. If Hampton sits another week, Vidal could slide in as a low-end RB2.

Situations like the ones involving players like Irving, Benson, and Hampton are tricky to navigate. With several early games this week, you may be better off playing a known entity. I say that with the qualifier that nothing is truly known when it comes to fantasy football. But if you have to start either David Montgomery (currently my RB31) or one of the players mentioned above, I would play Montgomery. Sure, the upside is likely capped playing second fiddle to Jahmyr Gibbs against a solid Green Bay defense. But at least Montgomery should give you something. If you have multiple options or can grab someone off the wire over the weekend, then it may be better to hope one of the players above can immediately step into a 15-18 touch role.

We are finally going to see what New Orleans Saints backup running back Devin Neal can do with a full workload. Alvin Kamara suffered an MCL sprain and is likely out for the foreseeable future. With New Orleans playing out the string, there isn’t much incentive for them to rush the veteran back onto the field. That means Neal should get plenty of opportunities beginning this week against the Miami Dolphins. Miami has been an odd defense from a fantasy perspective against opposing running backs. They have allowed the third-most yards to the position. However, they have ceded just seven total touchdowns. Only six teams have allowed fewer. I currently have Devin Neal ranked 58th overall in my Week 13 Flex rankings. That makes him a viable Flex in most formats.

Wide Receiver Notes

After seeing the way Jameis Winston threw the ball all over the yard against Detroit on Sunday, I may be too low on Christian Watson and Romeo Doubs. At least one of Green Bay’s wide receivers is likely to outperform expectations on Thursday. Giants wide receivers combined for 221 receiving yards in New York’s overtime loss in the Motor City. Detroit has allowed opposing wideouts to catch 15 touchdowns against them this season. Only Dallas has allowed more. Watson has the best upside, and his involvement in the offense has increased in recent weeks. He is a high-upside WR3 who is more likely to boom than bust, based on recent trends. Doubs has not scored since his three-TD outburst against Dallas in Week 4, though he has earned 48 targets in his last seven games.

Chimere Dike and John Metchie III are a couple of under-the-radar players who have made some noise in PPR leagues of late. Dike has averaged about 45 receiving yards per game over his last five outings. He has caught two touchdown passes in that span and has also run back two punts for scores. With Calvin Ridley out for the season, Dike could continue to be a solid source of PPR points. Like Dike, Metchie has benefited from additional playing time due to injuries at the position. Metchie has scored in consecutive games as the de facto number-one receiver for the New York Jets in the absence of Garrett Wilson. I ranked both players outside the top-100 overall in my Week 13 Flex rankings. But I do not mind starting either player if you are short on options at wide receiver.

Speaking of Tennessee, the Titans have continued to hemorrhage production to opposing teams’ top wide receivers. That should mean good things for the Jacksonville Jaguars, whom the Titans face in Week 13. The problem is that it is hard to say precisely which wideout will benefit the most from this matchup. Brian Thomas Jr. is most likely playing this week after missing Jacksonville’s past three games with an ankle injury. But the layoff and Thomas’ own inconsistency this year make him more difficult to trust than usual. Parker Washington and the newly-acquired Jakobi Meyers will also be in the mix. They are more trustworthy in PPR formats, with Thomas having the most big-play upside among the group. All three are usable in the Flex spot, especially if you have some injury concerns on your roster.

Tight End Notes

Suppose you play in a 12-team league where you start two running backs, three wide receivers, a tight end, and a Flex, which gives you 84 starting spots. I only have nine tight ends among the top 84 overall players in my Week 13 Flex rankings. Of course, that does not mean that any tight ends outside of this threshold are doomed to fail. But many of the tight ends outside of this area are touchdown-or-bust candidates. And touchdowns can often be difficult to predict. If you are picking from someone in this group, Isaiah Likely may be your best bet. The Cincinnati Bengals are comically bad at limiting tight end production. They have allowed 13 touchdowns to the position so far this season. No other NFL team has given up more than seven.

Check out all of our Week 13 Rankings: Flex Rankings | QB Rankings | RB Rankings | WR Rankings | TE Rankings