As always, don’t forget that these fantasy football tiers reflect non-PPR scoring. The number in parentheses next to the player’s matchup indicates how many tiers they’d move up or down in PPR scoring. One thing to note – just because a RB may see a couple receptions doesn’t mean they would simply get a +1 rating. Keep in mind that these PPR ratings factor in the players surrounding him, so if he’s expected to get 2.0 rec, but surrounded by players getting 3+ receptions, he could actually sink a bit, relatively speaking. Just remember that these are dynamic and do factor that aspect in.
The FLEX Rating is a number that allows you to compare each tier across the RB/WR/TE positions for FLEX decisions.
Without further ado, here are the Week 13 tiers:
Quarterbacks
It sounds like Jameis Winston’s shoulder is healed enough to give it a go this week. His ranking could be fairly volatile leading up to Sunday based on any sort of updates we get. Due to the threat of an in-game setback, he might be a bit too dicey to roll out in one-QB leagues, despite the great matchup. Again, this is where I stand writing this up on Wednesday/Thursday, so it’s still a situation worth seeing play out.
Alex Smith has certainly turned back into the Alex Smith we had come to know and love over the first 11 years of his career: a very bland QB2 who gets sneaky production from rushing stats. I still think he has enough weapons to show flashes of his early 2017 brilliance, but as long as his offensive line continues to struggle, we have to lower our expectations a bit. The Jets have been fairly decent against QBs this year, but I’m not downgrading Smith based on the matchup. If you factor in their QB strength of schedule they have actually been below average. I still have Smith as a low-end QB1 for now, but he should be viewed as more of a high-floor play as opposed to a high ceiling one.
Tier 1
Tom Brady (@ BUF)
Russell Wilson (vs PHI)
Tier 2
Cam Newton (@ NO)
Carson Wentz (@ SEA)
Kirk Cousins (@ DAL)
Tier 3
Philip Rivers (vs CLE)
Tier 4
Drew Brees (vs CAR)
Tyrod Taylor (vs NE)
Jared Goff (@ ARI)
Marcus Mariota (vs HOU)
Alex Smith (@ NYJ)
Matt Ryan (vs MIN)
Ben Roethlisberger (@ CIN)
Blake Bortles (vs IND)
Jameis Winston (@ GB)
Dak Prescott (vs WAS)
Tier 5
Matthew Stafford (@ BAL)
Case Keenum (@ ATL)
Josh McCown (vs KC)
Derek Carr (vs NYG)
Brett Hundley (vs TB)
Blaine Gabbert (vs LAR)
Tier 6
Trevor Siemian (@ MIA)
Andy Dalton (vs PIT)
Mitchell Trubisky (vs SF)
Tier 7
Jimmy Garoppolo (@ CHI)
DeShone Kizer (@ LAC)
Joe Flacco (vs DET)
Tier 8
Jay Cutler (vs DEN)
Jacoby Brissett (@ JAX)
Tier Savage & Friends
Geno Smith (@ OAK)
Tom Savage (@ TEN)
Running Backs
RB is always the most volatile position throughout the week, since players are directly impacted by their teammates’ availability. Now that Aaron Jones returned to practice today, he and Ty Montgomery are both questionable for Week 13. This leaves Jamaal Williams’ rank very much up in the air right now. Luckily, if all your sit/start decisions involve Sunday players, you don’t need to lock in your team’s today. We need to use all the info we get before Sunday to our advantage. I’m sure we will have a much better idea on this situation come Saturday, so take his current rank with a grain of salt.
Tier 1 (FLEX rating: 17.5)
Le’Veon Bell (@ CIN)
Tier 2 (17.0)
Todd Gurley (@ ARI)
Tier 3 (14.0)
Leonard Fournette (-1, vs IND)
Alvin Kamara (vs CAR)
Melvin Gordon (vs CLE)
Tier 4 (13.0)
LeSean McCoy (+1, vs NE)
Jordan Howard (-1, vs SF)
Tier 5 (12.5)
Kareem Hunt (@ NYJ)
Samaje Perine (@ DAL)
Mark Ingram (vs CAR)
Carlos Hyde (@ CHI)
Lamar Miller (@ TEN)
Tier 6 (11.0)
Marshawn Lynch (-1, vs NYG)
Alex Collins (vs DET)
Tier 7 (10.5)
Joe Mixon (vs PIT)
Kenyan Drake (vs DEN)
Adrian Peterson (vs LAR)
Dion Lewis (@ BUF)
Tier 8 (9.5)
Christian McCaffrey (+3, @ NO)
Jamaal Williams (vs TB)
DeMarco Murray (vs HOU)
Devonta Freeman (vs MIN)
Latavius Murray (-1, @ ATL)
Tevin Coleman (vs MIN)
Rex Burkhead (@ BUF)
Orleans Darkwa (@ OAK)
Tier 9 (8.0)
Jerick McKinnon (+1, @ ATL)
Frank Gore (@ JAX)
Devontae Booker (@ MIA)
Isaiah Crowell (@ LAC)
Alfred Morris (-1, vs WAS)
Ameer Abdullah (@ BAL)
Rod Smith (vs WAS)
Derrick Henry (-1, vs HOU)
Jacquizz Rodgers (@ GB)
Tier 10 (7.0)
Austin Ekeler (+1, vs CLE)
Duke Johnson Jr. (+2, @ LAC)
Tier 11 (6.5)
C.J. Anderson (@ MIA)
Jonathan Stewart (-1, @ NO)
Matt Forte (vs KC)
Danny Woodhead (+2, vs DET)
Jay Ajayi (-1, @ SEA)
Bilal Powell (vs KC)
Tier 12 (5.5)
LeGarrette Blount (@ SEA)
Marlon Mack (@ JAX)
T.J. Yeldon (vs IND)
Peyton Barber (-1, @ GB)
Theo Riddick (@ BAL)
Wide Receivers
From a “projections” point of view, no WR corps is more interesting than the Raiders’ this week. With Michael Crabtree and Amari Cooper (likely) out, we have a ton of targets up for grabs in Oakland. Seth Roberts is likely the only fantasy-relevant WR of the remaining group. Typically on the field in Oakland’s 3-wide sets, Roberts doesn’t see many targets, but with the two studs out, he should see big enough increase to make him a WR3 for me this week. Derek Carr has also shown trust in him in the red zone, making him a decent bet to score this week. Cordarrelle Patterson is more of a risk/reward gadget player who should see a few carries this week, largely by virtue of being on the field most of the game. Johnny Holton is pretty much a one-trick pony who typically just goes deep a couple times a game in order to try to catch the defense sleeping. I’m a bit skeptical of him being even remotely considered in any season-long leagues, but he has enough upside to be a nice DFS tournament flier, given his “go big or go home” route tree.
Tier 1 (13.0)
Antonio Brown (@ CIN)
Tier 2 (11.5)
Julio Jones (vs MIN)
Tier 3 (10.5)
Brandin Cooks (@ BUF)
Keenan Allen (vs CLE)
A.J. Green (vs PIT)
Mike Evans (@ GB)
DeAndre Hopkins (@ TEN)
Michael Thomas (vs CAR)
Adam Thielen (@ ATL)
Tier 4 (9.5)
Devin Funchess (@ NO)
Tyreek Hill (@ NYJ)
Alshon Jeffery (@ SEA)
Jamison Crowder (@ DAL)
Davante Adams (vs TB)
Doug Baldwin (vs PHI)
Robby Anderson (-1, vs KC)
Dez Bryant (vs WAS)
Tier 5 (8.5)
Larry Fitzgerald (+1, vs LAR)
Stefon Diggs (@ ATL)
Cooper Kupp (@ ARI)
Marvin Jones Jr. (@ BAL)
Golden Tate (@ BAL)
Sammy Watkins (@ ARI)
Jarvis Landry (vs DEN)
Tier 6 (8.0)
Demaryius Thomas (@ MIA)
Ted Ginn Jr. (vs CAR)
Emmanuel Sanders (@ MIA)
DeSean Jackson (@ GB)
T.Y. Hilton (@ JAX)
Mohamed Sanu (vs MIN)
Seth Roberts (vs NYG)
Tier 7 (7.0)
Josh Doctson (@ DAL)
Corey Davis (vs HOU)
Jeremy Maclin (vs DET)
Rishard Matthews (vs HOU)
Jermaine Kearse (vs KC)
Marqise Lee (vs IND)
Paul Richardson (vs PHI)
Juju Smith-Schuster (@ CIN)
Cordarrelle Patterson (-1, vs NYG)
Kenny Stills (vs DEN)
Tier 8 (6.0)
Mike Wallace (vs DET)
DeVante Parker (vs DEN)
Marquise Goodwin (@ CHI)
Dontrelle Inman (vs SF)
Sterling Shepard (@ OAK)
Jordy Nelson (vs TB)
Corey Coleman (@ LAC)
Zay Jones (vs NE)
Randall Cobb (vs TB)
Bruce Ellington (@ TEN)
Dede Westbrook (vs IND)
Nelson Agholor (@ SEA)
Danny Amendola (@ BUF)
Martavis Bryant (@ CIN)
Josh Gordon (@ LAC)
Tight Ends
Keeping with the Raiders theme, I think their biggest beneficiary this week is Jared Cook. He gets the dream draw against a Giants defense that has been the ultimate sieve to TEs this year. Vernon Davis and Evan Engram took a bit of a hit in value last week with complete duds. I still believe in Davis until Jordan Reed is able to return, so stick with him this week. Engram probably takes a big hit with Eli Manning benched in favor of Geno Smith. There’s no telling who Smith will lock onto this week – or that he will be completing many passes – leaving Engram as a potential low-floor, low-end TE1. Unfortunately, the TE position is pretty rough beyond the top 5, so you likely have to keep rolling him out there in season-long – just lower your expectations.
Tier 1 (10.5)
Rob Gronkowski (@ BUF)
Tier 2 (9.5)
Zach Ertz (@ SEA)
Travis Kelce (@ NYJ)
Tier 3 (7.5)
Delanie Walker (vs HOU)
Jimmy Graham (vs PHI)
Jared Cook (vs NYG)
Tier 4 (6.5)
Vernon Davis (@ DAL)
Evan Engram (@ OAK)
Tier 5 (6.0)
Jack Doyle (@ JAX)
Kyle Rudolph (@ ATL)
Austin Seferian-Jenkins (vs KC)
Jason Witten (vs WAS)
Hunter Henry (vs CLE)
Tier 6 (5.5)
Tyler Kroft (vs PIT)
Charles Clay (vs NE)
Austin Hooper (vs MIN)
Greg Olsen (@ NO)
Tier 7 (4.5)
Julius Thomas (vs DEN)
O.J. Howard (@ GB)
Ricky Seals-Jones (vs LAR)
C.J. Fiedorowicz (@ TEN)
Eric Ebron (@ BAL)
Cameron Brate (@ GB)
Benjamin Watson (vs DET)
Kickers
Tier 1
Stephen Gostkowski (@ BUF)
Greg Zuerlein (@ ARI)
Tier 2
Nick Novak (vs CLE)
Wil Lutz (vs CAR)
Matt Bryant (vs MIN)
Tier 3
Jake Elliott (@ SEA)
Josh Lambo (vs IND)
Ryan Succop (vs HOU)
Harrison Butker (@ NYJ)
Giorgio Tavecchio (vs NYG)
Kai Forbath (@ ATL)
Tier 4
Dan Bailey (vs WAS)
Justin Tucker (vs DET)
Chris Boswell (@ CIN)
Nick Rose (@ DAL)
Graham Gano (@ NO)
Cairo Santos (vs SF)
Tier 5
Stephen Hauschka (vs NE)
Blair Walsh (vs PHI)
Matt Prater (@ BAL)
Chandler Catanzaro (vs KC)
Patrick Murray (@ GB)
Mason Crosby (vs TB)
Phil Dawson (vs LAR)
Brandon McManus (@ MIA)
Tier 6
Cody Parkey (vs DEN)
Robbie Gould (@ CHI)
Randy Bullock (vs PIT)
Ka’imi Fairbairn (@ TEN)
Adam Vinatieri (@ JAX)
Aldrick Rosas (@ OAK)
Tier 7
Zane Gonzalez (@ LAC)
Defenses
Tier 1
Los Angeles Chargers (vs CLE)
Jacksonville Jaguars (vs IND)
Tier 2
Los Angeles Rams (@ ARI)
Oakland Raiders (vs NYG)
Denver Broncos (@ MIA)
Chicago Bears (vs SF)
Tennessee Titans (vs HOU)
Tier 3
Pittsburgh Steelers (@ CIN)
Tampa Bay Buccaneers (@ GB)
Baltimore Ravens (vs DET)
Philadelphia Eagles (@ SEA)
Miami Dolphins (vs DEN)
Kansas City Chiefs (@ NYJ)
New England Patriots (@ BUF)
Tier 4
New Orleans Saints (vs CAR)
Detroit Lions (@ BAL)
Green Bay Packers (vs TB)
Washington Redskins (@ DAL)
Houston Texans (@ TEN)
San Francisco 49ers (@ CHI)
Atlanta Falcons (vs MIN)
Cincinnati Bengals (vs PIT)
Minnesota Vikings (@ ATL)
Tier 5
Dallas Cowboys (vs WAS)
New York Jets (vs KC)
Indianapolis Colts (@ JAX)
New York Giants (@ OAK)
Arizona Cardinals (vs LAR)
Carolina Panthers (@ NO)
Seattle Seahawks (vs PHI)
Tier 6
Cleveland Browns (@ LAC)
Buffalo Bills (vs NE)
