Fantasy Football Week 13 Rankings: Projections to Love and Matchups to Exploit

Fantasy football owners can and will fall in love with Week 13 with so much at stake.

It is hard not to, with matchups such as Kansas City-Atlanta, Detroit-New Orleans and even San Francisco-Chicago, among others, on the slate.

On paper, Week 13 is an offensive-heavy affair. One of the only two teams on bye is the Cleveland Browns. 

As much as some owners might miss Terrelle Pryor, value oozes out of the upcoming schedule. Here is a look at the slate and projections at each spot based on standard leagues.

Week 13 Schedule

Sunday, December 4	Time (ET)
Monday, December 5
Miami at Baltimore	1 p.m.
San Francisco at Chicago	1 p.m.
Houston at Green Bay	1 p.m.
Kansas City at Atlanta	1 p.m.
L.A. Rams at New England	1 p.m.
Detroit at New Orleans	1 p.m.
Philadelphia at Cincinnati	1 p.m.
Denver at Jacksonville	1 p.m.
Buffalo at Oakland	4:05 p.m.
Tampa Bay at San Diego	4:25 p.m
Washington at Arizona	4:25 p.m
N.Y. Giants at Pittsburgh	4:25 p.m
Carolina at Seattle	8:30 p.m.
Indianapolis at N.Y. Jets	8:30 p.m.

Quarterbacks

Rank	Player	Projected Points
1	Drew Brees	25
2	Aaron Rodgers	24
3	Matt Ryan	21
4	Matthew Stafford	19
5	Ben Roethlisberger	18
6	Tom Brady	18
7	Colin Kaepernick	17
8	Russell Wilson	17
9	Jameis Winston	16
10	Alex Smith	14
11	Tyrod Taylor	14
12	Cam Newton	12
13	Andrew Luck	12
14	Carson Palmer	12
15	Philip Rivers	12

Familiar faces rule the quarterback position at just the right time this year.

First up is Drew Brees, leader of the New Orleans Saints and host for the Detroit Lions in Week 13. This sounds like a shootout on paper as Brees squares off with Matthew Stafford (another good pick), helping Brees benefit the most.

After all, Brees has 24 or more points six times this year. He has thrown 12 touchdowns over his last four games alone, so his facing the team allowing the fifth-most points to opposing quarterbacks on average is a major win for his owners.

Matt Ryan, another NFC South quarterback, has his Atlanta Falcons hosting the Kansas City Chiefs. Given Atlanta's struggling defense, this also has the look of a shootout.

As for Ryan? Those Chiefs might tout recognizable names such as Eric Berry but rank a few spots below the Lions in terms of points allowed to quarterbacks. The past two sets of quarterbacks faced have thrown for at least 331 yards and totaled four scores.

Ryan, obviously, can post such numbers on his own.

Running Backs

Rank	Player	Projected Points
1	David Johnson	23
2	Le'Veon Bell	21
3	Jordan Howard	20
4	LeSean McCoy	18
5	Melvin Gordon	17
6	Matt Forte	16
7	Spencer Ware	15
8	Devontae Booker	14
9	Carlos Hyde	13
10	Devonta Freeman	12
11	Latavius Murray	12
12	LeGarrette Blount	12
13	Robert Kelley	12
14	Jay Ajayi	11
15	Jeremy Hill	11
16	Doug Martin	11
17	Lamar Miller	10
18	Frank Gore	10
19	Jonathan Stewart	10
20	Theo Riddick	10
21	Darren Sproles	9
22	Thomas Rawls	9
23	Mark Ingram*	8
24	Rashad Jennings	8
25	Todd Gurley	8
26	Tim Hightower	7
27	Terrance West	7
28	Kenneth Dixon	7
29	Wendell Smallwood	6
30	Dion Lewis	6

It might surprise some, but Arizona Cardinals lead back David Johnson entered Week 13 leading all scorers at his position.

How could he not? Johnson is as versatile as it gets, which shows with his six trips to 21 or more points on the season. He's a terror in every matchup, having hit double digits every week thus far.

Chalk up Week 13 as one of his biggest performances. Johnson gets to host the Washington Redskins, the team surrendering the sixth-most points to opposing backs on average. After allowing 109 yards and two scores for 24 points on 21 carries in Week 12, Washington doesn't stand a chance at stopping Johnson.

Jordan Howard of the Chicago Bears started the season as underrated as it gets, but the rookie stole the lead job and hasn't looked back.

Howard has four double-digit outings since Week 4, two of those at 21 or more points. He also has 15 or more carries in each of his past four outings. Extend it and he's at seven of his past eight.

Usage and reliability by Howard look outstanding going into a game against the woeful San Francisco 49ers, the team allowing the most points to opposing backs on average. Eight opposing backfields have scored 21 or more points on the unit, with Howard talented enough to post such numbers on his own.

Wide Receivers

Rank	Player	Projected Points
1	Antonio Brown	18
2	Mike Evans	18
3	Julio Jones	16
4	Odell Beckham Jr.	16
5	Larry Fitzgerald	15
6	Doug Baldwin	14
7	Brandon Marshall	14
8	Amari Cooper	14
9	T.Y. Hilton*	13
10	Julian Edelman*	13
11	Jordy Nelson	12
12	Brandin Cooks	12
13	Dez Bryant	11
14	Demaryius Thomas	11
15	Willie Snead	11
16	Marvin Jones	11
17	Emmanuel Sanders	10
18	Golden Tate	10
19	Michael Thomas	10
20	Jamison Crowder	10
21	Michael Crabtree*	9
22	DeAndre Hopkins	9
23	Davante Adams	8
24	Tyrell Williams	8
25	Jordan Matthews	8
26	Mohamed Sanu	8
27	Allen Robinson	8
28	Steve Smith Sr.	8
29	DeSean Jackson	7
30	Kenny Britt	7
31	Donte Moncrief	7
32	Tyreek Hill	7
33	Anquan Boldin	6
34	Pierre Garcon	6
35	Sammy Watkins	6

Other than the usual names, owners should have an eye out for Seattle Seahawks wideout Doug Baldwin in Week 13.

Baldwin only has four double-digit outings on the year, but when he goes off, it's like a fantasy eruption—all four register at 14 or more points, two of them at 22 or more.

Owners can expect something similar against the Carolina Panthers, the team permitting the 11th-most points to opposing wideouts. After inexplicably letting Josh Norman go, Carolina has turned into a punchline of its former self and recently has allowed touchdowns to wideouts in back-to-back weeks.

Speaking of usual names, New York Jets wideout Brandon Marshall finally falls into the classification again.

In Week 12, Marshall broke a five-game skid without double digits via six catches for 67 yards and a score, good for 12 points against a respectable New England Patriots secondary.

His Week 13 opponent, the Indianapolis Colts, doesn't fall under the same descriptor. The Colts rank a few slots below the Panthers and enter off a week in which it coughed up three touchdowns to opposing receivers—not to mention nine over its past four outings.

Tight Ends

Rank	Player	Projected Points
1	Jimmy Graham	13
2	Travis Kelce	12
3	Greg Olsen	11
4	Martellus Bennett	10
5	Antonio Gates	10
6	Tyler Eifert	8
7	Cameron Brate	8
8	Zach Ertz	8
9	Vernon Davis	7
10	C.J. Fiedorowicz	7
11	Eric Ebron	6
12	Kyle Rudolph	6

Owners will want to invite Seattle's Jimmy Graham to the party as well.

Graham entered Week 13 fourth in scoring among tight ends and coming off a four-point showing in Week 12. Call it a mixed bag, but the former exists because Graham has hit 10 or more points four times this year.

A fifth awaits against the Panthers, the owners of a defense that also happens to permit the second-most points to opposing tight ends on average. When it isn't Baldwin doing damage, Graham is the obvious target.

Travis Kelce of the Chiefs sits right behind Graham in scoring and will be Kansas City's top target in the shootout with Atlanta.

The above should be enough to sway owners on the fence, but keep in mind that Kelce has four double-digit outings on the year going into a matchup against the defense allowing the fifth-most points to tight ends on average.

Defense/Special Teams

Rank	Unit	Projected Points
1	Patriots	12
2	Ravens	10
3	Broncos	9
4	Raiders	9
5	Packers	8
6	49ers	7
7	Bears	7
8	Bengals	6
9	Eagles	6
10	Jets	6

Remember the mention about New England's secondary?

The Patriots will live up to the description in Week 13, not on sheer talent alone, but also thanks to a game against the Los Angeles Rams.

New England has hit eight or more points four times this year, including twice in a row. The Rams happen to allow the third-most points to opposing defenses on average this year, with nine units hitting eight or more points.

In the fantasy realm, sometimes things truly are as straightforward as they seem.

Kickers

Rank	Unit	Projected Points
1	Matt Bryant	12
2	Justin Tucker	10
3	Brandon McManus	9
4	Dustin Hopkins	9
5	Caleb Sturgis	8
6	Sebastian Janikowski	7
7	Matt Prater	7
8	Steven Hauschka	6
9	Josh Lambo	6
10	Cairo Santos	6

This won't shock many, but here it goes—the kicker facing the Jacksonville Jaguars will have a huge day in Week 13.

Said kicker is Brandon McManus of the Denver Broncos. McManus doesn't need much help from matchup on a week-to-week basis, having hit nine or more points eight times to create an incredible floor (yet he's owned in 36.3 percent of leagues, apparently).

The Jaguars will offer a helping hand regardless, ranking as the team allowing the most points to kickers on average. Six opposing kickers have hit double digits on the unit. Pair McManus' floor with this and it could make for one of the best kicker performances of the year.

All scoring info courtesy of ESPN.com standard leagues as are points-against info and ownership stats.

Follow Chris Roling (@Chris_Roling) on Twitter.