Fantasy Football Week 13 Rankings: Projections for Players with Matchups We Love

Who to start, who to start? As you munch on your leftover turkey and Thanksgiving trimmings, perhaps your mind has already turned to fantasy football. I know mine has. 

So below, we'll break down the top matchups to exploit this week for the remaining games after six teams clashed on Thanksgiving. Hopefully, one of the things you'll be thankful for this week is a huge win in your Week 13 matchup.

Schedule

Sunday, November 30	Time (ET)	TV
Monday, December 1	Time (ET)	TV
Washington at Indianapolis	1 p.m.	Fox
Tennessee at Houston	1 p.m.	CBS
Cleveland at Buffalo	1 p.m.	CBS
San Diego at Baltimore	1 p.m.	CBS
NY Giants at Jacksonville	1 p.m.	Fox
Cincinnati at Tampa Bay	1 p.m.	CBS
Oakland at St. Louis	1 p.m.	CBS
New Orleans at Pittsburgh	1 p.m.	Fox
Carolina at Minnesota	1 p.m.	Fox
Arizona at Atlanta	4:05 p.m.	Fox
New England at Green Bay	4:25 p.m.	CBS
Denver at Kansas City	8:30 p.m.	NBC
Miami at NY Jets	8:30 p.m.	ESPN

Quarterbacks

Rank	Player	Projected Points
1	Andrew Luck	25
2	Aaron Rodgers	22
3	Peyton Manning	21
4	Drew Brees	20
5	Tom Brady	19
6	Ryan Tannehill	18
7	Ben Roethlisberger	17
8	Philip Rivers	16
9	Eli Manning	15
10	Andy Dalton	14
11	Joe Flacco	13
12	Alex Smth	12

Andrew Luck is already one of the most consistent quarterbacks in fantasy football, but this week he faces a Washington defense giving up 19.3 points to opposing quarterbacks per week, 30th in the NFL. At home. In a week when the Washington players have had to deal with the fallout from Robert Griffin III's benching.

Luck, to his credit, deflected any questions about the Griffin debacle during a conference call on Wednesday, per Mike Jones of The Washington Post:

"

To be honest, I didn’t really hear that news, and I don’t think it really concerns me. That’s a [Washington] team thing and for me, it’s what Jim Haslett’s doing and what his defense is doing. I wish he’d just play one defense and stick with it. He gives us enough to worry about on the opposite side of the ball. We need to focus on that.

"

Luck, as always, said the right thing. Diplomatic is generally a good look. But yeah, Washington is an absolute mess right now so, yeah, I'm expecting Luck to explode on Sunday.  

I'm just as excited about Ryan Tannehill's prospects. The New York Jets are giving up 19.7 fantasy points to opposing quarterbacks per week, worst in the NFL, and just gave up 18 fantasy points to Kyle Orton. You, know, the journeyman quarterback for the Buffalo Bills who barely practiced all week due to a historical blizzard in upstate New York.

Finally, I really like Big Ben this week. Sure, I know he's erratic and unreliable and blah, blah, blah. But has he actually been that erratic, or does he just really play well at home and really poor on the road?

I think it's the latter. In five games at home, Big Ben is averaging 26.6 fantasy points. Before you go claiming that number is skewed by the two-game stretch that saw him toss 12 touchdown passes, consider that he's never dipped below 16 fantasy points at home. Contrast that to his road tilts, where he's averaging 11.1 points per game in six contests and has never exceeded 15 points.

There is a very obvious pattern here, folks. And this week Roethlisberger is at home against a New Orleans Saints defense giving up 16.9 points to opposing quarterbacks per week, 24th in the NFL.

You do the math.

Running Backs

Rank	Player	Projected Points
1	Arian Foster*	25
2	Le'Veon Bell	20
3	Andre Ellington	19
4	Jamaal Charles	18
5	Alfred Morris	16
6	Eddie Lacy	16
7	Marshawn Lynch	13
8	Giovani Bernard	12
9	Denard Robinson	12
10	Rashad Jennings	11
11	Fred Jackson	10
12	Justin Forsett	10
13	Mark Ingram	10
14	Jeremy Hill	9
15	Tre Mason	9
16	Jerick McKinnon	9
17	C.J. Anderson	9
18	Lamar Miller	8
19	Jonathan Stewart	7
20	Chris Ivory	7
21	Shane Vereen	7
22	Ryan Mathews	7
23	Bishop Sankey	6
24	Trent Richardson	6
25	Latavius Murray	6

The Tennessee Titans are 32nd in the NFL in fantasy points allowed to opposing running backs this season, and they've absolutely been torched by the likes of Arian Foster, Justin Forsett, Le'Veon Bell and LeSean McCoy in their last four games.

It remains to be seen if Foster will be healthy enough to play, but if he does he has enormous upside. If he can't go Alfred Blue is immediately a high-end RB2 consideration. 

Thomas B. Shea/Getty Images

The Atlanta Falcons are the 31st-ranked team in fantasy points allowed to running backs per week, the New York Giants are 30th and the Oakland Raiders are 29th. That makes Andre Ellington, Denard Robinson and Tre Mason all very strong options this week. 

Sometimes, it's best not to get too cute in fantasy football, especially when the numbers are telling you all you need to know. All three of those player should be started with confidence this week.

Wide Receivers

Rank	Player	Projected Points
1	A.J. Green	22
2	Antonio Brown	20
3	Demaryius Thomas	19
4	T.Y. Hilton	17
5	Jordy Nelson	16
6	Mike Wallace	15
7	Odell Beckham Jr.	15
8	Emmanuel Sanders	14
9	Julio Jones	13
10	Randall Cobb	12
11	Josh Gordon	12
12	Kelvin Benjamin	11
13	Martavis Bryant	10
14	Julian Edelman	9
15	Sammy Watkins	9
16	Brandon LaFell	9
17	Mohamed Sanu	8
18	Kendall Wright	8
19	Larry Fitzgerald	8
20	Mike Evans	8
21	Reggie Wayne	7
22	Torrey Smith	7
23	Steve Smith	7
24	DeSean Jackson	7
25	DeAndre Hopkins	7
26	Roddy White	6
27	Percy Harvin	6
28	Andre Johnson	6
29	Eric Decker	6
30	Vincent Jackson	6

I really like two sets of wide receivers this week: A.J. Green and Mohamed Sanu in Cincinnati and Antonio Brown and Martavis Bryant in Pittsburgh. 

The Bengals play a Tampa Bay Buccaneers team giving up 25.1 fantasy points per week, 29th in the NFL. Fantasy owners might be a bit concerned that the Bucs have given up just a total of 17 fantasy points to opposing wideouts in the past two weeks, or bolstered by the fact that they gave up 20 or more points to the position in six of seven games before that. 

I'm going with the latter. 

Scott Halleran/Getty Images

You already know I like Big Ben this week, so why not like his wideouts, too? The Saints have given up 20 or more fantasy points to opposing wideouts eight times this season, and they'll have difficulty containing the consistent Brown and the flashy Bryant. I think the Pittsburgh passing game is going to find the going quite easy against New Orleans.

Tight Ends

Rank	Player	Projected Points
1	Jimmy Graham	18
2	Rob Gronkowski	15
3	Julius Thomas*	13
4	Greg Olsen	11
5	Antonio Gates	10
6	Coby Fleener	8
7	Travis Kelce	8
8	Larry Donnell	7
9	Delanie Walker	6
10	Heath Miller	6

On the other side of the coin, I'm not sure Pittsburgh is going to be able to deal with Jimmy Graham, who is coming off a six-catch, 46-yard, two-touchdown performance against the Baltimore Ravens. The Steelers have given up 564 yards and eight touchdowns to opposing tight ends and haven't faced a talent of Graham's stature yet this season. 

In a game that could end up being a shootout unless the wintry weather really kicks in, expect Graham to go off. 

Defense/Special Teams

Rank	Team	Projected Points
1	Arizona Cardinals	13
2	Miami Dolphins	12
3	Houston Texans	10
4	St. Louis Rams	10
5	Indianapolis Colts	9
6	Minnesota Vikings	8
7	Buffalo Bills	7
8	New York Giants	6
9	Cincinnati Bengals	5
10	Carolina Panthers	5

Normally this spot is reserved for the defense facing the Jacksonville Jaguars, but the New York Giants sort of stink on defense, so while they make this list they won't be spotlighted. 

That distinction will go to the Miami Dolphins facing a New York Jets team that is 29th in fantasy points allowed to opposing defenses and is starting Geno Smith this week. You know, the same Smith who won a single game this year and turned the ball over 12 times in nine games. 

The Dolphins are already third in fantasy points among defenses this year. This matchup just makes them all the more appealing to start.

Kickers

Rank	Player	Projected Points
1	Stephen Gostkowski	14
2	Adam Vinatieri	13
3	Caleb Sturgis	10
4	Mason Crosby	10
5	Randy Bullock	9
6	Shaun Suisham	9
7	Dan Carpenter	9
8	Blair Walsh	8
9	Nick Novak	7
10	Shayne Graham	7

Fantasy's top kicker faces the Green Bay Packers in a game that seems destined to be the shootout to end all shootouts. Yeah, this one was a pretty easy pick.

All point totals and points-against statistics via ESPN standard scoring leagues. Hit me up on Twitter—I'll answer your fantasy questions and make some corny jokes, too. It's more fun than a catching drill with Odell Beckham Jr.