Fantasy Football Week 13: Updated Rankings for Sunday's Action

Thanksgiving Day kicked off a pivotal week of fantasy football, as most leagues will be finishing up their regular seasons in Week 13. We watched a variety of spectacular and upsetting performances from fantasy players as we engorged ourselves with turkey, and if your team got the short end of the stick, fear not. There's plenty more football to be played.

However, there are still difficult decisions to be made as owners make their final decisions for the week. Should you start Ben Roethlisberger at home against the faltering New Orleans Saints or Philip Rivers on the road against a beat-up Baltimore Ravens secondary? Will Andre Ellington get it going against the Atlanta Falcons? Which Cincinnati Bengals running back will have the bigger week?

The questions can all be answered by some good, old-fashioned rankings.

Before you lock in your fantasy lineups for Sunday's action, take a glance below for a little help with the process.

(Note: These rankings are for Sunday only. They do not include any players slated to take the field thereafter. This week, the Miami Dolphins and New York Jets play on Monday Night Football.)

Quarterback

Rank	Player	Opponent
1	Andrew Luck, IND	Washington Redskins
2	Aaron Rodgers, GB	New England Patriots
3	Peyton Manning, DEN	Kansas City Chiefs
4	Tom Brady, NE	Green Bay Packers
5	Ben Roethlisberger, PIT	New Orleans Saints
6	Eli Manning, NYG	Jacksonville Jaguars
7	Philip Rivers, SD	Baltimore Ravens
8	Andy Dalton, CIN	Tampa Bay Buccaneers
9	Drew Brees, NO	Pittsburgh Steelers
10	Alex Smith, KC	Denver Broncos
11	Joe Flacco, BAL	San Diego Chargers
12	Cam Newton, CAR	Minnesota Vikings
13	Zach Mettenberger, TEN	Houston Texans
14	Matt Ryan, ATL	Arizona Cardinals
15	Drew Stanton, AZ	Atlanta Falcons

Roethlisberger is a great quarterback to roll with Sunday. He's had a couple of down performances following his 12-touchdown outburst during Weeks 8 and 9, and while he may not throw six more this week, he'll deliver a nice performance against a struggling Saints secondary.

The Saints haven't been overly stout against opposing quarterbacks this season, allowing an average of 16.9 fantasy points to the position per game. Four signal-callers have put up over 20 fantasy points on New Orleans this season, most recently Andy Dalton's 21-point performance in Week 11.

Further increasing confidence in Roethlisberger is his superior play at Heinz Field this season, via ESPN Stats & Info:

Both Dalton and Joe Flacco averaged at least 10.0 yards per attempt against the Saints over the last two weeks, and with speedy wide receivers Antonio Brown and Martavis Bryant at his disposal, Roethlisberger should be expected to do the same.

Running Back

Rank	Player	Opponent
1	Le'Veon Bell, PIT	New Orleans Saints
2	Arian Foster, HOU	Tennessee Titans
3	Justin Forsett, BAL	San Diego Chargers
4	Andre Ellington, AZ	Atlanta Falcons
5	Eddie Lacy, GB	New England Patriots
6	Rashad Jennings, NYG	Jacksonville Jaguars
7	Denard Robinson, JAX	New York Giants
8	Jeremy Hill, CIN	Tampa Bay Buccaneers
9	Mark Ingram, NO	Pittsburgh Steelers
10	Jamaal Charles, KC	Denver Broncos
11	Giovani Bernard, CIN	Tampa Bay Buccaneers
12	Tre Mason, STL	Oakland Raiders
13	Alfred Morris, WAS	Indianapolis Colts
14	C.J. Anderson, DEN	Kansas City Chiefs
15	LeGarrette Blount, NE	Green Bay Packers
16	Fred Jackson, BUF	Cleveland Browns
17	Isaiah Crowell, CLE	Buffalo Bills
18	Daniel Herron, IND	Jacksonville Jaguars
19	Jerick McKinnon, MIN	Carolina Panthers
20	Jonathan Stewart, CAR	Minnesota Vikings

Andre Ellington hasn't produced a worthwhile fantasy performance since Week 9 against the Dallas Cowboys, but that's about to change. He should be featured in the Arizona Cardinals offense this week in a matchup against a very bad Falcons defense.

Atlanta is giving up the second-most fantasy points to opposing running backs this season, allowing an average of 21.9 per game. In Week 12, Cleveland Browns ball-carriers torched this defense to the tune of 150 yards and two touchdowns, marking the fifth time this season an opposing backfield has scored multiple rushing touchdowns on this defense.

Here's a preview of what's to come for the Cardinals offense, via ESPN Fantasy Sports:

Due to the struggles of quarterback Drew Stanton, we should expect to see a larger workload for Ellington. This running back hasn't broken the 100-yard mark yet this season, but he has a great chance to get it done for the first time this week.

Wide Receiver

Rank	Player	Opponent
1	Antonio Brown, PIT	New Orleans Saints
2	Jordy Nelson, GB	New England Patriots
3	T.Y. Hilton, IND	Washington Redskins
4	Demaryius Thomas, DEN	Kansas City Chiefs
5	A.J. Green, CIN	Tampa Bay Buccaneers
6	Josh Gordon, CLE	Buffalo Bills
7	Julio Jones, ATL	Arizona Cardinals
8	Emmanuel Sanders, DEN	Kansas City Chiefs
9	Odell Beckham, Jr., NYG	Jacksonville Jaguars
10	Randall Cobb, GB	New England Patriots
11	Steve Smith, BAL	San Diego Chargers
12	Marques Colston, NO	Pittsburgh Steelers
13	Kelvin Benjamin, CAR	Minnesota Vikings
14	Michael Floyd, AZ	Atlanta Falcons
15	Sammy Watkins, BUF	Cleveland Browns
16	Mike Evans, TB	Cincinnati Bengals
17	Reggie Wayne, IND	Washington Redskins
18	DeAndre Hopkins, HOU	Tennessee Titans
19	Brandon LaFell, NE	Green Bay Packers
20	Torrey Smith, BAL	San Diego Chargers
21	Keenan Allen, SD	Baltimore Ravens
22	Justin Hunter, TEN	Houston Texans
23	Cecil Shorts III, JAX	New York Giants
24	Martavis Bryant, PIT	New Orleans Saints
25	DeSean Jackson, WAS	Indianapolis Colts

Can we just go ahead and consider Odell Beckham Jr. a must-start wide receiver from now on? This rookie has elevated himself from the ranks of a fringe starter and is on track to become one of the league's elite wide receivers. His incredible catch against the Dallas Cowboys is still dancing around in all of our minds.

All right, let's look at it again, courtesy of Bleacher Report:

This week, Beckham has a great chance to awe us once again. The Jacksonville Jaguars have been laughable against the pass this season. They are allowing an average of 22.3 fantasy points to opposing wide receivers and have given up at least 24 fantasy points to the position in each game over the last three weeks.

Beckham is coming off a 26-point outing of his own after catching 10 passes for 146 yards and two touchdowns against Dallas. If he can put up those kinds of numbers against the Cowboys, imagine what he can do to a porous Jacksonville secondary.

Tight End

Rank	Player	Opponent
1	Rob Gronkowski, NE	Green Bay Packers
2	Jimmy Graham, NO	Pittsburgh Steelers
3	Greg Olsen, CAR	Minnesota Vikings
4	Travis Kelce, KC	Denver Broncos
5	Antonio Gates, SD	Baltimore Ravens
6	Delanie Walker, TEN	Houston Texans
7	Larry Donnell, NYG	Jacksonville Jaguars
8	Julius Thomas, DEN	Kansas City Chiefs
9	Coby Fleener, IND	Washington Redskins
10	Kyle Rudolph, MIN	Carolina Panthers
11	Niles Paul, WAS	Indianapolis Colts
12	Jared Cook, STL	Oakland Raiders
13	Mychael Rivera, OAK	St. Louis Rams
14	Marcedes Lewis, JAX	New York Giants
15	Dwayne Allen, IND	Washington Redskins

This should be a great week for Chiefs tight end Travis Kelce. Even with Jason Avant now in the fold, Kansas City has an enormous lack of talent at the wide receiver position. This will lead to plenty of looks for the tight end in Week 13.

The Denver Broncos haven't been spectacular against the tight end position this season. They are allowing an average of 8.4 fantasy points per game to the position, the ninth most in the league. Denver also gave up 81 yards to Kelce the last time these teams met.

Here's an interesting statistic regarding Kelce heading into Week 13, via fantasy guru and owner of 4for4.com Josh Moore:

Expect quarterback Alex Smith to pass often Sunday due to the high amount of success Denver's had against the run this season. More passing attempts will lead to more targets for Kelce, giving the tight end a chance for a very big day.

Defense/Special Teams

Rank	Team	Opponent
1	New York Giants	Jacksonville Jaguars
2	St. Louis Rams	Oakland Raiders
3	Baltimore Ravens	San Diego Chargers
4	Buffalo Bills	Cleveland Browns
5	Minnesota Vikings	Carolina Panthers
6	Carolina Panthers	Minnesota Vikings
7	Indianapolis Colts	Washington Redskins
8	Cleveland Browns	Buffalo Bills
9	Cincinnati Bengals	Tampa Bay Buccaneers
10	Arizona Cardinals	Atlanta Falcons

The New York Giants haven't exactly been a solid defense this season. In fact, they've been pretty downright bad at times, putting up negative fantasy points three times this year while reaching the double-digit mark just once. But, they do play Jacksonville this week.

Julio Cortez/Associated Press

This play is more about how bad the Jaguars are on offense than how good the Giants are on defense. Jacksonville is allowing 14.0 fantasy points to opposing defenses this season, the most in the NFL. Only twice this season has Jacksonville yielded single-digit fantasy points to an opposing defense.

While New York's defense will be a risky play just about any other week, it is a solid-gold addition to your fantasy lineup this Sunday.

Kicker

Rank	Player	Opponent
1	Stephen Gostkowski, NE	Green Bay Packers
2	Adam Vinatieri, IND	Washington Redskins
3	Shaun Suisham, PIT	New Orleans Saints
4	Shayne Graham, NO	Pittsburgh Steelers
5	Josh Brown, NYG	Jacksonville Jaguars
6	Randy Bullock, HOU	Tennessee Titans
7	Mason Crosby, GB	New England Patriots
8	Mike Nugent, CIN	Tampa Bay Buccaneers
9	Billy Cundiff, CLE	Buffalo Bills
10	Matt Bryant, ATL	Arizona Cardinals

Adam Vinatieri has been absolutely clutch throughout the entire season so far, and there's no reason to think that will be any different in Week 13. The veteran kicker has scored double-digit fantasy points in five straight games, and he'll get more chances on Sunday.

Joe Robbins/Getty Images

While the Washington Redskins haven't allowed any kicker to score more than nine points over their last five games, they haven't exactly played an offense remotely as prolific as the one run by quarterback Andrew Luck.

Expect the Colts to find themselves on Washington's side of the field early and often, leading to multiple chances for the extremely accurate Vinatieri.

All fantasy football stats and points against courtesy of ESPN.com and current as of November 27 at 10 a.m. ET.