Fantasy Football Week 13 Rankings: Examining Lineup Options After Injury Reports

The 2017 NFL fantasy football season is nearing its close, with many leagues wrapping up their regular seasons this week.

Perhaps you have had an unbelievable season in season long or daily fantasy, like this player, who built a team that scored over 300 points in one day.

Or perhaps you're like the sad New York Giants fan slowly sliding off the treadmill in the infamous "Had a Bad Day" fantasy football commercial.

As long as your season isn't in the gutter (you probably wouldn't be reading this if it was), here's a look at a fresh set of rankings for the four main positions, in addition to commentary about how injuries to key players may affect others' performances.

Quarterback Rankings

1. New England Patriots QB Tom Brady (at Buffalo Bills)

2. Carolina Panthers QB Cam Newton (at New Orleans Saints)

3. New Orleans Saints QB Drew Brees (vs. Carolina Panthers)

4. Seattle Seahawks QB Russell Wilson (vs. Philadelphia Eagles)

5. Philadelphia Eagles QB Carson Wentz (at Seattle Seahawks)

6. Los Angeles Rams QB Jared Goff (at Arizona Cardinals)

7. Tennessee Titans QB Marcus Mariota (vs. Houston Texans)

8. Green Bay Packers QB Brett Hundley (vs. Tampa Bay Buccaneers)

9. Tampa Bay Buccaneers QB Jameis Winston (at Green Bay Packers)

10. New York Jets QB Josh McCown (vs. Kansas City Chiefs)

Injury Report Effect: QB

The New Orleans Saints secondary is banged up heading into its matchup with the Carolina Panthers on Sunday.

Per the latest injury report, safety Marcus Williams has been declared out, while cornerback Marshon Lattimore is questionable. The good news is that defensive back Ken Crawley will return after a one-week absence following an abdomen injury.

The Saints have also lost defensive end Alex Okafor for the season with a torn Achilles suffered on November 19 against the Washington Redskins.

Although Carolina Panthers quarterback Cam Newton is trying to fight off a thumb injury on his throwing hand, this could be a prime spot for him to have a big game against the depleted Saints defense.

Also, Newton has thrown for 10 touchdowns (and rushed for two more) in his past three games against the Saints in the Mercedes-Benz Superdome, per Pro Football Reference.

Running Back Rankings

1. Los Angeles Rams RB Todd Gurley (at Arizona Cardinals)

2. Jacksonville Jaguars RB Leonard Fournette (vs. Indianapolis Colts)

3. Buffalo Bills RB LeSean McCoy (vs. New England Patriots)

4. Los Angeles Chargers RB Melvin Gordon (vs. Cleveland Browns)

5. Pittsburgh Steelers RB Le'Veon Bell (at Cincinnati Bengals)

6. Carolina Panthers RB Christian McCaffrey (at New Orleans Saints)

7. San Francisco 49ers RB Carlos Hyde (at Chicago Bears)

8. Chicago Bears RB Jordan Howard (vs. San Francisco 49ers)

9. New Orleans Saints RB Alvin Kamara (vs. Carolina Panthers)

10. Oakland Raiders RB Marshawn Lynch (vs. New York Giants)

Injury Report Effect: RB

New York Giants defensive tackle Damon Harrison is arguably the best run stopper in the game, but he might be missing Sunday's contest with the Oakland Raiders due to an elbow injury. He's listed as questionable on the injury report, but he didn't practice all week.

Furthermore, the Giants just signed defensive tackle Khyri Thornton, which perhaps foreshadows Harrison's absence this weekend.

The Giants' opponent on Sunday (the Oakland Raiders) may rely on running back Marshawn Lynch to carry the offensive load. With the Giants losing such a key component of their defense, the Raiders may attack Big Blue in between the tackles as Beast Mode carries the ball 20-plus times.

Considering that the Silver and Black will be without top wideouts Michael Crabtree (suspension) and Amari Cooper (concussion and ankle injury), Lynch could be in line for a big game.

Wide Receiver Rankings

1. Houston Texans WR DeAndre Hopkins (at Tennessee Titans)

2. Pittsburgh Steelers WR Antonio Brown (at Cincinnati Bengals)

3. Tampa Bay Buccaneers WR Mike Evans (at Green Bay Packers)

4. Los Angeles Chargers WR Keenan Allen (vs. Cleveland Browns)

5. New Orleans Saints WR Michael Thomas (vs. Carolina Panthers)

6. Green Bay Packers WR Davante Adams (vs. Tampa Bay Buccaneers)

7. Atlanta Falcons WR Julio Jones (vs. Minnesota Vikings)

8. Cincinnati Bengals WR A.J. Green (vs. Pittsburgh Steelers)

9. Minnesota Vikings WR Stefon Diggs (at Atlanta Falcons)

10. Denver Broncos WR Demaryius Thomas (at Miami Dolphins)

Injury Report Effect: WR

The Atlanta Falcons will have to press on without No. 1 cornerback Desmond Trufant on Sunday, as the fifth-year pro suffered a concussion and will sit out.

Unfortunately for Atlanta, the Minnesota Vikings have two Pro Bowl-caliber receivers in Adam Thielen and Stefon Diggs. It would have been hard enough for the Falcons to stop the Vikings' passing attack with Trufant on the field, but without them, Minnesota has the clear edge heading into Sunday afternoon.

Although Thielen has been racking up monster performances as of late, look for Diggs to shine here. As Evan Silva of Rotoworld noted, "Diggs runs a team-high 50 percent of his routes on Trufant’s side of the field." Without Trufant there, Diggs will run at backup corner C.J. Goodwin.

It's possible that Diggs sees a team-high in targets and leads all wideouts in receiving yards.

Tight End Rankings

1. New England Patriots TE Rob Gronkowski (at Buffalo Bills)

2. Kansas City Chiefs TE Travis Kelce (at New York Jets)

3. Tennessee Titans TE Delanie Walker (vs. Houston Texans)

4. Philadelphia Eagles TE Zach Ertz (at Seattle Seahawks)

5. Seattle Seahawks TE Jimmy Graham (vs. Philadelphia Eagles)

6. Oakland Raiders TE Jared Cook (vs. New York Giants)

7. New York Giants TE Evan Engram (at Oakland Raiders)

8. Los Angeles Chargers TE Hunter Henry (vs. Cleveland Browns)

9. Miami Dolphins TE Julius Thomas (vs. Denver Broncos)

10. Buffalo Bills TE Charles Clay (vs. New England Patriots)

Injury Report Effect: TE

As noted before, Oakland Raiders wide receivers Amari Cooper and Michael Crabtree will not play this Sunday's game against the New York Giants.

That opens up opportunities for running back Marshawn Lynch, but the Raiders aren't about to run the Wing-T as quarterback Derek Carr joked about this week. At some point, they'll need to pass the ball, and that's where tight end Jared Cook should come in.

The New York Giants have been one of the worst teams against tight ends this season. Per Adam Levitan of DraftKings and Fantasy Labs, Big Blue had given up a touchdown or 100 receiving yards to a tight end in every game up until Thanksgiving Day, when they somehow held Vernon Davis of the Washington Redskins to no catches.

The guess here is that goose egg is an anomaly rather than a new trend. Cook could have a huge game given the opportunity for more targets with Crabtree and Cooper out.