Fantasy Football Week 13 Rankings: Each Position's Flex and PPR Projections

The fantasy football playoffs are either here or right around the corner, depending on the size and format of your league. With one NFL game already down in Week 13, you should already know what kind of start you're off to.

If you're needing to play catch-up, the good news is that there are still 15 games remaining.

With bye weeks over, you should have close to your full roster available. However, injured players like Kerryon Johnson and Melvin Gordon will be missing—while Kareem Hunt is off the table too.

The trick, of course, is figuring out which players to start and which to sit.

We're going to run down our top players at each flex position—running back, wide receiver and tight end. We'll make projections for each player and take a closer look at one sleeper pick with upside for each position.

All rankings are based on PPR scoring formats.

Running Backs

1. Carolina Panthers Christian McCaffrey: 115 rushing yards, 6 receptions, 76 receiving yards, 2 TDs

2. Los Angeles Rams RB Todd Gurley: 158 rushing yards, 4 receptions, 42 receiving yards, 2 TDs

3. New York Giants RB Saquon Barkley: 85 rushing yards, 9 receptions, 78 receiving yards, 1 TD

4. Arizona Cardinals RB David Johnson: 75 rushing yards, 4 receptions, 45 receiving yards, 1 TD

5. Cleveland Browns RB Nick Chubb: 80 rushing yards, 3 receptions 40 receiving yards, 1 TD

6. New England Patriots RB James White: 20 rushing yards, 6 receptions, 50 receiving yards, 1 TD

7. Cincinnati Bengals RB Joe Mixon: 80 rushing yards, 3 receptions, 30 receiving yards, 1 TD

8. New England Patriots RB Sony Michel: 140 rushing yards, 2 receptions, 20 receiving yards

9. Kansas City Chiefs RB Spencer Ware: 80 rushing yards, 4 receptions, 40 receiving yards

10. Denver Broncos RB Phillip Lindsay: 130 rushing yards, 1 reception, 15 receiving yards

11. Los Angeles Chargers RB Austin Ekeler: 50 rushing yards, 5 receptions, 50 receiving yards

12. Green Bay Packers RB Aaron Jones: 90 rushing yards, 3 receptions, 20 receiving yards

13. Baltimore Ravens RB Gus Edwards: 125 rushing yards, 1 reception, 25 receiving yards

14. Chicago Bears RB Tarik Cohen: 60 rushing yards, 4 receptions, 50 receiving yards

15. Seattle Seahawks RB Chris Carson: 75 rushing yards, 3 receptions, 30 receiving yards

Kenyan Drake vs Buffalo Bills

Frank Gore just never seems to age. The Miami Dolphins running back may be 35 years old, but he's still running hard and making plays. However, Kenyan Drake is the guy to try this week out of Miami's backfield.

Gore has been getting most of the workload, but Drake has been doing more with his opportunities. Last week, he rushed for 32 yards, caught five passes and scored two touchdowns. He did suffer a shoulder injury against the Indianapolis Colts, but the Dolphins are "optimistic" about him heading into Sunday, according to Safid Deen of the Sun-Sentinel.

While the Buffalo Bills have a strong overall defense, they've allowed an average of five yards per rush this season and have allowed the 10th-most fantasy points to opposing running backs this season.

The floor for Drake isn't tremendous because of his role, but if you're looking for a high-upside streaming option, he's worth a play.

Wide Receivers

1. Minnesota Vikings WR Adam Thielen: 7 receptions, 115 receiving yards, 1 TD

2. Kansas City Chiefs WR Tyreek Hill: 6 receptions, 110 receiving yards, 1 TD

3. Houston Texans WR DeAndre Hopkins: 6 receptions, 110 receiving yards, 1 TD

4. Pittsburgh Steelers WR Antonio Brown: 6 receptions, 95 receiving yards, 1 TD

5. Atlanta Falcons WR Julio Jones: 6 receptions, 95 receiving yards, 1 TD

6. Los Angeles Rams WR Brandin Cooks: 6 receptions, 90 receiving yards, 1 TD

7. Green Bay Packers WR Davante Adams: 5 receptions, 100 receiving yards, 1 TD

8. New York Giants WR Odell Beckham Jr.: 5 receptions, 95 receiving yards, 1 TD

9. Tampa Bay Buccaneers WR Mike Evans: 5 receptions, 95 receiving yards, 1 TD

10. Pittsburgh Steelers WR JuJu Smith-Schuster: 5 receptions, 95 receiving yards, 1 TD

11. Minnesota Vikings WR Stefon Diggs: 5 receptions, 90 receiving yards, 1 TD

12. Los Angeles Chargers WR Keenan Allen: 5 receptions, 90 receiving yards, 1 TD

13. Indianapolis Colts WR T.Y. Hilton: 5 receptions, 85 receiving yards, 1 TD

14. New England Patriots WR Julian Edelman: 6 receptions, 70 receiving yards, 1 TD

15. Detroit Lions WR Kenny Golladay: 7 receptions, 110 receiving yards

16. Los Angeles Rams WR Robert Woods: 6 receptions, 105 receiving yards

17. Denver Broncos WR Emmanuel Sanders: 6 receptions, 90 receiving yards

18. Cincinnati Bengals WR Tyler Boyd: 6 receptions, 80 receiving yards

19. Cleveland Browns WR Jarvis Landry: 4 receptions, 40 receiving yards, 1 TD

20. Tennessee Titans WR Corey Davis: 5 receptions, 85 receiving yards

21. Philadelphia Eagles WR Alshon Jeffery: 5 receptions, 65 receiving yards

22. Atlanta Falcons WR Calvin Ridley: 5 receptions, 60 receiving yards

23. Arizona Cardinals WR Larry Fitzgerald: 5 receptions, 55 receiving yards

24. Seattle Seahawks WR Tyler Lockett: 4 receptions, 55 receiving yards

25. Cleveland Browns WR Antonio Callaway: 4 receptions, 55 receiving yards

Antonio Callaway at Houston Texans

Gary Landers/Associated Press

The Cleveland Browns aren't setting the world on fire, but they have won two games in a row, and their offense is rolling. They'll be going against a Houston Texans team that is on fire—they've won eight games in a row—and the Browns will be pressed to put that offense to work. 

The Texans don't rack up points like the Kansas City Chiefs, but they have an efficient offense headlined by quarterback Deshaun Watson.

"I think Bill [O'Brien] has done a very good job of crafting the best things that all of the guys he's coaching can do," Browns head coach Gregg Williams said Thursday, per the Texans' official website.

Though the Browns will face a tough test in Houston's defense, they'll likely have to pass early and often in order to keep pace with Watson and Co. This gives rookie quarterback Antonio Callaway quite a bit of upside.

Callaway had one of his best games of the season last week, amassing four receptions, 62 yards and a touchdown. with the Texans focused primarily on wideout Jarvis Landry, Callaway could be in store for a similar day this week.

Tight Ends

1. Philadelphia Eagles TE Zach Ertz: 5 receptions, 80 receiving yards, 1 TD

2. San Francisco 49ers TE George Kittle: 6 receptions, 70 receiving yards, 1 TD

3. Kansas City Chiefs TE Travis Kelce: 8 receptions, 110 receiving yards

4. Indianapolis Colts TE Eric Ebron: 7 receptions, 105 receiving yards

5. New England Patriots TE Rob Gronkowski: 6 receptions, 100 receiving yards

6. Cleveland Browns TE David Njoku: 4 receptions, 45 yards, 1 TD

7. Carolina Panthers TE Greg Olsen: 6 receptions, 85 receiving yards

8. Tampa Bay Buccaneers TE Cameron Brate: 6 receptions, 80 receiving yards

9. Oakland Raiders TE Jared Cook: 6 receptions, 75 receiving yards

10. Atlanta Falcons TE Austin Hooper: 6 receptions, 65 receiving yards

Austin Hooper vs. Baltimore Ravens

While Atlanta Falcons tight end Austin Hooper doesn't regularly put up huge yardage totals, he is a viable fantasy option based on his PPR value. Over his last three games, Hooper has caught 19 passes, and he has 55 receptions on the season.

Based on his workload, Hooper should at least hit double-digit fantasy points this week against the Baltimore Ravens, and there is the potential for a tremendous fantasy outing if he can find the end zone.

While the Ravens have one of the best defenses in the NFL—they allow an NFL-low 18 points per game—they haven't been a fantasy wasteland for opposing tight ends, allowing the 21st-most fantasy points to the position, according to FantasyPros.

Hooper is a great streaming option in Week 13, and it wouldn't be a shock to see him finish as one of the top tight ends by week's end.