Happy December, everyone! The holiday season has seemingly kicked the calendar into fast forward, and fantasy football owners likely feel the same about the home stretch of the regular season. As we move closer to the fantasy playoffs, the magnitude of every running back start-or-sit decision seems to intensify. Our Week 13 fantasy RB PPR rankings will help steer you in the right direction at this all-important stage of the season.
Of course, we must always take into consideration bye weeks and injuries. With the Cardinals and Panthers off this week, owners will be without Arizona’s James Conner and Carolina’s D’Onta Foreman, and with injuries mounting, many could be scrambling to replace the likes of Travis Etienne Jr. (foot), Michael Carter (ankle), and New England’s Damien Harris (thigh). All exited last week’s games early, and with Leonard Fournette (hip), Raheem Mostert (knee), and Joe Mixon (concussion) not even suiting up, fantasy owners will have to monitor a lot of injury reports this week.
Don’t despair, though — there are some decent fill-ins this week, starting with Jacksonville’s JaMycal Hasty (@ Lions in Week 13). With Etienne going down, Hasty immediately made an impact in the Jaguars’ 28-27 upset of the Ravens. The former Niner tallied 95 scrimmage yards and a TD and would be a superb play against a Detroit D that has served up the fourth-most rushing TDs and ninth-most rushing yards this season. Fellow fill-in back Zonovan Knight (@ Vikings) would also be in play if Carter is out, but James Robinson, who was a healthy scratch last week, could be back in the mix to steal touches from Knight. Either way, a tough matchup relegates Knight to the flex tier, but he showed enough as a runner and receiver with over 100 total yards to merit consideration.
WEEK 13 STANDARD RANKINGS:
QBs | RBs | WRs | TEs | D/STs | Kickers
Going deeper, you could consider Kareem Hunt (@ Texans), Cam Akers and Kyren Williams (vs. Seahawks), and Samaje Perine (vs. Chiefs). Hunt has such a good matchup that even with just his usual six-to-10 touches, he could have flex value. Akers and Williams also have a great matchup, and while Akers will probably get more carries, Williams could actually have more PPR value because he plays more snaps. Perine is also in play even if Mixon returns thanks to what figures to be a favorable, high-scoring matchup.
WEEK 13 PPR RANKINGS:
QBs | WRs | TEs | D/STs | Kickers
As far as other committee situations around the league, we will continue to ride Tony Pollard (vs. Colts), but it’s important to recognize that running mate Ezekiel Elliott remains a deeply involved part of this offense. As for the Detroit timeshare, Jamaal Williams (vs. Jaguars) is clearly the leader, but D’Andre Swift still has some PPR flex value thanks to his pass-catching ability and big-play upside. We also like both Brian Robinson Jr. and Antonio Gibson (@ Giants) this week. Robinson Jr. is the better bet in standard formats, but Gibson still sees more targets.
Similarly, we like Cordarrelle Patterson (vs. Steelers) more than Tyler Allgeier even though the latter is seemingly stealing more carries every week. Patterson remains the go-to pass-catcher, though, and always has big-play potential, so he remains an RB2/flex despite a relatively tough matchup. Likewise, we still like Rachaad White’s high PPR floor in a tough matchup against the Saints even if Fournette is back, but both backs would have relatively low ceilings.
RBs outside the top 25 we see with the most upside include Gus Edwards (vs. Broncos), who appears fully healthy and should have plenty of opportunities, though his PPR floor and ceiling are lower compared to standard leagues. Chiefs’ rookie Isiah Pacheco (@ Bengals) is the undisputed No. 1 in the K.C. backfield, and hopefully, that will translate to a few more pass-catching opportunities. Latavius Murray (@ Ravens) is Denver’s last hope at RB, but he doesn’t figure to catch many passes. He’s on the flex bubble, just barely above Devin Singletary (@ Patriots), who has an even tougher matchup.
All of the above backs are ranked higher than Mostert (@ 49ers), AJ Dillon (@ Bears), Elijah Mitchell (vs. Dolphins), and Allgeier (vs. Steelers), none of whom get many targets. Given their tough matchups, their rushing floors are lower than usual, making them even more TD-dependent than usual. You can usually do better in PPR leagues.
Note: We’ll be updating these RB PPR rankings throughout the week, so check back for analysis and the latest player movement.
Week 13 fantasy RB PPR rankings
Rankings based on full-point PPR scoring leagues.
Rank Player
1 Austin Ekeler, Chargers @ Raiders
2 Nick Chubb, Browns @ Texans
3 Josh Jacobs, Raiders vs. Chargers
4 Christian McCaffrey, 49ers vs. Dolphins
5 Joe Mixon, Bengals vs. Chiefs
6 Derrick Henry, Titans @ Eagles
7 Saquon Barkley, Giants vs. Commanders
8 Rhamondre Stevenson, Patriots vs. Bills
9 Dalvin Cook, Vikings vs. Jets
10 Kenneth Walker III, Seahawks @ Rams
11 Aaron Jones, Packers @ Bears
12 Alvin Kamara, Saints @ Buccaneers
13 Dameon Pierce, Texans vs. Browns
14 David Montgomery, Bears vs. Packers
15 Jonathan Taylor, Colts @ Cowboys
16 JaMycal Hasty, Jaguars @ Lions
17 Tony Pollard, Cowboys vs. Colts
18 Jamaal Williams, Lions vs. Jaguars
19 Najee Harris, Steelers @ Falcons
20 Miles Sanders, Eagles vs. Titans
21 Jeff Wilson Jr., Dolphins @ 49ers
22 Brian Robinson Jr., Commanders @ Giants
23 Cordarrelle Patterson, Falcons vs. Steelers
24 Antonio Gibson, Commanders @ Giants
25 Rachaad White, Buccaneers vs. Saints
26 Cam Akers, Rams vs. Seahawks
27 Gus Edwards, Ravens vs. Broncos
28 Ezekiel Elliott, Cowboys vs. Colts
29 Isiah Pacheco, Chiefs @ Bengals
29 Leonard Fournette, Buccaneers vs. Saints
31 Latavius Murray, Broncos @ Ravens
32 D’Andre Swift, Lions vs. Jaguars
33 Kareem Hunt, Browns @ Texans
34 Zonovan Knight, Jets @ Vikings
35 Kyren Williams, Rams vs. Seahawks
36 Devin Singletary, Bills @ Patriots
37 Elijah Mitchell, 49ers vs. Dolphins
38 Raheem Mostert, Dolphins @ 49ers
39 Tyler Allgeier, Falcons vs. Steelers
40 Jerick McKinnon, Chiefs @ Bengals
41 Samaje Perine, Bengals vs. Chiefs
42 James Robinson, Jets @ Vikings
43 AJ Dillon, Packers @ Bears
44 Jaylen Warren, Steelers @ Falcons
45 Darrynton Evans, Bears vs. Packers
46 Deon Jackson, Colts @ Cowboys
47 Dontrell Hilliard, Titans @ Eagles
48 Darrell Henderson Jr., Jaguars @ Lions
49 Kenyan Drake, Ravens vs. Broncos
50 James Cook, Bills @ Patriots
51 Travis Homer, Seahawks @ Rams
52 Alexander Mattison, Vikings vs. Jets
53 Isaiah Spiller, Chargers @ Raiders
54 Caleb Huntley, Falcons vs. Steelers
55 Kenneth Gainwell, Eagles vs. Titans
56 Nyheim Hines, Bills @ Patriots
57 Mark Ingram II, Saints @ Buccaneers
58 Marlon Mack, Broncos @ Ravens
59 Matt Breida, Giants vs. Commanders
60 Justice Hill, Ravens vs. Broncos
Hits: 0
