Which quarterbacks will shine in Week 13 for your fantasy football teams? We’ll take a look at all of them in our rankings.
Welcome to Week 13 of the NFL season. At this point we have a firm grasp on what players have helped teams into the fantasy playoffs this season. Your top fantasy quarterbacks are led by Lamar Jackson, who has averaged 24.9 fantasy points per game. In second place we have Jalen Hurts and his 11 rushing touchdowns at 22.3 fantasy points per game.
But let’s take another look at Jackson just to appreciate how good he’s been. On the season he has 27 passing touchdowns to just three interceptions, over 3,000 yards passing and 8.9 yards per pass attempt. And that’s all before I give you his rushing stats. He only has three rushing touchdowns thanks to Derrick Henry hoarding them, but does lead the league with 599 yards rushing. So, in raw stats at least, he’s first in passing yards, passing touchdowns, and rushing yards, then he’s second in interception rate and yards per attempt. And sure, Derrick Henry is awesome, but without Jackson, he wouldn’t be nearly as awesome. So far this season he is averaging an amazing 6 yards per carry and is up over 1,300 yards rushing and at 13 touchdowns through 12 games. Henry has never hit such a high yards per carry in his career. The threat of Jackson running has made his job so much easier, along with Jackson’s ability to lead the offense as a whole, setting Henry up for some gimme rushing touchdowns. Jackson is the MVP so far and it would take some big shifts for that to change.
Jackson just keeps getting better it seems, while the other elite quarterbacks continue to play well, but just not up to his level through 12 games. But, we have seen some strong rookies and middling veterans step up this season in fantasy with Baker Mayfield, Jayden Daniels, Bo Nix, and Sam Darnold all in the current Top 9 for fantasy quarterbacks. Sure, if you drafted Jackson, you’re likely doing well this season, but you could have gotten away with some later round guys this year and still competed.
Week 13 quarterback bye weeks
None, but six next week, so be vigilant
Week 13 quarterback injuries
Gardner Minshew, Colts
Minshew suffered a collarbone fracture in Week 12 against the Broncos. That injury will end his season, likely giving Aiden O’Connell another look if he is healthy. If not, Desmond Ridder would take over.
Brock Purdy, 49ers
Purdy missed Week 12 versus the Packers due to a shoulder injury. His status for Week 13 is still in the air, but it appears he at least has a chance to play. If he can’t, Brandon Allen would likely get another start, this time against the Buffalo Bills on Sunday Night Football.
Trevor Lawrence, Jaguars
Lawrence returned to practice this Monday, but we don’t know what his status is for this week yet. The Jaguars very much need him to return, as they’ve been awful(er) under Mac Jones. We’ll learn more as the week moved forward as to which quarterback will start against the Houston Texans in Week 13.
Week 13 quarterback sleepers
Bryce Young, Panthers vs. Buccaneers
Okay, okay, hear me out. There’s a good chance you don’t need a streamer this week, as there are no teams on a bye, but, if you are in a deep, or 2QB league, and are stuck, Young is set up well for a good game. First off, Young hasn’t been awful of late and just had his best game of the season at home against one of the best defenses in the league in the Chiefs. He ended up completing 21 passes for 263 yards and a touchdown, while rushing for 20 more yards. This week, he stays at home, but gets a much better matchup against the Buccaneers, who rank 31st in pass defense EPA and 29th in allowing fantasy points to quarterbacks.
The Buccaneers faced Tommy DeVito and the Giants last week, so that doesn’t count as an actual NFL game, but before that they gave up 20 passing touchdowns to three interceptions since Week 4. Baker Mayfield and company should be able to get an early lead against the Panthers weak defense and push Young to throw the ball against their poor pass defense.
Anthony Richardson, Colts vs. Patriots
Richardson is still more likely to put up good numbers on the ground than through the air, but he’s not devoid of that ability, especially on big chunk plays to Alec Pierce. This week he gets a Patriots team that just gave up four touchdown passes to Tua Tagovailoa and Matthew Stafford in consecutive weeks. They look like they’ve given up and we know Richardson wants to prove himself.
