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

There are only two bye weeks left in the 2021 NFL season, but fantasy managers still must navigate around that roadblock the remainder of Week 13.

The Green Bay Packers, Tennessee Titans, Carolina Panthers and Cleveland Browns all have the week off. There might not be any juggernauts in that mix—the Titans are the highest-scoring team of the four and only rank 12th overall—but there are multiple contributors on each roster, so there's a good chance your club is shorthanded to some degree.

That's tough given the rising stakes in your late-season matchups, so it's imperative you make the most of your active roster. Our aim is to help you do that with top-10 PPR rankings at the three marquee positions and a larger flex ranking.

Top 10

1. Tom Brady, TB (at ATL)

2. Lamar Jackson, BAL (at PIT)

3. Justin Herbert, LAC (at CIN)

4. Patrick Mahomes, KC (vs. DEN)

5. Josh Allen, BUF (vs. NE)

6. Jalen Hurts, PHI (at NYJ)

7. Matthew Stafford, LAR (vs. JAX)

8. Kyler Murray, ARI (at CHI)

9. Derek Carr, LV (vs. WAS)

10. Kirk Cousins, MIN (at DET)

              

Can we get a quick round of applause for Jalen Hurts' rushing ability? It makes him an upper-echelon option as a fantasy quarterback even as it remains very unclear how good he is as a real-life signal-caller.

To that end, he has three touchdown passes and four interceptions over his last five games. He's also the fifth-highest scoring fantasy quarterback over that stretch, per FantasyPros. That's what 334 rushing yards and three rushing scores can do.

Meanwhile, Derek Carr hasn't quite cracked the elite fantasy rankings at the position, but he perpetually knocks on the door.

For the year, he averages the 13th-most fantasy points at the position. He has the yardage to climb higher (3,414, tops in the league), he just needs more scoring strikes (17, tied for 11th). This should be a week that nudges him higher, as Washington has tied for an NFL-worst 26 touchdown passes allowed.

Top 10

1. Jonathan Taylor, IND (at HOU)

2. Austin Ekeler, LAC (at CIN)

3. Joe Mixon, CIN (vs. LAC)

4. Alexander Mattison, MIN (at DET)

5. Leonard Fournette, TB (at ATL)

6. Elijah Mitchell, SF (at SEA)

7. James Conner, ARI (at CHI)

8. Cordarrelle Patterson, ATL (vs. TB)

9. Najee Harris, PIT (vs. BAL)

10. Darrell Henderson Jr, LAR (vs. JAX)

           

When Dalvin Cook goes down, Alexander Mattison's fantasy value goes way up. He has started twice for Cook this season and totaled 51 carries, 13 receptions, 324 scrimmage yards and a score in those contests.

Detroit's run defense is dreadful. The Lions rank 29th in average rushing yards and 30th in fantasy points allowed to the position, per Yahoo. Mattison already knows this, having gouged the Lions back in Week 5, when he was RB6 in PPR scoring.

There are better fantasy running backs than Cordarrelle Patterson, but good luck finding a more fascinating one. He's a 30-year-old, previously converted wide receiver who has been the ninth-best PPR scorer at the position so far.

Given his receiving background, you might think his pass-catching prowess is the reason for his fantasy-relevance, and sometimes it is. But he can also do damage on the ground (he just rushed it 16 times for 108 yards and two scores last week), and sometimes he draws from both Column A and Column B.

1. Cooper Kupp, LAR (vs. JAX)

2. Tyreek Hill, KC (vs. DEN)

3. Justin Jefferson, MIN (at DET)

4. Keenan Allen, LAC (at CIN)

5. Stefon Diggs, BUF (vs. NE)

6. Diontae Johnson, PIT (vs. BAL)

7. Marquise Brown, BAL (at PIT)

8. Terry McLaurin, WAS (at LV)

9. Ja'Marr Chase, CIN (vs. LAC)

10. Jaylen Waddle, MIA (vs. NYG)

              

Two wide receivers have averaged more fantasy points than Stefon Diggs since Week 7: Cooper Kupp, the season's best fantasy wideout by a mile, and Deebo Samuel, the third player in NFL history with 1,000 receiving yards, five receiving touchdowns and five touchdown runs in the same season, per ESPN Stats & Info.

Diggs' statistical company is all elite, just like him. He is currently on a scoring binge that could keep him in even more exclusive company, as his last six games have yielded six touchdown receptions.

While 16 different players have more receptions than Marquise Brown this season, only six have more catches that spanned 20-plus yards.

He has the acceleration to create separation and the long speed to turn those openings into touchdowns, so he can have electric moments even when the ball doesn't come his way often. That's what makes it so interesting to see the Ravens up his involvement, as he has double-digit targets in four of his last five games. With that kind of volume and this level of explosiveness, it feels like a jaw-dropping performance could be coming soon.

Top 40

1. Jonathan Taylor, IND (at HOU)

2. Austin Ekeler, LAC (at CIN)

3. Joe Mixon, CIN (vs. LAC)

4. Cooper Kupp, LAR (vs. JAX)

5. Tyreek Hill, KC (vs. DEN)

6. Alexander Mattison, MIN (at DET)

7. Leonard Fournette, TB (at ATL)

8. Elijah Mitchell, SF (at SEA)

9. Justin Jefferson, MIN (at DET)

10. James Conner, ARI (at CHI)

11. Cordarrelle Patterson, ATL (vs. TB)

12. Keenan Allen, LAC (at CIN)

13. Stefon Diggs, BUF (vs. NE)

14. Najee Harris, PIT (vs. BAL)

15. Darrell Henderson Jr, LAR (vs. JAX)

16. Antonio Gibson, WAS

17. Diontae Johnson, PIT (vs. BAL)

18. Marquise Brown, BAL (at PIT)

19. Terry McLaurin, WAS (at LV)

20. Ja'Marr Chase, CIN (vs. LAC)

21. Travis Kelce, KC (vs. DEN)

22. Jaylen Waddle, MIA (vs. NYG)

23. Adam Thielen, MIN (at DET)

24. Jamaal Williams, DET (vs. MIN)

25. James Robinson, JAX (at LAR)

26. Chris Godwin, TB (at ATL)

27. Brandon Aiyuk, SF (at SEA)

28. Mark Andrews, BAL (at PIT)

29. Mike Evans, TB (at ATL)

30. Michael Pitman Jr, IND (at HOU)

31. Saquon Barkley, NYG (at MIA)

32. Josh Jacobs, LV (vs. WAS)

33. George Kittle, SF (at SEA)

34. Rob Gronkowski, TB (at ATL)

35. Myles Gaskin, MIA (vs. NYG)

36. Mike Williams, LAC (at CIN)

37. Hunter Renfrow, LV (vs. WAS)

38. Tee Higgins, CIN (vs. LAC)

39. Tyler Lockett, SEA (vs. SF)

40. DK Metcalf, SEA (vs. SF)