With six teams on bye in a pivotal Week 13, fantasy football owners will be without the services of numerous set-it-and-forget-it studs such as Josh Allen, Lamar Jackson, Stefon Diggs, Davante Adams, T.J. Hockenson, and Josh Jacobs. Many owners will be forced to rely on bench players and free agents to lead their team into the winner's circle this week. Our Week 13 fantasy sleeper list, which includes Zack Moss, Kenny Pickett, Jonathan Mingo, and Juwan Johnson, can help shore up the losses of those who are banged up or on bye.
We always stress that any of our sleeper picks could disappoint in Week 13. We like to take some chances with our sleeper picks because recommending a bunch of "must-starts" simply isn't needed. You shouldn't start our sleeper picks over proven, early-round studs, but if your roster is already loaded with stars, then you don't need our advice anyway. If nothing else, our sleeper picks can help you find DFS values, as the prices of these players should be affordable.
After a strong Week 11, last week's sleeper picks didn't hit at the same clip, but we still got above-average fantasy efforts from Kyren Williams, Keaton Mitchell, Brandin Cooks, Juwan Johnson, Isaiah Likely, the Giants D/ST, Titans D/ST, and Patriots D/ST. With even more fantasy owners looking for replacement options this week, we know we need to be on our "A" game.
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Trust these sleepers to fill in your lineup gaps.
WEEK 13 FANTASY ADVICE: Busts | Projections | Start-sit
Fantasy RB Sleepers Week 13
D'Ernest Johnson, Jaguars vs. Bengals (Nick Musial). Johnson totaled eight touches last week, seeing increased usage when Travis Etienne briefly exited with a chest issue. Etienne will be active on Monday night, but with Johnson supplanting rookie Tank Bigsby as the team's No. 2 RB, he could see 10-plus touches in a projected positive game script with the Jaguars pegged as eight-point home favorites. He's had a reception of at least 34 yards in each of the past two games, and Cincinnati has been crushed by RBs over the past three games.
Zack Moss, Colts @ Titans (Vinnie Iyer). Moss resumes his RB1 potential with Jonathan Taylor (thumb) set to miss the rest of the fantasy football regular season. Moss rolled through Tennessee's tough run defense in the first meeting for two TDs on top of 195 scrimmage yards. If he gets half of both totals, he's golden.
Ezekiel Elliott, Patriots vs. Chargers (Matt Lutovsky). It’s been a relatively quiet season for Elliott, but his usage has been pretty steady. He’s a good bet for around 10 touches, and he now faces a banged-up Chargers’ defense that’s been below average against RBs all year. Bill Belichick has to know the only path to victory is leaning on his backs, so both Rhamondre Stevenson and Elliott should be busy on Sunday.
WEEK 13 STANDARD RANKINGS:
QBs | RBs | WRs | TEs | D/STs | Kickers
Fantasy QB Sleepers Week 13
Gardner Minshew, Colts @ Titans (Musial). Minshew is in a favorable position to post low-end QB1 numbers against a Tennessee defense allowing the fourth-highest dropback success rate (48%). After taking over for the injured Anthony Richardson in the Colts' first regular-season meeting against the Titans, Minshew completed 11-of-14 passes for 155 yards in relief duty (67-percent snap share). With a full workload this time around, a 250-yard, multi-TD day is feasible.
Russell Wilson, Broncos @ Texans (Iyer). This matchup should have sneaky shootout potential, as Wilson can throw well working often to the middle of the field and use his legs at key moments, too. Wilson also can have higher volume as the Denver defense gets challenged downfield often by C.J. Stroud on the other side.
Kenny Pickett, Steelers vs. Cardinals (Lutovsky). Pickett is the definition of "low ceiling," but he certainly enjoyed his first go-round in the post-Matt Canada era, throwing for 278 yards. In true Pickett fashion, he didn’t have any touchdowns, but he could easily put it all together for a solid 250-yard, two-TD outing against Arizona. The Cardinals were just torched for four TDs by Matthew Stafford, and they give up the seventh-most fantasy points per game (FPPG) to QBs.
WEEK 13 PPR RANKINGS:
QBs | RBs | WRs | TEs | D/STs | Kickers
Fantasy WR Sleepers Week 13
Lynn Bowden Jr., Saints vs. Lions (Musial). There's a chance New Orleans could enter Sunday's home contest without their top three WRs (Chris Olave, Michael Thomas, Rashid Shaheed), which means Bowden Jr. could see steady usage as an injury fill-in. Bowden Jr. played 64 percent of the Saints' offensive snaps in Week 12, a number that could reach near the 90-percent mark if Olave (concussion) and Shaheed (thigh) miss game action. His increased opportunity could translate to flex-worthy numbers.
Curtis Samuel, Commanders vs. Dolphins (Iyer). He came through with a 100-yard game as Sam Howell pivoted more to focusing on three wide receivers in Dallas. He will be under siege per usual again vs. Miami, meaning he will work most to Samuel away from the Dolphins' veteran corners and working for shorter routes. Samuel could easily see around 10 targets again.
Jonathan Mingo, Panthers @ Buccaneers (Lutovsky). Mingo has seen at least six targets in each of the past three games while playing virtually every offensive snap. With a new coach and playcaller in town, we could see Mingo utilized even more in Carolina’s offense. Against Tampa’s 31st-ranked pass defense, that should lead to WR3/flex-worthy numbers.
WEEK 13 DFS:
DK lineup | FD lineup | Best stacks | Best values
Fantasy TE Sleepers Week 13
Cade Otton, Buccaneers vs. Panthers (Musial). Otton routinely logs a high snap share, as the second-year tight end has been a relied-upon safety blanket for Baker Mayfield. Otton has seen at least four targets in five of his past six games, and if he can haul in his fourth TD of the year, a top-10 finish at the position is well within reach this week.
Tyler Conklin, Jets vs. Falcons (Iyer). Conklin continues to be the second-best target behind Garrett Wilson for Tim Boyle, whatever that's worth. Allen Lazard was a healthy inactive last week, and Atlanta has trouble covering the tight end all season. Conklin has a fair shot at a 5-50 line and a potential short TD.
Juwan Johnson, Saints vs. Lions (Lutovsky). The Lions have struggled against TEs all year, allowing the 12th-most FPPG to the position, but beyond that, Johnson is ticketed for more targets with Michael Thomas (knee) out and Chris Olave (concussion) and Rashid Shaheed (thigh) also looking iffy. He's coming off a seven-target game, and he should see similar usage this week.
Fantasy Defense Sleepers Week 13
Los Angeles Chargers @ Patriots (Musial). Regardless of whether Bailey Zappe or Mac Jones starts, there's a good chance the Patriots will score 17 or fewer points this Sunday. Apart from Zay Flowers' 37-yard TD run, Los Angeles' defensive unit did their part to almost pull off an upset win in Week 12. Every Chargers defender should feast against an inept Patriots' offense.
Tampa Bay Buccaneers vs. Panthers (Iyer). The firing of Frank Reich might create a spark for the Carolina offense against a team with a beat-up secondary, but the vibes weren't good with Thomas Brown calling plays. Now, former notable players Josh McCown and Duce Staley are off the staff. The Buccaneers' defense is still rather functional schematically for Todd Bowles and will come through in a virtual must-win situation at home.
Jacksonville Jaguars vs. Bengals (Lutovsky). Jake Browning wasn’t horrible in his first Bengals’ start, but he still took four sacks and tossed an INT while Cincinnati scored 10 offensive points. The Jags are tied for fifth in total takeaways, so expect a big performance in this home prime-time matchup.
