Fantasy RB PPR Rankings Week 13: Who to start, sit at running back in fantasy football

Matt Lutovsky

Fantasy RB PPR Rankings Week 13: Who to start, sit at running back in fantasy football image

Fantasy football owners could be without several top pass-catching running backs this week, as Christian McCaffrey and Kareem Hunt are on bye and both Alvin Kamara (knee) and D'Andre Swift (shoulder) are dealing with injuries. The show must go on one way or another, and our Week 13 fantasy RB PPR rankings are here to help with your tough start 'em, sit 'em decisions. 

In addition to McCaffrey and Hunt, Nick Chubb, Aaron Jones, AJ Dillon, and Dontrell Hilliard/D'onta Foreman are on bye. That takes away some top backs, and even more could be missing depending on who's out because of injuries. We know Kamara and Swift will be "questionable," but Dalvin Cook (shoulder), Ezekiel Elliott (knee), Jordan Howard (knee), and Mark Ingram (knee) are also going to require fantasy owners to watch the practice reports.

WEEK 13 PPR RANKINGS:
Quarterback | Wide receiver | Tight end | D/ST | Kicker

Fortunately, several teams that make good use of at least two backs have highly favorable matchups. The Lions (vs. Vikings), Eagles (@ Jets), Bengals (vs. Chargers), 49ers (@ Seahawks), and Washington (@ Raiders) all have top-five matchups for RBs, so Boston Scott, Samaje Perine, Jeff Wilson Jr., J.D. McKissic, and either Jamaal Williams or Godwin Igwebuike could be in play as flexes. Most of the those players, with the possible exception of Wilson Jr., generally have more value in PPR leagues. 

WEEK 13 STANDARD RANKINGS:
Quarterback | Running back | Wide receiver | Tight end | D/ST | Kicker

When it comes to PPR-specific sleepers, the Bengals (@ Chargers), Buccaneers (@ Falcons), Eagles (vs. Jets), Patriots (@ Bills), Falcons (vs. Buccaneers), Cardinals (@ Bears), Chiefs (vs. Broncos), and Giants (@  Dolphins) all entered Week 12 allowing at least 6.5 RB receptions per game (as did the Jets and Seahawks, who we already mentioned). Among those teams' opponents, only Ty Johnson (@ Eagles) and maybe Devin Singletary/Matt Breida (vs. Patriots) stand out as borderline guys who could potentially have some extra value in PPR leagues, but Singletary and Breida still have pretty low ceilings. 

WEEK 13 DFS LINEUPS: DraftKings | FanDuel | Yahoo

Buffalo's backs aren't the only ones with bad matchups this week. Houston's duo of David Johnson and Rex Burkhead (vs. Colts) are also bad options despite being adept pass-catchers. Alex Collins (vs. 49ers) and Damien Harris and Rhamondre Stevenson (@ Bills) are also in tough spots, dropping them to merely flex backs. 

WEEK 13 DFS: Best values | Best stacks | Lineup Builder

For the most part, this is one of those weeks where the lineup choices are kind of made for you. There are some obvious sleepers who are usually on the start-sit bubble as it is, which helps, and a few obvious "sits" that you want to bench most weeks anyway. It's entirely possible -- even likely -- that more injuries/illnesses will wreak havoc on these rankings before next Sunday rolls around, but we'll watch the practice reports and adjust as needed. 

WEEK 13 FANTASY: Sleepers | Busts | Start 'em, sit 'em

Note: We'll be updating these RB PPR rankings throughout the week, so check back for analysis and the latest player movement.

Fantasy RB PPR Rankings Week 13: Who to start at running back

Rankings are based on full-point PPR scoring

Rank Player
1 Jonathan Taylor, IND @ HOU
2 Joe Mixon, CIN vs. LAC
3 Najee Harris, PIT vs. BAL
4 Austin Ekeler, LAC @ CIN
5 Leonard Fournette, TB @ ATL
6 Antonio Gibson, WAS @ LV
7 Alexander Mattison, MIN @ DET
8 Myles Gaskin, MIA vs. NYG
9 Cordarrelle Patterson, ATL vs. TB
10 Saquon Barkley, NYG @ MIA
11 Miles Sanders, PHI @ NYJ
12 Javonte Williams, DEN @ KC
13 Elijah Mitchell, SF @ SEA
14 James Robinson, JAX @ LAR
15 Darrell Henderson, LAR vs. JAX
16 Jamaal Williams, DET vs. MIN
17 David Montgomery, CHI vs. ARI
18 James Conner, ARI @ CHI
19 Josh Jacobs, LV vs. WAS
20 Ezekiel Elliott, DAL @ NO
21 Boston Scott, PHI @ NYJ
22 Devonta Freeman, BAL @ PIT
23 Clyde Edwards-Helaire, KC vs. DEN
24 Mark Ingram, NO vs. DAL
25 Tevin Coleman, NYJ vs. PHI
26 Alex Collins, SEA vs. SF
27 Tony Pollard, DAL @ NO
28 Ty Johnson, NYJ vs. PHI
29 Devin Singletary, BUF vs. NE
30 Damien Harris, NE @ BUF
31 Jeff Wilson Jr., SF @ SEA
32 Samaje Perine, CIN vs. LAC
33 Matt Breida, BUF vs. NE
34 Latavius Murray, BAL @ PIT
35 Rhamondre Stevenson, NE @ BUF
36 Godwin Igwebuike, DET vs. MIN
37 Rex Burkhead, HOU vs. IND
38 Jaret Patterson, WAS @ LV
39 Darrel Williams, KC vs. DEN
40 Royce Freeman, HOU vs. IND
41 Kenyan Drake, LV vs. WAS
42 Devontae Booker, NYG @ MIA
43 Nyheim Hines, IND @ HOU
44 Kene Nwangwu, MIN @ DET
45 Salvon Ahmed, MIA vs. NYG
46 Ronald Jones II, TB @ ATL
47 DeeJay Dallas, SEA vs. SF
48 Sony Michel, LAR vs. JAX
49 Kenneth Gainwell, PHI @ NYJ
50 Mike Davis, ATL vs. TB
51 Eno Benjamin, ARI @ CHI
52 Brandon Bolden, NE @ BUF
53 Giovani Bernard, TB @ ATL
54 Austin Walter, NYJ vs. PHI
55 Carlos Hyde, JAX @ LAR
56 Ty'Son Williams, BAL @ PIT
57 Khalil Herbert, CHI vs. ARI

Matt Lutovsky

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Matt Lutovsky has been a writer and editor for The Sporting News since 2007, primarily writing about fantasy sports, betting, and gaming.