Week 13 Fantasy RB Rankings: Derrick Henry bullies his way into top five

Billy Heyen

Week 13 Fantasy RB Rankings: Derrick Henry bullies his way into top five image

The best fantasy football owners can do sometimes is react. Heading into Week 13, we're able to assess guys like Rashaad Penny, Bo Scarbrough and Benny Snell Jr. with some accuracy. Sure, it would've been nice to know last week that Penny and Snell should be in all our lineups, but it's never that simple. There was a case to be made for Scarbrough -- he already placed near RB2 territory a week ago. But you've surely opened the Week 13 fantasy RB rankings to see if what happened last week can happen again.

With Snell, the answer is contingent on the health of James Conner (shoulder). There's no reason Snell can't put up solid numbers on heavy volume against the Browns in Week 13 if he gets to be the lead back. If Conner returns, Snell will be relegated to the sideline and not have a chance at big numbers -- so, essentially, we can't really know much about Snell until late in the week. Penny seems more likely to continue his production, although he's still got to compete with Chris Carson. Penny's usage Sunday wasn't injury-related, though, and Chris Carson has pushed himself toward the doghouse because of fumbles multiple times. Penny's a former first-rounder and probably someone you can trust as a FLEX.

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

Scarbrough might be the easiest to trust in terms of continuing his workload going forward, but his Week 13 Thanksgiving matchup against the Bears is the trickiest to want to play him in. Two weeks of dominating the Lions' carries suggest that the former Alabama back has made the starter's job his, so he should definitely be rostered, but starting him this week might be just as risky as the others.

WEEK 13 DFS LINEUPS:
FD Cash | FD GPP | DK Cash | DK GPPY! Cash | Y! GPP

Other than those waiver wire targets, it's another week of anticipating good and bad matchups. David Montgomery (@ Lions) and Jordan Howard (@ Dolphins) have two of the best. Carlos Hyde (vs. Patriots) and Mark Ingram (vs. 49ers) have two of the worst. In the middle, you have a guy like Jonathan Williams, who saw nearly 30 touches on Week 12 Thursday Night Football but had really never been heard from much in his career. We'd take the relatively unproven Williams with seemingly lots of volume over two veterans in tough situations like Hyde and Ingram.

WEEK 13 PPR RANKINGS: Running back | Wide receiverTight end

And at last, with no bye weeks, you may actually be able to sit guys like Hyde and Ingram in matchups that you had no choice but to play them in before. Don't forget, too, to check your lineup before 12:30 p.m. ET on Thanksgiving to make your early decisions.

MORE WEEK 13:
Waiver pickups | FAAB budget | Snap counts | Stock watchFantasy playoff SOS

Reminder: These rankings will be adjusted throughout week, so check back often for the latest updates and analysis!

MORE WEEK 13 DFS: Stacks | Values | Lineup Builder

Week 13 Fantasy RB Rankings

These rankings are for standard, non-PPR leagues.

Rank Player
1 Christian McCaffrey, CAR vs. WAS
2 Saquon Barkley, NYG vs. GB
3 Dalvin Cook, MIN @ SEA
4 Josh Jacobs, OAK @ KC. Kansas City allows the most fantasy points to running backs, so Jacobs might be looking at a huge Week 13. 
5 Derrick Henry, TEN @ IND. Assuming Henry didn't reverse script and use up all his good weeks already, we're entering the time of year when he became a leaguer winner a year ago.
6 Le'Veon Bell, NYJ @ CIN
7 Alvin Kamara, NO @ ATL. Kamara hasn't been as effective on the ground as we've come to expect, but nine catches saved his fantasy day Sunday and a similar output could be coming his way Thursday night against a Falcons team that can be seriously thrown on.
8 Nick Chubb, CLE @ PIT
9 Ezekiel Elliott, DAL vs. BUF. Commentators really like saying that Zeke likes to eat, so what better day for him to totally get back on the right track than Thanksgiving?
10 Aaron Jones, GB @ NYG
11 Melvin Gordon, LAC @ DEN
12 Todd Gurley, LAR @ ARZ
13 Phillip Lindsay, DEN vs. LAC
14 David Montgomery, CHI @ DET. Detroit's biggest weakness is defending against solid running backs, so Montgomery should have one more great game before he approaches the rookie wall. 
15 Miles Sanders, PHI @ MIA.
16 Joe Mixon, CIN vs. NYJ
17 Devin Singletary, BUF @ DAL
18 Leonard Fournette, JAX vs. TB. Tampa has allowed the second-fewest rushing yards, but Fournette is too good to really consider sitting, especially when you add in his increased role in the passing game this season.
19 Chris Carson, SEA vs. MIN
20 Jonathan Williams, IND vs. TEN. Williams saw nearly 30 touches a week ago, and with Marlon Mack (hand) out, you pretty much have to ride the hot hand here.
21 Benny Snell Jr., PIT vs. CLE. We've removed James Conner from the rankings and moved Snell to this spot to adjust accordingly for what should be a heavy early-down workload.
22 Derrius Guice, WAS @ CAR. Guice saw an increase from seven to 10 carries in his second game back from injury, while Adrian Peterson also rushed 10 times and matched Guice's one catch. Guice is probably the more talented back at this point, but it's not a super encouraging situation for fantasy upside. This matchup is, however, so Guice should have a solid day.
23 Tevin Coleman, SF @ BAL
24 Devonta Freeman, ATL vs. NO. Check to be sure Freeman is active Thursday night.
25 Bo Scarbrough, DET vs. CHI. The Bears' run defense is deceiving at this point. It's right about league average in fantasy points allowed to running backs. Scarbrough should see 15-plus carries again on Thanksgiving, so you can feel decent about starting him.
26 Ronald Jones, TB @ JAX
27 Kenyan Drake, ARZ vs. LAR
28 Austin Ekeler, LAC @ DEN
29 Darrel Williams, KC vs. OAK
30 Kareem Hunt, CLE @ PIT. Hunt's overall offensive involvement has made him useful in standard leagues, although not to the extent that he's extra reliable in PPR formats.
31 Carlos Hyde, HOU vs. NE. The Pats have allowed the fewest fantasy points to RBs this season. The Texans' offense might move the ball decent with Deshaun Watson at the controls, but that doesn't mean you can count on a ton of production from Hyde.
32 James White, NE @ HOU
33 Sony Michel, NE @ HOU
34 Mark Ingram, BAL vs. SF. San Francisco has allowed the third-fewest fantasy points to running backs in 2019. Baltimore's best option in this game will be to rely heavily on Lamar Jackson, which means Ingram's upside is severely limited. 
35 Jamaal Williams, GB @ NYG
36 Rashaad Penny, SEA vs. MIN. Penny's huge game in Week 12 will have us keeping our eyes on comments out of Seattle all week. This is a former first-rounder who could be extra valuable in fantasy if he were to leapfrog Chris Carson on the depth chart.
37 LeSean McCoy, KC vs. OAK
38 David Johnson, ARZ vs. LAR
39 Adrian Peterson, WAS @ CAR
40 Tarik Cohen, CHI @ DET
41 Latavius Murray, NO @ ATL
42 Raheem Mostert, SF @ BAL
43 Kalen Ballage, MIA vs. PHI. When eight touches for 26 yards is an improvement, that's when it whacks you over the head again that it might be time to find a different running back. 
44 Jaylen Samuels, PIT vs. CLE
45 Peyton Barber, TB @ JAX
46 Royce Freeman, DEN vs. LAC
47 Duke Johnson Jr., HOU vs. NE
48 Jay Ajayi, PHI @ MIA. Ajayi received six carries in Week 12 and could be a speculative play this week if Jordan Howard remains out, but you'd be betting on Ajayi finding the end zone to make his fantasy start worthwhile.
49 Brian Hill, ATL vs. NO. Hill would rise back up to around 40 if Devonta Freeman is out Thursday night.
50 Nyheim Hines, IND vs. TEN. Hines saw a season-high nine carries with Marlon Mack (hand) out in Week 12, so you can probably pencil Hines in for low double-digit touches.
51 Frank Gore, BUF @ DAL
52 Dare Ogunbowale, TB @ JAX
53 Bilal Powell, NYJ @ CIN
54 Alexander Mattison, MIN @ SEA
55 Gus Edwards, BAL vs. SF
56 J.D. McKissic, DET vs. CHI
57 Malcolm Brown, LAR @ ARZ
58 Giovani Bernard, CIN vs. NYJ
59 Rex Burkhead, NE @ HOU
60 Tony Pollard, DAL vs. BUF
61 Dion Lewis, TEN @ IND
62 Ty Johnson, DET vs. CHI
63 Wayne Gallman, NYG vs. GB

Billy Heyen