Week 13 Fantasy Football Starts & Sits (2021)

Welcome to BYEmageddon 2: Electric Boogaloo!

Just when you thought your lineup was coming together, we now have to go through the second-worst bye week of the season. Last week, I loved seeing my guy JD McKissic as a top-10 running back, but I also thought Cam Newton was going to have a fantasy output than the dud he put forth. Now, we head to Week 13 Fantasy Football matchups!

On bye: Carolina Panthers, Cleveland Browns, Green Bay Packers, and Tennessee Titans

Here are your 4-EYED Starts & Sits of the Week!

Quarterbacks

Start: Kirk Cousins, Minnesota Vikings against the Detroit Lions

Look, I understand the hesitation. The dude lined up under the wrong dude’s butt in his last game. But, Cousins is quietly having a solid season. Did you know that he has thrown 23 touchdowns to only three interceptions this year? And sure, Dalvin Cook is going to be missing, but Cousins had 14 fantasy points the last time these teams played and has been on a better clip recently. I like him this week.

Additional Week 13 Fantasy Football Starts:

Derek Carr against the Washington Football Team, Carson Wentz against the Houston Texans, and Matthew Stafford against the Jacksonville Jaguars.

Sit: Mac Jones, New England Patriots against the Buffalo Bills

Jones has been a great quarterback addition for fantasy football rosters. He has at least 19 fantasy points in two out of his last three games. This week though, he takes on the Bills defense. They are giving up the fewest fantasy points per game to opposing quarterbacks.

Additional Week 13 Fantasy Football Sits:

Russell Wilson against the San Francisco 49ers, Matt Ryan against the Tampa Bay Buccaneers, and Joe Burrow against the Los Angeles Chargers.

Running Backs

Start: Alexander Mattison, Minnesota Vikings against the Detroit Lions

Just going to start the whole Vikings offense at this rate. Mattison will be filling in for the injured Dalvin Cook. He has done so earlier this season had success. You may remember he went off against the Detroit Lions when these teams met for the first time in Week 5. Mattison had 25 carries for 113 yards and caught all seven of his targets for 40 more yards and a touchdown. He finished as the overall RB9 that week in half-PPR scoring.

Additional Week 13 Fantasy Football Starts:

Miles Sanders against the New York Jets, Elijah Mitchell against the Seattle Seahawks, and Antonio Gibson against the Las Vegas Raiders.

Sit: Tony Pollard, Dallas Cowboys against the New Orleans Saints

Pollard got a boost with the news that Zeke was going to be limited to rest his knees, but the starting running back denies that he is going to have a lighter workload going forward. Either way, the Saints defense is giving up the fewest fantasy points to opposing running backs. With the other weapons of the Cowboys getting healthier, I think Pollard takes a back seat in the scheme this week.

Additional Week 13 Fantasy Football Sits:

Damien Harris against the Buffalo Bills, Cordarelle Patterson against the Tampa Bay Buccaneers, and Saquon Barkley against the Miami Dolphins.

Wide Receivers

Start: DeVonta Smith, Philadelphia Eagles against the New York Jets

Smith is coming off of an awful 3.2 fantasy point performance. A couple of things at play for his start though. 1) He complained about his usage in the last game and squeaky wheels usually rebound with big performances. 2) Hurts is banged up and may not be able to be as mobile so if it is Minshew Mania, he is going to lean on his best weapon.

Additional Week 13 Fantasy Football Starts:

Hunter Renfrow against the Washington Football Team, CeeDee Lamb against the New Orleans Saints, and Brandin Cooks against the Indianapolis Colts.

Sit: Brandon Aiyuk, San Francisco 49ers against the Seattle Seahawks

Starting wide receiver Deebo Samuel is going to miss time with a groin injury, but I don’t think that Aiyuk automatically steps into a fantasy-relevant role. Aiyuk hasn’t looked himself this year from what we came to expect from the end of his rookie year. The first times these teams met in Week 4, Aiyuk had one reception for 15 yards.

Additional Week 13 Fantasy Football Sits:

Kendrick Bourne against the Buffalo Bills, Cole Beasley against the New England Patriots, and Tyler Boyd against the Los Angeles Chargers.

Tight Ends

Start: Dallas Goedert, Philadelphia Eagles against the New York Jets

Goedert has had an up and down season, but still has one of the highest usage rates among tight ends. Quarterback Jalen Hurts was banged up this in Week 12 and so there is a chance that if he is active he won’t be as mobile as usual or he could be inactive and it’ll be Minshew Mania again. Either way, I think Goedert sees an uptick in targets this week and should be started.

Additional Week 13 Fantasy Football Starts:

Logan Thomas against the Las Vegas Raiders, Pat Freiermuth against the Baltimore Ravens, and Noah Fant against the Kansas City Chiefs.

Sit: Tyler Conklin, Minnesota Vikings against the Detroit Lions

Conklin was banged up in the team’s Week 12 game. He had also been very touchdown-dependent in the games that he did have fantasy relevance. Even with the Vikings having to make up production from no Dalvin Cook this coming week, I don’t think Conklin sees the targets he needs to have a TE1 performance this week.

Additional Week 13 Fantasy Football Sits:

Cole Kmet against the Arizona Cardinals, Dawson Knox against the New England Patriots, and Hunter Henry against the Buffalo Bills.

With IDP options being so plentiful in fantasy football, each week we’re going to list for you an option at each position with honorable mentions to help set your lineups with confidence.

Defensive Linemen

Start: Sam Hubbard, Cincinnati Bengals against the Los Angeles Chargers

Hubbard has five straight games with at least 12.3 fantasy points. He has excelled in games with teams that commit to trying to set up the run and the Chargers’ offense fits that narrative. Austin Ekeler is a top running back in fantasy for a reason. Yes, his pass-catching ability in space helps, but they also lean on him in the run game. Hubbard should be able to help slow him down as well as get into the backfield to see Justin Herbert often.

Additional Week 13 Fantasy Football Starts:

Grady Jarrett against the Tampa Bay Buccaneers, Yannick Ngakoue against the Washington Football Team, and Cam Heyward against the Baltimore Ravens.

Linebackers

Start: Micah Parsons, Dallas Cowboys against the New Orleans Saints

Parsons was a start for me last week and followed that up with an LB8 performance and 15.8 fantasy points. Those 15.8 points are actually his FEWEST since Week 6. That is the tear that he has been on. Now he takes on the Saints who are expected to start mobile quarterback Taysom Hill this week and Parsons will benefit from him being under center.

Additional Week 13 Fantasy Football Starts:

Bobby Okereke against the Houston Texans, Eric Kendricks against the Detroit Lions, and Jordan Hicks against the Chicago Bears.

Defensive Backs

Start: Johnathan Abram, Las Vegas Raiders against the Washington Football Team

Abram has had at least 6 tackles in three of his last four games. He only has one interception on the season which isn’t great, but he floats over the field and covers a ton of ground. He has had at least 10.5 points in each of his last six games and so his floor is solid.

Additional Week 13 Fantasy Football Starts:

Terrance Mitchell against the Houston Texans, Harrison Smith against the Detroit Lions, and Nasir Adderley against the Cincinnati Bengals.