Week 13 Early Fantasy Football Rankings: Trey McBride and Michael Wilson are Flying High

Hide your kids, hide your wife: Week 13 is here. It's time to win another fantasy matchup, people!

What follows are my abbreviated early PPR ranks along with some key questions and answers ahead of this week's slate of action. Check out our Fantasy Life Rankings for full ranks from our squad of alleged expert rankers (code "Ian" for 20% off!).

As always: It's a great day to be great.

Early Week 13 Fantasy Football Rankings

Quarterback

What QBs have improved the most in fantasy land this season?

We have 12 weeks of action in the book, which begs the question: Which signal-callers have improved the most in Weeks 7-12 compared to what we saw during the first month and a half of the season?

The biggest risers up the fantasy ranks:

Cardinals QB Jacoby Brissett (+13.9 fantasy points per game): Has taken his starting opportunity and absolutely balled out with it. Brissett is the QB4 in fantasy points per game during the past six weeks! He's the only QB averaging north of 300 yards per game during this stretch despite not exactly being surrounded by the world's greatest supporting cast. While matchups against the Rams and Texans in Weeks 14-15 will test just how real Brissett's ascension really is, this Sunday's spot against the Buccaneers' pass-funnel defense should still present plenty of fantasy-friendly opportunities inside an offense that is tied for first in dropback rate over expected (+6%) since Week 7.

Bengals QB Joe Flacco (+11.2): Things cooled off a bit for Mr. Elite down the stretch, but all in all Flacco averaged a whopping 20.1 fantasy points per game in Weeks 7-12 after spending the first part of the season resembling one of the league's worst QBs while in Cleveland. It sounds like Joe Burrow (foot) will be back under center for the Bengals' Thanksgiving night matchup with the Ravens; just realize Flacco really put up some legit booms during his time under center. Overall, Flacco is one of just seven QBs with multiple games of 300+ passing yards and 3+ pass TDs this season.

Titans QB Cam Ward (+6): Ward's average of 7.3 fantasy points per game in Weeks 1-6 ranked 35th at the position. Reminder: There are only 32 teams in the NFL. Ward's average of 13.3 fantasy points per game (QB21) in Weeks 7-12 isn't exactly game-changing, but the young gunslinger has flashed some serious arm talent while attempting to drag this sad excuse for a professional franchise to some success on offense. Look out if the Titans can ever surround Ward with a good WR room … and a better offensive line … and a competent run game … and a decent play caller. But seriously: The man has made some ELITE throws this year.

Rams QB Matthew Stafford (+5.6): The MVP campaign continues trekking on: Stafford has thrown an absurd 27 TDs since his last interception in Week 3. The results have also been quite awesome in fantasy land, as Stafford has gone from a good option in fantasy points per game in Weeks 1-6 (17.8, QB15) to literally the second-most productive QB in the game (23.5) behind only Josh Allen during the last six weeks. Up next: The Panthers. Stafford is my highest-ranked QB after the dual-threat aliens of the world.

Broncos QB Bo Nix (+3.9): 2025 hasn't been all roses for Nix—he's averaged north of seven yards per attempt in just three of 11 starts this season. Still, Nix is always a threat to rack up production on the ground, and the results have accordingly been quite nice recently: His average of 20.1 fantasy points per game since Week 7 is good for the fifth-highest mark at the position. Wheels up ahead of Week 13's matchup with a Commanders defense that has allowed the seventh-most fantasy points per game to opposing QBs this season.

Unfortunately, the grass hasn't been greener for everyone: Lamar Jackson (-9.8), Baker Mayfield (-9.2) and Patrick Mahomes (-6.4) are three big names who have seen their fantasy numbers fall off quite a bit in recent weeks. The first two signal-callers seem to clearly be operating at less than 100% in the health department, while the latter has taken his foot off the gas in terms of scrambling in recent weeks. That said: It'd sure make sense if better days are ahead for each, as Jackson (Bengals), Mayfield (Cardinals) and Mahomes (Cowboys) are each blessed with some pretty, pretty, pretty good matchups in Week 13. For Mayfield, that's health permitting.

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Quick hits

QB3 Lamar Jackson: Speaking of a lack of rushing upside: Jackson hasn't been operating as the same dual-threat monster this season. Overall, he's finished with under 15 rushing yards in three of his last four games since returning from a hamstring injury—Lamar finished below that mark just once in 19 games last season!

Jackson fantasy points per game from rushing:

• 2019: 10.8
• 2020: 9.5
• 2021: 7.4
• 2022: 7.9
• 2023: 7
• 2024: 6.87
• 2025: 3.7

Good news: There's HUGE aerial upside ahead of this week's matchup with the Bengals' league-worst defense in EPA allowed per dropback.

QB7 Dak Prescott: There has been a LOT to like from Prescott this season, although he does lead one unfortunate leaderboard: Dropped interceptions. Overall, Prescott (8), Michael Penix (7), Daniel Jones (5), Joe Flacco (5) and Bo Nix (5) have been the luckiest QBs when it comes to having their mistakes butterfingered away by opposing defenses. As Socrates once famously said: Better lucky than good!

QB8 Justin Herbert: The leading QBs in total rushing yards this season are Justin Fields (383, makes sense), Josh Allen (371, yup sure) … and Justin Herbert (345, woah)! Of course, the bulk of Herbert's career-best production on the ground has come via scrambling—something that could be on full display behind this banged-up offensive line against Maxx Crosby and company this weekend.

QB13 Jaxson Dart: On the other side of things, Dart leads all QBs in rushing yards from designed carries (155) despite only starting seven games this season. This would be my *one* concern with immediately getting back to *Best Dennis Green impression* crowning Dart's ass as a top-10 option at the position ahead of his eventual return from a concussion. It's not like this Giants offense is stockpiled with playmakers—excluding the occasional random week where Wan'Dale Robinson resembles prime Odell Beckham Jr.–but yeah: Dart is on the QB1 borderline this week ahead of the G-Men's road trip to New England.

QB15 Daniel Jones: It was good to see Jones not take a sack or turn the ball over in Week 12 after some ROUGH performances prior to the team's Week 11 bye. Unfortunately, I have a tough time getting too excited about the artist known as Indiana Jones ahead of Week 13's matchup with a Texans defense that looked like they were on rabies (complimentary) during their win over Josh Allen and company last Thursday night.

Best defenses in fantasy points per game allowed to opposing QBs:

1. Texans (at the Colts in Week 13)
2. Broncos (at Commanders)
3. Browns (vs. 49ers)
4. Chargers (vs. Raiders)
5. Bills (at Steelers)

QB32 Shedeur Sanders: The rookie QB is a lightning rod when it comes to assessing his real-life football ability. Just take a look at the replies to my sarcastic tweet insinuating that Sanders' screen-turned-TD was reason enough to dunk on Shedeur haters. ANYWAY: Sanders deserves credit for making two specifically great plays in his starting debut:

1. His downfield DIME to Isaiah Bond was legit awesome
2. Sanders also displayed quality off-script ability on his big gain to Jerry Jeudy.

That said: This remains a pass-first QB offering nearly zero run-game upside inside a (bad) run-first offense. Even a matchup against the banged-up 49ers isn't enough to get excited here … even if Sanders even gets a long leash as the team's starter ahead of Dillon Gabriel.

Running Back

What running backs have fallen off the most in recent weeks?

Yards per carry can be an annoyingly volatile metric for judging an RB. It's hardly a great stat for solely encompassing an individual rusher's performance–offensive line performance, scheme and QB ability go a LONG way toward enabling any given rushing play.

With that said: We don't get extra fantasy points for RBs forced to operate in less-than-ideal circumstances, so it's important to know who has been dealt a rough hand in recent weeks. Among RBs with at least 50 carries this season …

Some notes on the good side of things:

• That Jahmyr Gibbs guy is pretty good!
• Kudos to Chase Brown for really turning around the ship: He ranked 52nd among 54 qualified RBs during the first six weeks of the season, but has since averaged more yards per carry than anyone other than Gibbs and Jonathan Taylor!
• The early-season discrepancy in efficiency between Kenneth Walker and Zach Charbonnet has shrunk as the year has gone on. Maybe those darn professional football coaches know a thing or two after all.
• The likes of Aaron Jones, Sean Tucker, TreVeyon Henderson, and Tyrone Tracy have really made the most of their opportunities in recent weeks and have passed the eye test as well.
• Another RB making good things happen with the football: Jaylen Warren, who leads the NFL in tackles avoided per touch (30.7%!) among 39 RBs with triple-digit combined carries and receptions this season.

As for the fallers: Yikes…

• Training camp Hall of Famer Jacory Croskey-Merritt has seen a steep falloff in his efficiency and accordingly got his starting job snatched by Chris Rodriguez.
• The numbers are pre-MNF, but yeah: Rico Dowdle has gone from a world-beater to more so just a good quality professional rusher of the football.
• The discrepancy in usage between Gibbs and David Montgomery continues to grow and this data doesn't exactly lend much credence to the idea that D-Mont should be more involved.
• Quinshon Judkins hasn't averaged more than 3.5 yards per carry in a game since Week 5! Luckily, goal-line TDs remain a helluva drug in fantasy football land.

Who was *this* close to having a much bigger Week 12?

The following players were tackled at the 1-yard line and did NOT score a TD on the same drive last week (pre-MNF):

Tackled at the 1-yard line and did NOT score a TD on the same drive:

• Patriots RB TreVeyon Henderson (x2, different drives)
• Patriots RB Rhamondre Stevenson (x2, same drive)
• Cowboys RB Javonte Williams
• Lions RB David Montgomery
• Steelers RB Kenneth Gainwell
• Patriots RB Terrell Jennings
• Eagles WR DeVonta Smith
• Packers WR Dontayvion Wicks
• Titans WR Xavier Restrepo
• Cowboys TE Jake Ferguson (x2, different drives)
• Patriots TE Hunter Henry
• Rams TE Colby Parkinson
• Saints QB Tyler Shough (x3, 2 different drives)
• Patriots QB Drake Maye
• Cowboys QB Dak Prescott

You probably noticed a lot of Patriots are on that list—and the bulk are all from one drive! What a ridiculous sequence (sheesh-quence?) this was:

• 2nd and goal from the 5: Henderson catches a short pass and gains four yards down to the Bengals' 1-yard line.
• 3rd and goal from the 1: Maye throws an incompletion to Henry.
• 4th and goal from the 1: Maye targets Kayshon Boutte, who draws a defensive pass interference penalty in the end zone to get a fresh set of downs.
• 1st and goal from the 1: Jennings is stuffed.
• 2nd and goal from the 1: Maye throws a TD to Henry, but the score is wiped off the board due to offensive pass interference.
• 2nd and goal from the 11: Maye hits Henry on a shovel pass and he gets the offense back to the doorstep of the end zone.
• 3rd and goal from the 1: Stevenson is stuffed.
• 4th and goal from the 1: Stevenson is stuffed.

The football gods awarded the Patriots no points, and may God have mercy on their souls.

Quick hits

RB18 Kareem Hunt: It remains to be seen if/when Isiah Pacheco (knee) returns to action. This ranking is assuming Pacheco is (again) sidelined, but I'm not so sure the former starter will walk back into anything close to a featured role at this point. While many are quick to critique Hunt's lack of big-play ability at this stage of his career, few have consistently picked up positive yardage like Hunt: His 55.3% success rate is the highest mark among all RBs with 70-plus carries this season! Hunt has converted 21-of-25 carries on 3rd and 4th and 1 into first downs! He's worked as the PPR RB11, RB17, RB20 and RB5 (pre-MNF) over the last four weeks! That's really good!

RB21 Breece Hall: Lost another fumble last week, giving Hall a whopping eight fumbles dating back to last season—the second-highest mark in the league behind only Rhamondre Stevenson (10). Further hurting matters is the reality that Hall's nine drops trail only Alvin Kamara (10) during the same time span. As John Lennon once said: Ball security, job security—here's to hoping Hall does a better job protecting the football because his 10.7% explosive rush rate is the fifth-best mark at the position this year!

RB25 Woody Marks: On the one hand, Marks is averaging just 3.7 yards per carry this season and has just 20 receiving yards in his last four games combined. On the other hand, Buzz Lightyear's BFF has truly taken over this backfield in recent weeks—better days could be ahead in Week 13 against the Colts, although this offensive line and scoring environment haven't exactly earned the benefit of the doubt through 12 weeks.

RB26 Tyrone Tracy: A few weeks ago I issued an apology on THE Fantasy Life Show after advising our lovely listeners that Tracy was a waiver wire candidate worth heavily investing in. After all, Devin Singletary led the backfield in snaps in the team's first game without human wrecking ball Cam Skattebo. But now I'm wondering if I should have taken more of a prime Conor McGregor stance on things and apologized … to absolutely nobody! After all, Tracy's usage has improved to the point that he's now looking a lot like THE running back, y'all, in New York ahead of a matchup with a Patriots run defense that hasn't looked nearly as stifling in recent matchups against the likes of Sean Tucker (9-53-0), Breece Hall (14-58-0) and Chase Brown (19-107-0).

RB42 Blake Corum: You won't ever really feel good about starting Corum, but he's one of several high-end handcuffs who fantasy managers should make a point of attempting to stash down the stretch run. The following RBs are available in at least 50% of Yahoo leagues at the moment and are just *one* injury away from immediately vying for upside RB2 treatment in fantasy football:

• Jaguars RB Bhayshul Tuten (52% available on Yahoo)
• Falcons RB Tyler Allgeier (56%)
• Titans RB Tyjae Spears (65%)
• 49ers RB Brian Robinson (73%)
• Eagles RB Tank Bigsby (81%)
• Rams RB Blake Corum (84%)
• Dolphins RB Ollie Gordon (92%)
• Ravens RB Keaton Mitchell (97%)

My big four: Tuten, Allgeier, Corum, and Robinson, who combine good real-life ability with three-down skill sets and offenses that range from acceptable (Tuten, Allgeier) to pretty f*cking awesome (Corum, Robinson). Make sure you check out Fantasy Life's weekly waiver wire roundup article for a full look at the week's go-to free agent options.

Wide Receiver

Is Michael Wilson REALLY this f*cking good?

It's a question worth asking after the third-year WR turned in ANOTHER electric performance during the Cardinals' overtime loss to the Jaguars. The production in two games without Marvin Harrison Jr. (appendix) has been nothing short of startling:

• Week 11: 15 receptions-185 yards-0 TD (18 targets), PPR WR1
• Week 12: 10-118-0 (15), WR9 (pre-MNF)

The Next-Gen route charts reflect the reality that Wilson is being deployed as a legit No. 1 WR on his way to earning production all over the field. Sure, Jacoby Brissett has thrown a whopping 106 passes over the last two weeks, but Wilson has managed to demand 31% of those opportunities—and he's looked good doing it!

And those were just the highlights! Wilson has also shown quality chemistry with Brissett on easier underneath targets that aren't as sexy to replay.

If we trapped an alien in a basement for two weeks and forced them to watch every snap that Wilson and Harrison have played over the last two seasons with zero background knowledge on either player, who do you think they would believe to be better at football? Makes you think!

Up next is (another) winnable matchup against a Buccaneers defense that was just shredded by Matthew Stafford and company on Sunday night football. IF Marv is again sidelined, I'm inclined to ride the wave and rank Wilson as a legit borderline WR1 ahead of guys like Ladd McConkey, Emeka Egbuka, the Eagles ballers and even Justin Jefferson. What a time to be alive.

We'll be forced to adjust the ranks if Marv does return to action—we, of course do that throughout the week anyway over at Fantasy Life—but I'd struggle to assume Harrison simply returns and unseats Wilson as the offense's go-to option at WR. Wilson would tentatively come in as more of a borderline WR2 next to guys like Rome Odunze, Stefon Diggs and Zay Flowers should Harrison return, while the 2024 NFL Draft's fourth overall pick would land more in the boom-or-bust WR3 range with Jauan Jennings and Jameson Williams.

Who left some serious meat on the bone in Week 12?

"Unrealized air yards" measure the total amount of air yards on incomplete targets. This helps identify players who had all sorts of fantasy-friendly downfield opportunities, but they simply couldn't come up with completions for one reason or another.

Anyway, eight players had at least 75 unrealized air yards in Week 12 (pre-MNF):

• Raiders WR Tre Tucker (171)
• Jets WR Adonai Mitchell (153)
• Saints WR Chris Olave (110)
• Eagles WR DeVonta Smith (98)
• Cowboys WR CeeDee Lamb (94)
• Bears WR Rome Odunze (84)
• Texans WR Jayden Higgins (79)
• Buccaneers WR Emeka Egbuka (78)

And here's the wild part: That Tucker number doesn't even fully describe the amount of meat that Geno Smith left on the bone on Sunday. Contrary to popular belief, I am NOT a doctor, nor offensive coordinator, nor a former QB (I did once throw an interception in a 7-on-7 as a senior in high school), but these incompletions sure seemed to be the fault of Smith.

Clearly the Raiders weren't pleased with their offensive performance—they fired Chip Kelly before the clock struck midnight on Sunday after all—although it'll be tough to expect too big of a jump in overall offensive efficiency unless Smith starts more closely resembling the gunslinger we saw in Seattle.

Quick hits

WR1 Jaxon Smith-Njigba: On pace for 2,029 receiving yards. The NFL record is 1,964 by Megatron back in 2012. Not too shabby—but arguably even more impressive is the ridiculous efficiency at hand.

Most yards per route run since 2015 (min. 50 targets):

1. 2025 Jaxon Smith-Njigba (4.5)
2. 2023 Tyreek Hill (3.85)
3. 2024 Puka Nacua (3.57)
4. 2025 Puka Nacua (3.42)
5. 2022 Tyreek Hill (3.21)

WR6 CeeDee Lamb: Three players have dropped an NFL-high eight passes this season: Davante Adams, Jerry Jeudy … and CeeDee Lamb. Good news: The Cowboys are done playing the Eagles for the rest of the regular season, as six of Lamb's eight mishaps have come against the Cowboys' longtime NFC East nemesis. Treat him (and George Pickens!) as their usual WR1 selves against a Chiefs defense that has indeed allowed the second-fewest PPR points per game to opposing WRs, but we are talking about the league's fourth-ranked scoring offense here after all.

WR8 Davante Adams: Speaking of Pickens: Just eight players have earned double-digit end zone targets this season:

• Adams (22)
• Pickens (16)
• Trey McBride (12)
• Justin Jefferson (10)
• Nico Collins (10)
• Chris Olave (10)
• Marvin Harrison Jr. (10)
• Rome Odunze (10)

Sorry to put you through this, Kyren Williams fantasy managers.

WR20 Wan'Dale Robinson: God bless Jameis Winston.

But also: Robinson has been playing some pretty solid football for the better part of the last two months regardless of who has been under center. Overall, the artist formerly known as Scam'Dale is averaging 14.2 PPR points per game since the Giants lost Malik Nabers—that's good for WR19 status ahead of guys like Justin Jefferson and Emeka Egbuka during the same time span!

WR32 Khalil Shakir: Yards after the catch is one of those stats that is cool, but also can be skewed by one big play. To account for this, I wanted to see what players consistently rack up a good amount of YAC—the following three WRs lead the NFL in percentage of receptions to gain at least five yards after the catch (min. 25 receptions).

1. Rashee Rice (65%)
2. Khalil Shakir (56%)
3. Malik Washington (55%)

Hell yeah, Khalil! The Bills' slot maven is more than capable of building upon his big Week 12 against the Steelers' league-worst defense in PPR points per game allowed to opposing WRs.

WR39 Kayshon Boutte: Who do you think leads the NFL in percentage of targets to result in a first down or touchdown this season? Well, if you guessed Kayshon Boutte … because this is a Kayshon Boutte blurb … you are correct! Overall, Boutte's 63.6% first down/TD rate is the highest mark in the league, just ahead of George Pickens (62%) among all players with at least 25 targets this season. While Boutte didn't have a big Week 12 in the boxscore, he did draw two defensive pass interference penalties on targets that could have been six points otherwise—and he immediately played a full-time role in his first game back from injury. Don't be surprised if Drake Maye and Boutte find more success against the Giants' 26th-ranked defense in PPR points per game allowed to opposing WRs.

WR52 AD Mitchell: Does Mitchell have some problems at the catch point? Yes. Was that time he fumbled the football before the goal line pretty f*cked up? Also yes. Has he commanded all sorts of targets and emerged as a clear-cut top-two pass-game option alongside John Metchie inside this Garrett Wilson-less Jets passing game? Also, also yes!

Tight End

Is Trey McBride poised to break some records?

It's looking that way! Through 12 weeks Trey McBride leads the NFL with 80 receptions and has also racked up 797 yards and 7 scores. This puts him on pace for 124 catches. 1,232 yards and 10.8 scores—numbers that would help lead to one of the greatest fantasy seasons the position has ever seen.

1. 2011 Rob Gronkowski (330.9 PPR points)
2. 2022 Travis Kelce (316.3)
3. 2020 Kelce (312.8)
4. 2025 Trey McBride (311.8 pace)
5. 2013 Jimmy Graham (303.5)
6. 2021 Mark Andrews (301.1)

Quick hits

TE8 Oronde Gadsden: Gadsden has managed to put up some of the best per-route efficiency numbers among any rookie TE this season. In fact, several rookie TEs actually find themselves in pretty damn good company through 12 weeks of action.

TE9 Juwan Johnson: Johnson started out scorching hot with three consecutive top-10 PPR finishes. Then things got pretty rough with three consecutive finishes outside the position's top-25 performances. But since Week 7? Johnson has gotten back to working as one of the more productive TEs in the league—especially in his last three games specifically alongside former Oregon teammate Tyler Shough.

TE12 Brenton Strange: Welcome back Brenton Strange! While the third-year talent still hasn't found the end zone this season, Strange's season-best 93 yards in Week 12 reflected the reality that there's upside here inside a passing game that has unfortunately dealt with one WR injury after another all year long. TE1 treatment is encouraged ahead of a smashable spot against the Titans' 28th-ranked defense in EPA allowed per dropback.

TE18 Harold Fannin: Was credited with forcing eight missed tackles in Week 12. That breaks the single-game record for 2025 which was previously held by … Fannin with six back in Week 3. It's absurd how good the rookie is at making finely tuned athletic machines miss tackles—the ceiling might as well be the moon if a full-time role and/or elite QB ever emerge in Cleveland.

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