10 Things to Know: Fantasy Football Week 13

The fantasy football playoffs are rapidly approaching, and Week 13 brings a fresh set of challenges to navigate. Waiver wire wonders, surprise standouts and tricky matchups abound, making it more crucial than ever to stay ahead of the curve.

My “10 Things to Know” is your essential guide to conquering this week’s obstacles and securing your path to a championship. Let’s dive into the key insights that will give you the edge.

1. Kirko Chainz Could Be Your Fantasy Playoff Hero

Kirk Cousins crawled into Atlanta’s Week 12 bye, coming off back-to-back games without throwing a touchdown and putting up a mere 173 yards in Week 11 against Denver. Atlanta faces two tough matchups in the Chargers and Vikings on tap to close out the fantasy football regular season, but his playoff schedule has me shouting, “You like that!?”

Week 15 will be indoors at Las Vegas, the ninth-best DVOA-Adjusted Points Against Matchup for QBs. Week 16, he’ll be back in Atlanta to face the 11th-best matchup in the New York Giants, with a potential shootout on tap with Washington and their 13th-ranked matchup. Kirko Chainz could find himself on plenty of championship rosters this season.

2. Bateman Beware: Philly a No-Fly Zone

Rashod Bateman has been a solid start overall this season if you were willing to accept him for what he is: A low-floor, high-ceiling player who can make your Week with a long touchdown catch. You’ll want to avoid him this Week, however. Baltimore faces a Philadelphia defense that ranks as the fourth-worst DVOA-APA matchup for wide receivers and the worst matchup for WR2s. Don’t let the high game total and touchdowns in two of his last three games fool you? Bateman belongs on the bench in Week 13. 

3. The Texans’ WR Duo: Can Dell and Collins Coexist?

Naturally, Nico Collins‘ return could and should cause a dip in production for Tank Dell. But would Dell be rendered utterly useless in fantasy? Collins returned in Week 11 but played closer to his standard allotment of snaps in Week 12. In Weeks 1-4, Collins had an 80.1% snap share, 89.2% route run rate and 25.9% target share. In Week 12, he saw a 73.7% snap share, 81.1% routes run and 24.3 % target share, according to FTN StatsHub. It’s not quite his early-season use, but it’s close enough to paint a clearer picture of what we can expect from the duo for the rest of this season. Dell played 77.2% of snaps in Week 12 with a 13.5% target share, a slight downtick from the 18.6% target share he saw in five games without Collins. But with his explosiveness and usage as a downfield threat (20.2-yard average depth of target in Week 12), it’s a healthy enough target share to keep Dell in your starting lineup more often than not. Keep him there this week against a porous Jaguars secondary.

4. Give Thanks for Dowdle’s Volume

Rico Dowdle may be off your radar to start in Week 13 with no players on bye. But he faces the hapless New York Giants, who give up a league-worst 5.2 yards per carry, are tied for the second-most explosive runs allowed with 48 and have allowed 12 rushing touchdowns, according to FTN StatsHub. In the two games since Dak Prescott was lost for the season, Dowdle has taken 29 of a possible 37 running back rushing attempts for Dallas. He’s also involved in the passing game, averaging four targets over his last two and 3.7 targets per game on the season. Follow the volume in a magnificent matchup that figures to see the Cowboys ride Dowdle with a lead in most, if not all, of the game.

5. Don’t Sleep on Jordan Addison

Jordan Addison has been on a tear lately, scoring 15 or more PPR points in three of his last four games while averaging 6.75 targets. According to DVOA-APA, his rest-of-season schedule is a mixed bag. He still has matchups with Atlanta and Seattle, the 5th and 9th best for WRs, as well as Chicago and Green Bay, the second- and eighth-worst matchups for WRs. But fear not, as Addison’s faced Tennessee and Chicago over the past two weeks, the two most difficult DVOA-APA matchups for wide receivers and averaged 22.7 PPR points against them. Yep. I’m going to say it. He’s a league winner. Not in the sense that he’s that waiver wire pickup who comes out of nowhere to single-handedly carry your team to a championship (2023 Kyren Williams, for example). But he’s a player who was mostly down on who’s getting hot at the right time. 

6. Odds Are Against Abdullah

Ameer Abdullah was a Week 12 Bye-mageddon savior. Despite reports that rookie Dylan Laube could be involved, Abdullah played 84.2% of snaps for the Raiders and scored 17.5 PPR fantasy points. But don’t fall for the trap of one-week waiver wire wonder. He was abysmal on the ground, averaging just 3.5 yards per carry, 1.6 yards before contact, and 1.9 yards after contact. He saw just eight attempts, ceding the other five to … *checks notes* … Sincere McCormick? McCormick was more efficient than Abdullah. What saved the day was Abdullah’s passing game usage, turning six targets into five catches for 37 yards and, most importantly, a touchdown. Abdullah did nothing to threaten the playing time of Alexander Mattison or Zamir White. Once either or both return, Abdullah is unstartable. 

7. An Allen Wrench in Your Opponent’s Plans

A potential league-winner could be sitting on your waiver wire, and his name is Braelon Allen. The Jets rookie running back could be in line to start Week 13, with Breece Hall missing Wednesday practice with a sore knee. The Jets have zero reason to rush Hall back in a lost season. Even if he returns, he could cede more work to Allen.

According to the StatsHub, Allen has the ninth-highest DVOA among running backs with at least 50 carries. We saw flashes of Allen’s potential early in the season. In Weeks 2-4, Allen was the better Jets back, outproducing Hall in nearly every efficiency metric, including an absurd 30.8% avoided tackle rate. If Allen is available, do whatever it takes to get him on your roster. 

8. Waddle He Do? Score Fantasy Points!

One of the 2024 season’s biggest disappointments, Jaylen Waddle, is back to producing for the Dolphins, leading Miami in yards per target (13.2) and per reception (18.3) over their last three games. Waddle has been their most productive receiver, averaging more receptions, yards, and fantasy points per game than teammate Tyreek Hill. I’d be cautious about starting Waddle on Thanksgiving night in Green Bay, but overall, he’s waddled back into startable status as a WR2.

9. In Tyrod We Trust? Stash Him and See

Speaking of the Jets’ dumpster fire of a season, it’s time to stash Tyrod Taylor in superflex leagues. Rumors have swirled that Rodgers will be benched or placed on IR sooner rather than later. Who knows what next season holds for the Jets at quarterback? Taylor is under contract for 2025; it’s not out of the question for the Jets to use the end of 2024 to see if Taylor is a viable bridge starter for whomever they inevitably draft. Tyrod Taylor put up respectable fantasy numbers when starting for the Giants last season and offers a solid floor with his rushing ability.

10. Hill Yeah!

Taysom Hill is a conundrum nobody can seem to solve. We’ve seen him put up these massive, week-winning performances, only to fall back to reality when the tricks don’t produce treats. But according to interim Saints head coach Darren Rizzi, Hill’s usage could continue.

Since Rizzi took over, Hill has averaged 6 targets, 5 receptions, 5.5 carries and 1 pass attempt per game. I’m not ready to declare Hill a must-start just yet, but with his recent usage and Rizzi’s comments, Hill should be 100% rostered.