At the beginning of the week I wrote that Zonovan Knight and Benny Snell were the top waiver adds, but both of those situations could be ugly. A day later, Jaylen Warren announced he'd been cleared to return and the Steelers' running back situation became instantly less clear.

We're leaning towards Warren for a variety of reasons. The biggest is that the team was making a bigger effort to get him involved before his hamstring injury; he saw a season-high 12 touches in Week 10 against the Saints, and that was with Najee Harris healthy. Snell, in that same game, did not receive a touch. 

  • Week 13 Previews: QB | RB | WR | TE

While we can't be too sure of usage with a duo we haven't seen together, I'm projecting 11 carries apiece for Warren and Snell, with Warren dominating passing downs. Against a Falcons defense that has surrendered the fifth-most PPR Fantasy points to running backs over the past five weeks, that makes Warren a borderline top-20 running back and Snell a touchdown-dependent flex.

Of course this is all dependent on Najee Harris missing Week 13. Keep your eyes on the injury reports before starting any Steelers.

Now let's get to the rest of the Week 13 RB Preview:

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Week 13 RB Preview

RB Preview
Who's Out

The following players are not being projected to play in Week 13 at this time. Here's what it means:

Michael Carter RB
ARI Arizona • #22
Age: 25 • Experience: 4 yrs.
It could be a trio of backs replacing Carter if he can't go.
Najee Harris RB
PIT Pittsburgh • #22
Age: 26 • Experience: 4 yrs.
Jaylen Warren and Benny Snell are the most likely backs to lead the Steelers' backfield.
Elijah Mitchell RB
SF San Francisco • #25
Age: 26 • Experience: 4 yrs.
Either Tyrion Davis-Price or Jordan Mason should handle secondary duties behind Christian McCaffrey.
RB Preview
Numbers to know
  • 7 -- Touches inside the 10-yard line for Isiah Pacheco in Week 12. He only scored once, but had 22 rush attempts in an encouraging performance. 
  • 29.7 -- The Texans surrender the most PPR Fantasy points per game to opposing running backs.
  • 22.04 -- PPR Fantasy points per game for Josh Jacobs in 2022, second only to Austin Ekeler at running back. 
  • 23 -- Touches for Rachaad White in the absence of Leonard Fournette. White caught all nine of his targets, too. 
  • 103 -- Scrimmage yards for Zonovan Knight, who led the Jets with 14 carries after Michael Carter went down with an injury.
  • 16 -- Carries for Gus Edwards in his return from injury. Justice Hill and Kenyan Drake combined for just three carries.
  • 15 -- Dameon Pierce has one more rushing yard than carries in the past two weeks.
RB Preview
Matchups that matter
Matchups that Matter
Projections powered by Sportsline
Devin Singletary RB
NYG N.Y. Giants • #26
Age: 27 • Experience: 6 yrs.

Weekly Breakdown

@ NE BUF -5 O/U 43.5

OPP VS RB

1st

PROJ PTS

10.6

RB RNK

29th

YTD Stats

RUYDS

552

REC

31

REYDS

226

TD

4

FPTS/G

11.7
Latavius Murray RB
BUF Buffalo • #28
Age: 34 • Experience: 11 year

Weekly Breakdown

@ BAL BAL -8 O/U 38.5

OPP VS RB

7th

PROJ PTS

9.4

RB RNK

25th

YTD Stats

RUYDS

358

REC

13

REYDS

70

TD

4

FPTS/G

11.4
Gus Edwards RB
LAC L.A. Chargers • #4
Age: 29 • Experience: 7 yrs.

Weekly Breakdown

vs DEN BAL -8 O/U 38.5

OPP VS RB

10th

PROJ PTS

10

RB RNK

22nd

YTD Stats

RUYDS

183

REC

0

REYDS

0

TD

3

FPTS/G

11.4
Brian Robinson Jr. RB
WAS Washington • #8
Age: 25 • Experience: 3 yrs.

Weekly Breakdown

@ NYG WAS -2.5 O/U 40.5

OPP VS RB

14th

PROJ PTS

9.7

RB RNK

27th

YTD Stats

RUYDS

467

REC

6

REYDS

27

TD

3

FPTS/G

9.3
Jeff Wilson RB
MIA Miami • #23
Age: 28 • Experience: 7 yrs.

Weekly Breakdown

@ SF SF -4 O/U 46.5

OPP VS RB

2nd

PROJ PTS

11.6

RB RNK

18th

YTD Stats

RUYDS

677

REC

16

REYDS

149

TD

5

FPTS/G

11.3
Alvin Kamara RB
NO New Orleans • #41
Age: 29 • Experience: 8 yrs.

Weekly Breakdown

@ TB TB -3.5 O/U 40

OPP VS RB

3rd

PROJ PTS

15.3

RB RNK

17th

YTD Stats

RUYDS

524

REC

49

REYDS

422

TD

3

FPTS/G

15.4
RB Preview
Waiver Wire Targets
Week 13 Adds (RB Preview)
Jaylen Warren RB
PIT Pittsburgh • #30
Age: 25 • Experience: 3 yrs.

Weekly Breakdown

@ ATL PIT -1 O/U 42

OPP VS RB

23rd

RB RNK

26th

ROSTERED

50%

YTD Stats

RUYDS

190

REC

16

REYDS

137

TD

0

FPTS/G

4.9
Warren has been by far the most efficient Steelers' running back, averaging 5 yards per carry and 8.6 yards per catch. If he maintains anything close to that with a starter's workload, he has top-15 upside.
Benny Snell RB
DET Detroit • #24
Age: 26 • Experience: 5 yrs.

Weekly Breakdown

@ ATL PIT -1 O/U 42

OPP VS RB

23rd

RB RNK

33rd

ROSTERED

50%

YTD Stats

RUYDS

62

REC

1

REYDS

6

TD

1

FPTS/G

1.3
As long as Najee Harris is out, I would still expect double-digit carries for Snell and he could be the short-yardage back against a Falcons defense that has allowed 13 touchdowns to running backs this season.
Zamir White RB
LV Las Vegas • #3
Age: 25 • Experience: 3 yrs.

Weekly Breakdown

vs LAC LAC -1.5 O/U 50.5

OPP VS RB

26th

RB RNK

NR

ROSTERED

16%

YTD Stats

RUYDS

47

REC

0

REYDS

0

TD

0

FPTS/G

0.6
If Josh Jacobs' calf doesn't heal, White could be in line for 15 touches against a Chargers defense that has allowed 5.6 yards per carry to running backs this season. White would be a high-end flex in that scenario.
Stashes (RB Preview)
J.K. Dobbins RB
LAC L.A. Chargers • #27
Age: 25 • Experience: 5 yrs.

Weekly Breakdown

vs DEN BAL -8 O/U 38.5

OPP VS RB

10th

RB RNK

NR

ROSTERED

67%

YTD Stats

RUYDS

123

REC

6

REYDS

39

TD

2

FPTS/G

8.6
Dobbins is returning to practice this week and is the top stash at running back right now. If he can get back to 100% before the Fantasy playoffs, he'd have league-winning upside against the Browns, Falcons, and Steelers down the stretch. Just don't expect any help getting you to the playoffs.
RB Preview
DFS Plays
Top DFS Play
Projections powered by Sportsline
Josh Jacobs RB
GB Green Bay • #8
Age: 26 • Experience: 6 yrs.

Weekly Breakdown

vs LAC LAC -2 O/U 50.5

OPP VS RB

26th

PROJ PTS

21.2

RB RNK

1st

YTD Stats

RUYDS

1159

REC

40

REYDS

325

TD

9

FPTS/G

22
Assuming he's able to go, Jacobs is the clear top value on both sites. Coming off a 300-yard game he's still not the highest-priced running back on the slate even though he's up against a Chargers defense that allows 5.64 yards per carry on the season to running backs.
Contrarian DFS Play
Projections powered by Sportsline
David Montgomery RB
DET Detroit • #5
Age: 27 • Experience: 6 yrs.

Weekly Breakdown

vs GB GB -4 O/U 43.5

OPP VS RB

28th

PROJ PTS

11.6

RB RNK

16th

YTD Stats

RUYDS

580

REC

21

REYDS

238

TD

3

FPTS/G

10.8
Montgomery plays for a terrible offense and he's an underdog again in Week 13. I understand why he's contrarian, but he totaled 136 yards against this defense back in Week 2 and that's when he was sharing with Khalil Herbert. He has RB1 overall upside this week and neither his price nor his roster rate will reflect that.
RB Preview
Heath's Projections