Fantasy Football Week 13 Running Back Preview: Waiver adds, deep stashes, starts, sits, and more

It's good to have options, but after last week's Byenado, it's a little bit disorienting to have so options at running back. As of early Tuesday, I have 32 running backs projected for double-digit PPR Fantasy points and 24 of them are projected to score at least 13. There are even two backs available in more than half of leagues that you might not hate starting. It's a good thing, but it feels a little strange. Just not as strange sa what's going on with Chuba Hubbard and Christian McCaffrey.

A month ago we all thought McCaffrey was returning to be a league winner and Hubbard's value was about to get destroyed by the return of Jonathon Brooks. Heading into Week 13, both of those ideas look foolish.

McCaffrey has been back for three weeks now. He is still looking for his first touchdown of 2024 and he currently ranks WR19 per game. This is not a case of him just needing to warm up, his worst game of the season came last week, when he scored just 9.8 PPR Fantasy points against the Packers. He's averaging a career-low 3.5 yards per carry and his longest run in three games is 13 yards. 

Hubbard just played his first game with Brooks active, against the Kansas City Chiefs who have been one of the best run defenses in football. Hubbard scored 13 Fantasy points on 17 touches while Brooks played five offensive snaps and did nothing to suggest he should be playing more. 

All of that is to say that when you look at the Week 13 running back rankings and projections, you'll see Hubbard ranked as a top-12 back, while McCaffrey is a mid RB2. Yes. if I had both of them and only one starting spot available I would start Hubbard. No, I can't believe I just typed those words.

As always, you can find my projections for every position and every player on the slate over at SportsLine.

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

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Week 13 RB Preview

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

Brian Robinson Jr. RB WAS Washington • #8 Age: 25 • Experience: 3 yrs. We aren't expecting Robinson or Austin Ekeler, which means Jeremy McNichols should lead the backfield.

J.K. Dobbins RB LAC L.A. Chargers • #27 Age: 25 • Experience: 5 yrs. If Dobbins misses Week 13 then Gus Edwards should be a good flex at worst.

• 80.4% -- Since Week 8, Chase Brown has led all running backs with an 80.4% rush share. He's a must-start against any defense.
• 3 -- Jonathan Taylor has seen just three targets in his last three full games with Anthony Richardson.
• 88.9 -- Tony Pollard is averaging a career-high 88.9 yards from scrimmage per game. 
• 41% -- Tyrone Tracy's 41% snap share in Week 12 was his lowest since he took the starting job in Week 5.
• 16.7% -- Commanders running backs have seen a 16.7% target share this season, Jeremy McNichols needs half of that to be a Fantasy starter.
• 31.5% -- Amongst rushers with at least 60 attempts, Bucky Irving's 31.5% avoid rate is second only to Kenneth Walker.
• 3.0 -- Nick Chubb is averaging 3.0 yards per carry for the year. Even with his two touchdowns last week, we don't want to start him.
• 39 -- Gus Edwards has 39 targets in 76 career games. He's a better flex in non-PPR than he is where catches count.

Matchups that Matter

Projections powered by Sportsline

Bucky Irving RB TB Tampa Bay • #7 Age: 22 • Experience: Rookie

D'Andre Swift RB CHI Chicago • #4 Age: 25 • Experience: 5 yrs. Weekly Breakdown MATCHUP @ DET DET -10.5 O/U 48.5 OPP VS RB 2nd PROJ PTS 13.4 RB RNK 28th YTD Stats RUYDS 665 REC 31 REYDS 278 TD 5 FPTS/G 14.3

Rico Dowdle RB DAL Dallas • #23 Age: 26 • Experience: 5 yrs. Weekly Breakdown MATCHUP vs NYG DAL -3.5 O/U 38 OPP VS RB 25th PROJ PTS 13.1 RB RNK 24th YTD Stats RUYDS 488 REC 29 REYDS 184 TD 3 FPTS/G 11.2

Gus Edwards RB LAC L.A. Chargers • #4 Age: 29 • Experience: 7 yrs. Weekly Breakdown MATCHUP @ ATL LAC -1.5 O/U 47.5 OPP VS RB 14th PROJ PTS 6.3 RB RNK 25th YTD Stats RUYDS 206 REC 1 REYDS 2 TD 1 FPTS/G 4

James Conner RB ARI Arizona • #6 Age: 29 • Experience: 8 yrs. Weekly Breakdown MATCHUP @ MIN MIN -3.5 O/U 45.5 OPP VS RB 3rd PROJ PTS 11.9 RB RNK 20th YTD Stats RUYDS 705 REC 29 REYDS 288 TD 5 FPTS/G 14.6

Jonathan Taylor RB IND Indianapolis • #28 Age: 25 • Experience: 5 yrs. Weekly Breakdown MATCHUP @ NE IND -2.5 O/U 42.5 OPP VS RB 20th PROJ PTS 11.6 RB RNK 18th YTD Stats RUYDS 708 REC 13 REYDS 111 TD 5 FPTS/G 13.9

Week 13 Adds (RB Preview)

Jeremy McNichols RB WAS Washington • #31 Age: 28 • Experience: 4 yrs. Weekly Breakdown MATCHUP vs TEN WAS -5.5 O/U 44.5 OPP VS RB 11th RB RNK 30th ROSTERED 14% YTD Stats RUYDS 217 REC 2 REYDS 7 TD 4 FPTS/G 4 If both Brian Robinson and Austin Ekeler miss Week 13, then Jeremy McNichols will be my favorite running back available off the waiver wire, despite an awful matchup against the Tennessee Titans. McNichols has averaged 4.9 yards per carry this season and scored four touchdowns on just 44 attempts. It's a small sample size, but his 18.2% avoid rate is actually better than Robinson or Ekeler. The key will be whether he gets work in the passing game, and as of now there isn't another back on the roster I see as more likely. McNichols earned 38 targets back in 2021 with the Titans, so he's not foreign to the role.

Gus Edwards RB LAC L.A. Chargers • #4 Age: 29 • Experience: 7 yrs. Weekly Breakdown MATCHUP @ ATL LAC -1.5 O/U 47.5 OPP VS RB 14th RB RNK 25th ROSTERED 48% YTD Stats RUYDS 206 REC 1 REYDS 2 TD 1 FPTS/G 4 If J.K. Dobbins misses Week 13, then we project Gus Edwards to be the lead back for the Chargers in Week 13. Edwards scored a late touchdown against Baltimore in Week 12 and should be the team's short yardage and early downs back. The reason he's not my top priority is that he's never been a pass catcher and the Falcons have been stingy on the ground. No back has 100 yards rushing against them this season and they've only given up three rushing touchdowns to running backs all year.

Stashes (RB Preview)

Tank Bigsby RB JAC Jacksonville • #4 Age: 22 • Experience: 2 yrs. Weekly Breakdown MATCHUP vs HOU HOU -5 O/U 43 OPP VS RB 6th RB RNK NR ROSTERED 63% YTD Stats RUYDS 519 REC 3 REYDS 36 TD 4 FPTS/G 8.3 Tank Bigsby's roster rate fell to 63% over the last few weeks. We don't know for sure when he's coming back, but he's not on IR, so we do expect him back. He averages 13 Fantasy points per game from Week 5 through Week 8 and has two games with more than 20 Fantasy points this season.

Top DFS Play

Projections powered by Sportsline

Alvin Kamara RB NO New Orleans • #41 Age: 29 • Experience: 8 yrs. Weekly Breakdown MATCHUP vs LAR LAR -3 O/U 48.5 OPP VS RB 24th PROJ PTS 19.2 RB RNK 2nd YTD Stats RUYDS 782 REC 55 REYDS 443 TD 7 FPTS/G 20 Kamara's Saints are at home, coming off a bye, against a Rams team that just got pummeled physically by the Eagles on Sunday night. Kamara is on a cold streak in terms of touchdowns, which has his price well below what his touches and production suggest it should be. He's my favorite running back on the slate, and at a discount I'll pay him in both cash games and tournaments. He has three straight games with at least 20 touches and 51 catches in his last eight.

Contrarian DFS Play

Projections powered by Sportsline

Chase Brown RB CIN Cincinnati • #30 Age: 24 • Experience: 2 yrs. Weekly Breakdown MATCHUP vs PIT CIN -2.5 O/U 47 OPP VS RB 12th PROJ PTS 19.4 RB RNK 7th YTD Stats RUYDS 607 REC 35 REYDS 207 TD 7 FPTS/G 14.4 Bucky Irving should be the chalk of the slate in a similar price range as Brown with an easier matchup. What Brown has is a workhorse role. He has at least 22 touches in three straight games. In that stretch he scored 19.3 PPR Fantasy points against the Chargers and 24.4 against the Ravens. Those are both more difficult matchups than Pittsburgh.

My full set of Week 13 Fantasy football projections for every position are now available on SportsLine. You'll find them here. Find out which of my favorite plays are projected to score higher than consensus rankings and which don't live up to their draft hype, at least in Week 13. Projected stats for all starting running backs are available, so be sure to check out the full set of projections at SportsLine.