Week 13 Start 'Em, Sit 'Em: Play or Bench Tips for Fantasy Football Managers

It's time to set those lineups, fantasy enthusiasts, and we're here to help with four recommendations for players worth starting at quarterback, running back, wideout and tight end—and four players you should sit this week.

Let's do this.

Five quarterbacks have scored 25 or more fantasy points against the Philadelphia Eagles this season, including Josh Allen's 40.6 last week. Brock Purdy saw his own hot streak cool off a bit last week, but it's still a juicy matchup for a player who has gone over 20 fantasy points five times this season. Unless you have a truly elite player at the position, start Purdy.

Jordan Love has crept into the top-10 quarterback rankings after the past two weeks, scoring over 20 fantasy points in each. The Kansas City Chiefs defense hasn't allowed a single quarterback to hit the 20-point threshold this season, though Zach Wilson (shockingly), Kirk Cousins and Jalen Hurts have each reached 19 points.

Still, the KC defense is allowing just 14.5 fantasy points to opposing quarterbacks per week, the fifth stingiest mark in fantasy football. Keep Love on your bench this week.

The inclination to sit Breece Hall is easy enough to understand. He's been held to less than 30 rushing yards in three straight weeks and has a brutal matchup in Week 13 against an Atlanta Falcons defense that has only allowed one running back to rush for 100 or more yards this season and hasn't given up a rushing touchdown to the position.

Running backs have also had an incredibly low ceiling against Atlanta. Only five have hit double-digit points in PPR leagues, with Alexander Mattison's 16.3 points in Week 9 the most Atlanta has sacrificed to opposing running backs.

So why in the world start Hall?

First, because he's been doing enough as a receiver out of the backfield as a safety valve for New York's awful quarterbacks to put up double-digit fantasy points in seven straight games.

Secondly... how many better options at the position do you realistically have? Hall is the 15th highest scorer amongst running backs this season and is only that low because the Jets brought him along slowly early in the year after last season's ACL tear.

It's easy to get cute with matchups and projecting a player's ceiling and the whole nine yards, but since Week 5 he's putting up 17.2 fantasy points per week. That's RB1 production. The Falcons absolutely cap his upside, but his floor still makes him a player you have to start each week.

If Kenneth Walker indeed misses time this week, as expected, the temptation for fantasy players will be to get Zach Charbonnet into starting lineups.

Slow down, people.

He'll be facing a Dallas defense that gives up the fifth fewest fantasy points to opposing running backs per week and hasn't allowed an individual player at the position to hit double-digit scoring in its last four games.

This is a defense that held Christian McCaffrey to 12.8 fantasy points and Austin Ekeler to 8.2. Charbonnet isn't those guys. He was the main man in Seattle's backfield last week and turned the opportunity into 14 carries for 47 yards and four catches for 11 yards against San Francisco. A meh performance.

So yeah, you'll have better options this week.

This one's pretty simple: Six times this season, the Eagles defense has allowed two or more opposing wideouts to score double-digit fantasy points against them. Three times, they've allowed a trio of receivers to pull off that feat.

Brandon Aiyuk and Deebo Samuel are really good. Do not hesitate starting both of them against one of the leakiest secondaries—at least from a fantasy perspective—in football this season.

It's so tempting to fight through the tepid production with Drake London given his talent, but not this week. You don't start the the player ranked 41st in fantasy scoring at his position against a Jets' defense giving up the fewest fantasy points to opposing wide receivers per week (19.4).

Sauce Gardner looms. Stay away from London.

Dalton Schultz only had one reception for two yards on two targets this past week, which at first glance appeared to be an ominous sign given the return of Brevin Jordan:

Now, it's possible that Schultz was simply dealing with the hamstring injury that kept him out of practice on Wednesday. That's a situation you want to monitor before making any decisions about your lineup, obviously.

But you also should consider that no team is giving up more fantasy points to opposing tight ends than the Denver Broncos this season (13.4), setting him up with a juicy matchup this week. Eight tight ends have scored eight or more fantasy points against the Broncos this season. Expect Schultz to make it nine.

You probably wouldn't normally consider starting Tyler Higbee, but with a general lack of depth at the position this year and enough injuries to force you to get creative in certain weeks, he might seem like an acceptable short-term option.

Add in his five catches for 29 yards and two touchdowns last week, and you might be enticed.

Stay away. His opponent this week, the Cleveland Browns, are giving up a minuscule 4.8 fantasy points per week to opposing tight ends, easily the best mark in football. One tight end all season—Mark Andrews, in Week 4—has hit double-digit fantasy points against them.

They've had five games this season where they've given up one reception or less to the position. They've only had one game where opposing tight ends reached five receptions against them, haven't given up more than 80 yards to the position in a game and haven't allowed a player at the position to score a touchdown this season.

Are you convinced yet? Higbee ain't it this week.