Our Week 13 fantasy football start and sit is now live with a look at the best/worst options in the fake football world heading into December.
Miami Dolphins quarterback Tua Tagovailoa is coming off a somewhat down past three games. However, he has a great matchup against a bad Washington Commanders defense. Fellow signal caller Geno Smith is a must sit against the Dallas Cowboys on Thursday Night Football.
At running back, we’re fans of what Tony Pollard can do against the aforementioned Seahawks. Meanwhile, Christian McCaffrey has a difficult go of it against the Philadelphia Eagles on Sunday.
Without further ado, here are our Week 13 fantasy football start and sit recommendations.
Related: Week 13 fantasy football rankings
Week 13 fantasy football start and sit: Quarterbacks
Start
Tua Tagovailoa, Miami Dolphins
Tua has not been the same dominant quarterback over the past few games as we saw earlier in the season from a fantasy perspective. The NFL MVP candidate has thrown just four touchdowns with three interceptions in his past three starts. It might lead some to avoid Tagovailoa in the fake football world this week. Don’t do it.
The Washington Commanders have been a disaster stopping fantasy quarterbacks, yielding the most points to this position. Signal callers have also tallied 28 touchdowns against six interceptions when going up against Washington.
Brock Purdy, San Francisco 49ers
We had Purdy as one of our starts last week against Seattle. He proceeded to throw just one touchdown with an interception on the road. This might hold some back from relying on Purdy against the league-best Eagles on the road come Week 13. Again, don’t do it. Philadelphia has given up the second-most fantasy points to quarterbacks.
Over the past four games, quarterbacks have tallied 1,431 total yards with 13 touchdowns and three interceptions against the Eagles. For his part, Purdy heads into this huge Week 13 matchup as the ninth-best fantasy quarterback in the NFL.
Sit
Kyler Murray, Arizona Cardinals
Murray has played decent football in three games since returning from his torn ACL. However, it has not equated to fantasy success (5 total TD, 2 INT). Simply put, Arizona does not have an offense talented enough to help him succeed in this regard.
It won’t get easier Week 13 against a Pittsburgh Steelers defense that has yielded just 12 passing touchdowns against 12 interceptions on the season. That’s good enough for this unit to be allowing the fourth-fewest fantasy points to quarterbacks.
Geno Smith, Seattle Seahawks
After finishing last season as the fifth-best fantasy quarterback in the game, Smith heads into Week 13 as the 20th-ranked player at his position. Over the course of his past eight starts, he’s thrown just nine touchdowns against seven interceptions. These are not numbers indicative of fantasy success.
It’s also not going to get any easier Thursday night against a ball-hawking Dallas Cowboys defense that has given up 14 passing touchdowns compared to 12 interceptions in 11 games. Much like last week against San Francisco, Smith is not fantasy relevant in this one.
Week 13 fantasy football start and sit: Running backs
Start
Rachaad White, Tampa Bay Buccaneers
White is coming off his best performance of the season in a loss to the Colts, recording 100 yards on 15 attempts. Overall, he’s been pretty good over the past four games with 385 total yards and four touchdowns. Look for White to continue excelling Week 13 against a Carolina Panthers defense that has given up the third-most fantasy points to running backs on the season. Their coaching change is not going to do anything to stem the tide in that regard.
Tony Pollard, Dallas Cowboys
After struggling from a fantasy perspective pretty much all season, Pollard broke out to an extent last week against Washington. He gained north of 100 total yards with a touchdown. That included acting the part of a PPR stud (six receptions). He also has a plus-level matchup against a Seahawks defense that yielded 139 total yards and two touchdowns to Christian McCaffrey last week.
Related: NFL Week 13 power rankings
Sit
Christian McCaffrey, San Francisco 49ers
We’ve been pretty good recommending to sit fantasy running backs against the Philadelphia Eagles this season. Sure, McCaffrey is a completely different monster. But we’re talking about an Eagles defense that has given up a total of 683 rushing yards and two touchdowns to running backs in 11 games. Look for Philadelphia to stack the box and force Brock Purdy to beat it over the top.
D’Andre Swift, Philadelphia Eagles
Continuing with our Week 13 theme of focusing on the best game on the NFL schedule, Swift would typically be an ideal start. He’s been great all season with nearly 1,000 total yards. At issue here is Philadelphia’s opponent. The 49ers’ defense has given up the second-fewest fantasy points to running backs on the season. That includes just 658 yards in 11 games. Avoid Swift here.
Week 13 fantasy football start and sit: Wide receivers
Start
Jaylen Waddle, Miami Dolphins
Having dealt with nagging injuries thus far this season, Waddle has not been able to duplicate his 2022 performance. Though, that might be on the verge of changing. The stud young receiver caught all eight of his targets for 114 yards last week against the New York Jets. He’s now set to take on a Commanders defense that has yielded 2,355 yards and 18 touchdowns to wide receivers on the season. Look for Waddle’s breakout to continue.
A.J. Brown, Philadelphia Eagles
After a six-game stretch in which he caught 49 passes for 831 yards, Brown has seen a downtick in production recently. He’s caught 13 passes for 111 yards over the past three games. We’re expecting this to change come Sunday against the San Francisco 49ers. Sure, they have been good on defense this season. But wide receivers have hauled in 67% of their targets when taking on the 49ers. Look for Brown to have a huge game.
Sit
Cooper Kupp, Los Angeles Rams
Dealing with an ankle injury, Kupp hauled in just 3-of-5 targets for 18 yards in Los Angeles’ win over the Arizona Cardinals this past week. The came after he played just 18 snaps the week prior. Sunday is not a good matchup for Kupp against a Browns defense that has given up the third-fewest fantasy points and a 52% completion to wide receivers in the season.
Related: Kyren Williams, Los Angeles Rams dominate in Week 12
Tank Dell, Houston Texans
How good has Dell been recently? The rookie from Houston has hauled in 25-of-43 targets for 369 yards and five touchdowns over the past four games. Most have decided to start him with the knowledge that Dell has built up a solid relationship with fellow rookie C.J. Stroud. Just don’t expect that to continue in Week 13 against a Broncos cornerback in Patrick Surtain who has given up a mere 31 receptions in 11 games this season.
Week 13 fantasy football start and sit: Tight ends
Start
Dalton Schultz, Houston Texans
Schultz has been up-and-down in his first season with the Texans. In fact, he’s caught just three passes over the past two games. But when it comes to fantasy football and the tight end position, we have to play matchups. Denver has given up the most fantasy points and receptions to tight ends on the season. Players at this position are also hauling in 78% of their targets against this defense.
Sit
Dallas Goedert, Philadelphia Eagles
Goedert is planning on playing Sunday against San Francisco after missing the past three games. Whether this means he’s going to have an impact remains very much up in the air. The 49ers have been brilliant against tight ends on the season, giving up an average of 4.2 fantasy points. That’s good enough for the third-fewest total in the league.