Fantasy Football Week 13 Takeaways: Surprises & Disappointments (2024)

A young offense with an offensive coordinator with a track record of late-season swoons had an encouraging explosion in Week 13. Meanwhile, a rookie running back wasn’t punished in Week 13 for fumbling in Week 12. Another running back’s fumbling issues led to a stint in the doghouse in Week 13. A speedy wideout also had a disappointing showing after his team’s Week 12 bye. Finally, two backfields were used in an eye-catching way.

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Fantasy Football Week 13 Surprises

The Commanders Lit Up the Titans

Fantasy pundits, including myself, have voiced concerns about Kliff Kingsbury’s tendency to watch his potent early-season offenses with the Cardinals wilt during the later parts of the season. Washington’s offense was bottled up by the Eagles in Week 11. Then, the Commanders had a dreadful first three quarters against the Cowboys before waking up in the fourth quarter, namely when Terry McLaurin had a long touchdown reception.

Still, the Commanders alleviated some concerns about Kingsbury’s history by eviscerating the Titans for 42 points and 463 yards. Jayden Daniels completed 25 of 30 passes for 206 yards, three touchdowns and one interception, adding 34 rushing yards and a touchdown on the ground. McLaurin had eight targets, eight receptions, 73 receiving yards and two receiving touchdowns. Brian Robinson rumbled for 103 rushing yards and one touchdown, chipping in a six-yard reception on his only target.

Otherwise, the contributions were spread out. Zach Ertz is a defensible low-end TE1/streamer. Ben Sinnott hasn’t emerged to cut into Ertz’s playing time, and the veteran tight end had the second-most targets (six) for the Commanders in Week 13, corralling three receptions for 35 yards and one touchdown. Sadly, Noah Brown popped up on the injury report with a knee injury in Week 13, had a quiet effort and suffered a rib injury. Although Kingsbury has assuaged some concerns about his track record, a banged-up Brown is a thin option, even in larger formats. Nonetheless, Daniels, Robinson and McLaurin are exciting fantasy players, with the fantasy playoffs rapidly approaching.

Tyrone Tracy Was Out of the Doghouse

Unsurprisingly, the Drew Lock experience was an unmitigated disaster in Week 13. The G-Men’s dreadful play at quarterback will cap the upside for Malik Nabers and their once-again trusty rookie running back. Nevertheless, Tyrone Tracy is in the RB2/flex mix again after answering concerns about how his playing time would shake out after another fumble in Week 12.

According to Pro Football Reference, Tracy played 73% of New York’s offensive snaps in Week 13. Moreover, per Pro Football Focus (PFF), he played 36 passing snaps and ran 27 routes versus six and three for Devin Singletary and four and two for Eric Gray. Tracy’s emergence as the team’s preferred passing-down back and already stellar early-down role, Tracy is a game-script-proof fantasy option, which is crucial since the Giants are a tire fire.

Fantasy Football Week 13 Disappointments

Aaron Jones Has a Ball-Security Problem

Aaron Jones scored Minnesota’s game-winning receiving touchdown on Sunday. However, he had an alarming day for his fantasy outlook. The veteran running back had five rush attempts, 22 rushing yards, two fumbles, one lost fumble, four targets, three receptions, six receiving yards and a touchdown. Jones also lost a fumble in Week 12, had a fumble in Week 11 and lost one in Week 2.

Both of Jones’s fumbles in Week 13 were in the first quarter. According to Nathan Jahnke of PFF, Jones played all nine of the backfield’s snaps in the first quarter but only two in the second quarter. Ty Chandler had a backfield-high five snaps in the second quarter, muddying the handcuff situation after it appeared Cam Akers had taken the lead. In the second half, Jones played 17 snaps, and Akers played 13.

Will Kevin O’Connell reduce Jones’s workload after his fourth fumble in the previous three weeks, or will he continue to trust the veteran running back in a featured role? I don’t know. Week 14 will be a critical data point for Jones’s trustworthiness in the fantasy football playoffs.

Darnell Mooney Was Quiet

Darnell Mooney left Atlanta’s Week 11 blowout loss early with a hamstring injury before the club’s Week 12 bye. He was listed on the Week 13 practice reports with an Achilles issue. Mooney was a limited participant in practice on Wednesday, a full participant on Thursday and received a rest day on Friday. Mooney didn’t have an injury designation for the contest.

Mooney’s playing time wasn’t limited. Instead, he played 76 snaps and tied for the team-high with 39 routes. Unfortunately, Mooney had six targets for only three receptions and 29 scoreless yards. Mooney had four targets, two receptions and 27 scoreless receiving yards against the Broncos in Week 11. Whether Mooney’s health or Atlanta’s offensive struggles are to blame for his back-to-back duds, the veteran wideout’s fantasy value is cratering. For now, Mooney is only a low-end flex or bench option.

Miscellaneous Notes

Kansas City Didn’t Have a Workhorse Running Back in Week 13

Isiah Pacheco was back from the Injured Reserve (IR) on Black Friday, and predictably, Kareem Hunt didn’t retain his bell-cow role. Instead, Pacheco and Hunt each had seven rush attempts, with the former recording 44 rushing yards and the latter plodding for 15. None of Kansas City’s other running backs had a run against the Raiders.

Hunt had 20 passing snaps and ran 20 routes versus 19 and 10 for Pacheco and 17 and 14 for Samaje Perine. According to Jahnke, Perine played 11 third-down snaps versus one for Pacheco and zero for Hunt, and Perine played all four two-minute drill snaps. The Chiefs might shift more work to Pacheco as he’s further removed from his injury, but Perine’s presence as the passing-down back turns Kansas City’s backfield into a three-back committee. Hunt is an acceptable bench stash as a handcuff. Pacheco is the most intriguing running back for the Chiefs. Yet, he’ll need to absorb more of the rushing workload, secure the goal-line gig or run more routes to emerge as more than a low-end RB2.

The Rams Took Some Work Off Kyren Williams‘s Plate

Kyren Williams’s 88% snap share through Week 12 was tied for the highest among running backs, and he had snap shares of 89%, 89%, 99%, 93%, 81% and 91% in six games since Los Angeles’s Week 6 bye. Blake Corum had an increased role in Week 13, siphoning some work from Williams.

The veteran running back still had a stellar fantasy game, with 15 rush attempts, 104 rushing yards, one rushing touchdown, one target, one reception and nine receiving yards. Corum matched his previous high for carries, toting the rock eight times. The rookie running back also set a new career-high for rushing yards, gashing the Saints for 42.

Williams remains an RB1, and Corum is an elite handcuff. The slight reduction to Williams’s workload could take a pinch out of his ceiling. However, it could also help keep him healthy and improve his efficiency. Corum won’t have standalone value unless he takes more work from Williams, but the rock-solid showing on Sunday in his opportunities adds credibility to his rushing ability translating to the NFL level.

Josh Shepardson is a featured writer at FantasyPros. For more from Josh, check out his archive and follow him @BChad50.