Week 13 has the likes of Aaron Rodgers and Ryan Tannehill on byes. If you are looking for a fill-in or if you’ve been playing the streaming game in fantasy football this season, start with our Week 13 QB tiers and streamers.
Week 13 QB Tiers
A tier-based approach is a great way to give context to how players can be expected to perform. Let’s start with a guy fantasy managers can’t wait to have back.
Tier 1
1. Kyler Murray | Arizona Cardinals @ CHI
2. Patrick Mahomes II | Kansas City Chiefs vs. DEN
3. Lamar Jackson | Baltimore Ravens @ PIT
4. Tom Brady | Tampa Bay Buccaneers @ ATL
Tier 2
5. Josh Allen | Buffalo Bills vs. NE
6. Dak Prescott | Dallas Cowboys @ NO
7. Justin Herbert | Los Angeles Chargers @ CIN
8. Matthew Stafford | Los Angeles Rams vs. JAX
Tier 3
9. Kirk Cousins | Minnesota Vikings @ DET
10. Russell Wilson | Seattle Seahawks vs. SF
11. Jalen Hurts | Philadelphia Eagles @ NYJ
12. Joe Burrow | Cincinnati Bengals vs. LAC
13. Carson Wentz | Indianapolis Colts @ HOU
Tier 4
14. Taysom Hill | New Orleans Saints vs. DAL
15. Taylor Heinicke | Washington Football Team @ LV
16. Tua Tagovailoa | Miami Dolphins vs. NYG
17. Daniel Jones | New York Giants @ MIA
18. Tyrod Taylor | Houston Texans vs. IND
19. Jimmy Garoppolo | San Francisco 49ers @ SEA
Tier 5
20. Derek Carr | Las Vegas Raiders vs. WAS
21. Teddy Bridgewater | Denver Broncos @ KC
22. Mac Jones | New England Patriots @ BUF
23. Ben Roethlisberger | Pittsburgh Steelers vs. BAL
24. Trevor Lawrence | Jacksonville Jaguars @ LAR
25. Andy Dalton | Chicago Bears vs. ARI
26. Matt Ryan | Atlanta Falcons vs. TB
Tier 6
27. Jared Goff | Detroit Lions vs. MIN
28. Zach Wilson | New York Jets vs. PHI
29. Trevor Siemian | New Orleans Saints vs. DAL
30. Trey Lance | San Francisco 49ers @ SEA
Week 13 QB Streamers
The slate is a little thin on quarterbacks that could be available to pick up on waivers and start this week, but there are a handful of great options. Let’s start with a quarterback that continuously gets overlooked.
Carson Wentz, Indianapolis Colts (@ Texans)
People want to joke about a couple of bad decisions Carson Wentz has made this year, but even accounting for those mistakes, he’s the QB11 on the season. Sure, he had a weak fantasy showing in Week 11 when Jonathan Taylor had an all-time great performance with 5 TDs, but Wentz has posted more than 18 fantasy points seven times this season.
In Week 13, Wentz gets a date with the Houston Texans, who have been on a bit of a hot streak on defense lately. Still, I trust Wentz, Taylor, Michael Pittman Jr., T.Y. Hilton, and even a bit of Nyheim Hines to get it done in a division matchup. I know QBR doesn’t matter for fantasy, but Wentz had his second-highest QBR of the season when he played Houston earlier this year. Wentz should be a low-end QB1 this week.
Tua Tagovailoa, Miami Dolphins (vs. Giants)
Tua Tagovailoa has been a bit underwhelming for fantasy football lately, in large part because the passing touchdowns haven’t been there. Everything else has been, though. He’s posted a completion rate over 80% in back-to-back weeks, he’s only taken 1 sack per game in the last two, and he’s thrown for 503 total yards over that stretch.
Tagovailoa has been efficient, leading the Dolphins offense to 57 points in their last two games. If he sees an uptick in touchdowns, Tagovailoa has big upside. The Giants — Miami’s Week 13 opponent — have been on the tough side against opposing quarterbacks, allowing the 11th-fewest fantasy points per game to the position. But the weapons in the Dolphins’ offense, especially Jaylen Waddle, have the ability to turn any play into a long TD. If you need a streaming option, Tagovailoa should give you a safe floor with the possibility of a big performance.
Taylor Heinicke (@ Las Vegas Raiders)
Over the last three weeks, Taylor Heinicke has been the QB9. Add this to the list of sentences I didn’t expect to write this year. He has 5 touchdowns to 1 interception in the last three weeks, and will now be adding Curtis Samuel into the mix at receiver.
In his first action since Week 5, Samuel played just 24% of the snaps on Monday Night Football against Seattle. He got through the game without injury, indicating that we will see him ramp up this week.
The same can be said for TE Logan Thomas, who saw 6 targets in his return.
With a list of weapons that includes Terry McLaurin, Antonio Gibson, and J.D. McKissic, Heinicke will square off with the Las Vegas Raiders in Week 13. Las Vegas has allowed the fifth-most fantasy points per game to QBs over the last four weeks.