Seattle Seahawks WR DK Metcalf has been an elite option for fantasy football in recent years, but a crowded WR room and regression in QB play have caused him to tumble down the rankings here in 2023.
On Thursday Night Football against the Dallas Cowboys, should fantasy managers trust the ultra-athletic WR? Let’s dive in. All rankings are in half-PPR scoring format.
Should You Start DK Metcalf in Week 13?
Analysis by Kyle Soppe | His pace since the beginning of October is 68 catches for 1,079 yards. That’s not what we paid for in fantasy football drafts, and I’m not sure it gets better anytime soon.
Metcalf has finished five weeks outside of the top 35 fantasy receivers this season, a downside that I could swallow if it was offset by elite upside. But it hasn’t been (only two top 20 fantasy finishes).
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Last week was a pretty good snapshot of things — 33.3% target share and a whopping 4.7 half-PPR points. I’m not going to tell you to outright bench Metcalf, but he’s been firmly removed from my “must start” tier that he entered November as.
I currently have him ranked a tick above the “talented WR, bad QB” tier (Ja’Marr Chase and Garrett Wilson) simply because he’s been playing with his below-average QB for the entire season. But Metcalf’s barely inside my top 25 and is dropping in a hurry.
Trending Start/Sit Searches for Metcalf
Did you know that we have a Start/Sit Optimizer here at Pro Football Network?! It’s completely free to use, and it allows you to enter up to six players to find the best option to plug into your starting lineup!
It also allows us to see the most popular trending searches, and we’ve jotted some of them down here to help provide some clarity!
Should You Start Metcalf or Rashee Rice?
The PFN Start/Sit Optimizer favors Metcalf in this spot with 10.3 projected half-PPR points to 9.6 for Rice, but that gap is quickly closing. Rice had a monstrous performance in Week 12, and he could very easily continue to build on that this week against the Green Bay Packers.
However, there’s still some volatility with Rice, and I would prefer to see it just one more week before I begin to move him into the top 25 of my WR rankings. He’s right on that edge, though, and it’s getting closer. I’ll still go, Metcalf.
Should You Start Metcalf or Adam Thielen?
Adam Thielen appeared to be one of the safest options in all of fantasy football just a few weeks ago, but the wheels have fallen off here in Carolina. In a matchup against the Tampa Bay Buccaneers, though, we should see a solid outing for Thielen.
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The PFN Start/Sit Optimizer favors Thielen in this situation and I agree. Neither have elite upside due to their respective QB play, but the matchup for Thielen against the defense that’s allowing the fourth most fantasy points to opposing WRs is too good to pass up.
Kyle Yates’ Week 13 WR Rankings
1) Tyreek Hill | MIA (at WAS)
2) CeeDee Lamb | DAL (vs. SEA)
3) Amon-Ra St. Brown | DET (at NO)
4) Keenan Allen | LAC (at NE)
5) A.J. Brown | PHI (vs. SF)
6) Mike Evans | TB (vs. CAR)
7) Michael Pittman Jr. | IND (at TEN)
8) Jaylen Waddle | MIA (at WAS)
9) Brandon Aiyuk | SF (at PHI)
10) DeVonta Smith | PHI (vs. SF)
11) Tank Dell | HOU (vs. DEN)
12) Deebo Samuel | SF (at PHI)
13) Ja’Marr Chase | CIN (at JAX)
14) Calvin Ridley | JAX (vs. CIN)
15) Nico Collins | HOU (vs. DEN)
16) Puka Nacua | LAR (vs. CLE)
17) Terry McLaurin | WAS (vs. MIA)
18) DeAndre Hopkins | TEN (vs. IND)
19) Christian Kirk | JAX (vs. CIN)
20) Adam Thielen | CAR (at TB)
21) Cooper Kupp | LAR (vs. CLE)
22) Courtland Sutton | DEN (at HOU)
23) Garrett Wilson | NYJ (vs. ATL)
24) DK Metcalf | SEA (at DAL)
25) Diontae Johnson | PIT (vs. ARI)
26) Rashee Rice | KC (at GB)
27) Josh Downs | IND (at TEN)
28) Marquise Brown | ARI (at PIT)
29) Tyler Lockett | SEA (at DAL)
30) George Pickens | PIT (vs. ARI)
31) Jayden Reed | GB (vs. KC)
32) Chris Godwin | TB (vs. CAR)
33) Brandin Cooks | DAL (vs. SEA)
34) Drake London | ATL (at NYJ)
35) Christian Watson | GB (vs. KC)
36) Amari Cooper | CLE (at LAR)
37) Demario Douglas | NE (vs. LAC)
38) Curtis Samuel | WAS (vs. MIA)
39) Jahan Dotson | WAS (vs. MIA)
40) Romeo Doubs | GB (vs. KC)
41) Jerry Jeudy | DEN (at HOU)
42) Jaxon Smith-Njigba | SEA (at DAL)
43) Tyler Boyd | CIN (at JAX)
44) A.T. Perry | NO (vs. DET)
45) Elijah Moore | CLE (at LAR)
46) Justin Watson | KC (at GB)
47) Tutu Atwell | LAR (vs. CLE)
48) Rondale Moore | ARI (at PIT)
49) Jonathan Mingo | CAR (at TB)
50) Zay Jones | JAX (vs. CIN)
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