Week 13 Rankings (2018): Top 25 Quarterbacks

by Eric Stashin (aka The Rotoprofessor)

It feels like the NFL season just started, yet for most the coming week means the end of the fantasy regular season.  While some of us are just going through the motions with a playoff spot secured, others are agonizing over each decision as Week 13 represents a win or go home situation.  Who are the trustworthy options?  Who should we avoid?  Let’s take a look:

1. Patrick Mahomes – Kansas City Chiefs – at Oakland
2. Cam Newton – Carolina Panthers – at Tampa Bay
3. Jared Goff – Los Angeles Rams – at Detroit
4. Andrew Luck – Indianapolis Colts – at Jacksonville
5. Drew Brees – New Orleans Saints – at Dallas
6. Russell Wilson – Seattle Seahawks – vs. San Francisco
7. Jameis Winston – Tampa Bay Buccaneers – vs. Carolina
8. Aaron Rodgers – Green Bay Packers – vs. Arizona
9. Kirk Cousins – Minnesota Vikings – at New England
10. Phillip Rivers – Los Angeles Chargers – at Pittsburgh
11. Mitchell Trubisky – Chicago Bears – at New York Giants
12. Matt Ryan – Atlanta Falcons – vs. Baltimore
13. Lamar Jackson – Baltimore Ravens – at Atlanta
14. Deshaun Watson – Houston Texans – vs. Cleveland
15. Ben Roethlisberger – Pittsburgh Steelers – vs. Los Angeles Chargers
16. Tom Brady – New England Patriots – vs. Minnesota
17. Carson Wentz – Philadelphia Eagles – vs. Washington
18. Dak Prescott – Dallas Cowboys – vs. New Orleans
19. Baker Mayfield – Cleveland Browns – at Houston
20. Marcus Mariota – Tennessee Titans – vs. New York Jets
21. Case Keenum – Denver Broncos – at Cincinnati
22. Eli Manning – New York Giants – vs. Chicago
23. Colt McCoy – Washington Redskins – at Philadelphia
24. Matthew Stafford – Detroit Lions – vs. Los Angeles Rams
25. Derek Carr – Oakland Raiders – vs. Kansas City

Thoughts:

• There are a lot of potential injury concerns that need to be monitored throughout the week, especially Mitchell Trubisky.  If he’s deemed healthy and takes the field against the New York Giants he’s going to be a QB1 and worth using in all formats so monitor the news and see what the rhetoric is as the week progresses.  Another injury to monitor is Joe Flacco’s (though, for now, it’s hard to imagine the Ravens putting Lamar Jackson on the bench after back-to-back victories).
• After throwing for no touchdowns in Week 1, Cam Newton has thrown for 2+ TD in every game since.  Couple that with the ability to make plays with his legs and a favorable matchup and it’s hard not to have him near the top of the rankings for Week 13.  The last time he faced Tampa Bay he threw for 247 yards and 2 TD while adding another 33 yards on the ground and could easily top those numbers this time around.
• Andrew Luck has been on fire while the Jaguars defense looks like a shell of itself as their season has gone completely down the toilet.  They had allowed 285+ yards in Week 10 and 11 and while they only allowed 160 passing yards to the Buffalo Bills, they instead allowed 99 yards and 1 TD on the ground to Josh Allen.  The Jaguars are clearly not a defense to avoid at this point, and with the way Luck and the Colts have been rolling he’s among the best options once again.
• We always say don’t sit your stars, but trusting Aaron Rodgers is getting tougher and tougher.  He’s now attempted 30 passes or fewer in four of his past five games and draws an Arizona defense that has been among the better units at stopping opposing quarterbacks overall.  They did allow Phillip Rivers and company to throw for 285 yards and 3 TD in Week 12, and they haven’t had an interception since Week 7 against the Denver Broncos.  While Rodgers has struggled and may not be as highly ranked as we’ve become accustomed to, he remains a viable option in all formats.
• The Los Angeles Chargers entered Week 12 allowing the third fewest points per week to opposing quarterbacks, a ranking they didn’t hurt as they shutdown Josh Rosen and the Cardinals.  While Ben Roethlisberger has put up some big numbers he’s also thrown 5 INT over his past two games.  With the tougher matchup he’s more of a low-end QB1 and potentially a QB2 depending on your alternative.
• Tom Brady was hardly impressive against the New York Jets, throwing for 283 yards, 2 TD and 0 INT.  Considering his numbers prior to the bye week it’s hard to get excited, especially with a difficult matchup against the Vikings.  It’s impossible to imagine, but he’s more of a QB2 than a QB1 this week.
• It’s now been back-to-back relatively poor weeks for Carson Wentz, throwing for 392 yards, 1 TD and 3 INT against the Saints and Giants.  That said the matchup against the Washington Redskins isn’t an imposing one and we’d expect at least a better day, though maybe not an elite one as the running game has gotten going behind Josh Adams.  Think of him as a high level QB2.

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Make sure to check out all of our Week 12 rankings: