Fantasy Football Week 13 RB rankings: Sleepers, bye week replacements, and more

Week 13 of the 2023 fantasy football season will be one of the most challenging for managers navigating the running back position. In addition to several key injuries to the position across the NFL, the maximum of six teams will also be serving their bye weeks. This means the player pool of potential lineup options will be much more limited than usual.

This tricky situation will require managers to pay extra attention to their analysis process before finalizing their lineups, especially with the fantasy football playoffs just a couple of weeks away. Every decision this time of the year is magnified, as a wrong one can be the difference of whether or not a team makes the postseason. This makes starting the right running backs this week absolutely crucial.

Determining which running backs to target each week is based on a large number of factors. Some of these include recent individual performances, direct weekly matchups, expected offensive roles, injury situations to relevant players and potential game scripts.

This process can often be complicated, but utilizing the Start/Sit Optimizer can make it much easier. This valuable tool analyzes every possible variable for any player in a given week to generate fantasy projections and lineup suggestions. It can help managers determine which running backs to plug into Week 13 lineups.

Bye weeks and injuries also play an important role every week. In Week 13, the Buffalo Bills, Baltimore Ravens, Chicago Bears, Minnesota Vikings, Las Vegas Raiders and New York Giants are all off. This means many lineup staples, such as Saquon Barkley, Josh Jacobs, James Cook and Gus Edwards, will all be unavailable this week.

Some other top running backs, such as Jonathan Taylor and Aaron Jones, are unlikely to play this week with injuries. Several others, like David Montgomery and De'Von Achane, are questionable to be available. All of these situations create more demand for replacement options as managers will be looking to pivot to other players to fill voids in their lineups.

The following list of potential sleepers, as well as the complete fantasy football running back rankings for Week 13, can help managers make the necessary adjustments. Some of these players are being undervalued and could still be available to fill in for lineups this week.

Fantasy Football Week 13 RB sleepers

Week 13 RBs

Jaylen Warren

The Pittsburgh Steelers have adjusted their backfield workload distribution in recent weeks, giving Jaylen Warren and Najee Harris a nearly even split. This has resulted in Warren having a breakout fantasy football season. He has ranked among the top 15 running backs in three of his past four games, while ranking among the top 25 running backs in PPR leagues seven times this year.

Warren has an excellent matchup in Week 13 to continue his strong season. The Arizona Cardinals are allowing the second-most fantasy points per game to his position. He's averaging 15 touches per game across the past four weeks, so he should be in line for a productive week.

James Conner

The Arizona Cardinals offense has signficantly improved since Kyler Murray returned to the lineup, as expected. However, it hasn't yet benefited James Conner, who has finished outside of the top 25 running backs in each of his past five games. Better days could be ahead as he is still averaging 16 touches per game and is clearly their featured running back.

A Week 13 matchup against the Pittsburgh Steelers could be just what Conner needs to get back on track in fantasy football. They rank in the bottom half of the league in limiting fantasy points to the position and Conner could have a bit of extra motivation for this one. He previously played for the Steelers before joining the Cardinals.

Zack Moss

The Indianapolis Colts received devastating news as they make their push towards the NFL playoffs with Jonathan Taylor suffering a recent thumb injury. He is expected to miss multiple games, opening the door for Zack Moss to step back into the starting lineup. He thrived in this role earlier in the season and was having a breakout fantasy football campaign.

In a four-game stretch as the starter this year, Moss exploded to average 24 touches per game and finish among the top 10 running backs in standard scoring four times. The Tennessee Titans' rushing defense ranks right around the middle of the NFL, making Moss an ideal player to target in Week 13, especially considering how heavy his workload is expected to be.

Derrick Henry

Many managers have been fading Derrick Henry in many weeks this season as he has not been the same workhorse as in years past. Despite averaging career-lows in several categories and not receiving the same monstrous number of touches, he has still grinded his way to being the overall RB19. He's also coming off his first multi-touchdown performance of the season, so hecould be heating up.

Henry recorded his most carries in the Tennessee Titans' most recent game in their first victory since the last time they gave him 20 carries. They may stick with this formula and go back to their roots by feeding him as often as possible, as it has translated to victories.

This could result in a breakout fantasy football performance against the Indianapolis Colts, who allow the seventh-most points per game to running backs.

Devin Singletary

In two games as the heavily featured running back for the Houston Texans without Dameon Pierce in the lineup, Devin Singletary exploded in fantasy football. He totaled 55 touches and 279 scrimmage yards across those two games, finishing among the top five weekly running backs in both of them.

While Singletary went back to his complimentary role last week with Pierce returning, he still holds value in Week 13. Last week, he still played in more than 70 percent of the offensive snaps, despite only receiving 12 touches.

More opportunities against the Denver Broncos could result in a bigger fantasy football performance, as they are allowing the most fantasy point per game torunning backs.

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Managers looking to acquire any of these Week 13 targets should consult the fantasy football trade analyzer first.

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Week 13 Fantasy Football RB rankings

1. Alvin Kamara
2. Travis Etienne
3. Tony Pollard
4. Christian McCaffrey
5. Rachaad White
6. Austin Ekeler
7. Bijan Robinson
8. Raheem Mostert
9. Isiah Pacheco
10. Jahmyr Gibbs
11. Zack Moss
12. Kyren Williams
13. Jaylen Warren
14. Rhamondre Stevenson
15. Derrick Henry
16. Javonte Williams
17. Najee Harris
18. Breece Hall
19. David Montgomery
20. D'Andre Swift
21. Brian Robinson
22. Jerome Ford
23. Devin Singletary
24. James Conner
25. Antonio Gibson
26. Zach Charbonnet
27. Joe Mixon
28. Chuba Hubbard
29. Kareem Hunt
30. Tyler Allgeier
31. Samaje Perine
32. AJ Dillon
33. Dameon Pierce
34. Miles Sanders
35. Rico Dowdle
36. Clyde Edwards-Helaire
37. Royce Freeman
38. Kenneth Gainwell
39. Dalvin Cook
40. Jeff Wilson Jr.