Strong Week 13 Fantasy Football Showings: Deebo Samuel, Alec Pierce, Jordan Love and More

Every week of the NFL season seems to produce a few surprising names atop the fantasy leaders at each position. Week 13 was no different.

Let’s take a look at some of the stronger fantasy performances at the quarterback, running back, wide receiver and tight end positions. I’ll then add some insight on how to proceed with that player, whether it means adding him on the waiver wire, locking him into your starting lineup for the rest of the season or adjusting how you view other players on that individual's team.

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Fantasy Quarterbacks

We already talked about the night Geno Smith had for the Seattle Seahawks on Thursday night. That makes the fantasy showing for Green Bay Packers’ Jordan Love the most surprising outing among the Sunday slate of week 13 games for me.

Love completed 25-of-36 passes for 267 yards, three touchdowns and no interceptions against a top-end Kansas City Chiefs defense. Love has over 250 passing yards at multiple touchdowns in each of the team’s last four games. If Love is still available in your league, scoop him up now, as the Packers’ schedule is pretty favorable for the QB going forward. 

Indianapolis Colts’ Gardner Minshew was also a top-10 fantasy QB this week. He completed 26-of-42 passes for 312 yards and two scores, including the walk-off touchdown pass in overtime to beat the Tennessee Titans.

Minshew has now eclipsed 300 passing yards three times and has multiple touchdown passes in three contests as well. The best part of his Sunday outing was that he didn’t throw an interception, although he did fumble twice and lose one.

Our charts show Minshew is owned in just 31% of leagues. He’s also got a pretty favorable schedule going forward, so if your starting QB went down with an injury this past week, you might want to give Minshew a shot.

The last quarterback I want to mention is Cleveland Browns’ Joe Flacco. He started in week 13 and currently sits as QB11 for the week.

Flacco completed 23-of-44 attempts for 254 yards and two touchdowns, but threw a costly interception late. It’s not the greatest performance, but if Cleveland believes he gives the team the best shot to win, Flacco might start the rest of the season.

He might be worth an add if you are in a deeper league, or simply desperate for QB help. Flacco is owned in just 11% of leagues right now and has a very favorable schedule moving forward.

Fantasy Running Backs

There weren’t any super surprising names that currently are inside the top-10 running back fantasy performers for week 13. It’s nice to see Miami’s De’Von Achane in the mix again, but the guy I want to highlight is Carolina Panthers’ Chuba Hubbard.

The Panthers’ backfield looked like a committee coming into the game, but Hubbard dominated the touches. He rushed 25 times for 104 yards and two touchdowns. Miles Sanders only got nine total touches and went for 29 yards.

It looks like Hubbard owns the backfield again, so if he’s available in your league, make him a priority. I wouldn’t drop Sanders just yet, as next week could be a completely different story. It's not a great road ahead for the Carolina backs.

Fantasy Wide Receivers

There were several surprising performances from the wide receiver position this week.

Packers’ Christian Watson caught 7-of-9 targets for 71 yards and two touchdowns. He also got two rushing attempts, going for 15 yards. The only downside is that he left the game late with a hamstring injury, something that plagued him at the start of the season.

Our charts have Watson at 88% owned, and that number could either be close to 100% if he’s cleared for week 14, or drop down if he’s going to miss some time. The Packers' receivers have some favorable matchups ahead, so you'll want to roster one of them if you can.

San Francisco 49ers’ Deebo Samuel is definitely a big name, but he hasn’t been a very consistent fantasy player for teams this season. Samuel was a star this week, and might finish as WR1 (depending on what kind of league you play in).

Samuel scored three times in the team’s big win over the Philadelphia Eagles. He caught all four of his targets for 116 yards and two touchdowns, while adding 22 rushing yards and a score on three attempts. That showing should ease the mind of the fantasy owners that roster him and make him a must start the rest of the season, especially when you factor in the favorable matchups ahead.

Los Angeles Rams’ Puka Nacua is also a big name after his fast start to his rookie season, but he delivered his first 100-yard showing since week 7.

Nacua caught four of his seven targets for 105 yards and a touchdown. He also added 34 rushing yards on two attempts. He’s been inconsistent of late, but this can maybe get him on another hot streak, which would be perfect timing for your postseason run.

Colts’ Alec Pierce easily came through with his best showing of the season, and possibly career. 

Pierce finished with 100 receiving yards and a touchdown on three grabs and six targets. That marks two straight weeks he’s had six targets, so it’s probably time to add him to your fantasy team. He’s owned in just 3% of leagues right now. He's also got some favorable matchups ahead.

Rams’ DeMarcus Robinson had a breakout game in the team’s win over the Browns. He finished with 55 yards and a touchdown on four catches and five targets.

Robinson didn’t have a target until early November, and this was his first game over two targets, but he’s now had a catch in four straight games and should at least be getting some love in deeper leagues. He’s only owned in 1% of leagues. The schedule ahead for Nacua and Robinson is a pretty average one.

Fantasy Tight Ends

There weren't a bunch of great showings from fantasy tight ends (shocking, I know), but there’s two I want to highlight.

The first is Cleveland’s Harrison Bryant. He had his best game of the season, hauling in all five of his targets for 49 yards and a touchdown. He had just five catches, 12 yards and two touchdowns coming into the week.

If Flacco remains the starting quarterback, maybe there’s something here with Bryant, who is available in just about every league. Amari Cooper was also injured in the contest, and if he misses even a week, Bryant could be a sneaky starting option for week 14. The upcoming schedule is very favorable.

The other tight end I want to mention is from the Atlanta Falcons. No, I’m not talking Kyle Pitts or Jonnu Smith, but MyCole Pruitt.

Pruitt made just one catch in week 13, but it was a 20-yard touchdown, and that’s enough to have him in or near the top-10 fantasy performers at the position, depending on your league settings. 

I’m not advocating to add Pruitt, even in deeper leagues, I’m more mentioning it as another reason to not trust Pitts or Smith as starters. The Falcons' tight ends have a pretty favorable outlook in terms of scheduling.