Fantasy Football Panic Meter After Week 13: George Kittle, Garrett Wilson, Kirk Cousins, Jahmyr Gibbs and More

Week 13 of the NFL season is now in the books, and it’s time for another story recapping what happened.

Here, we’ll continue our panic meter series, where we identify players who struggled this past week and then determine how panicked fantasy owners should be. Here’s last week’s story. Also be sure to check out the one-week outlier or here to stay series.

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Tight Ends

George Kittle and Kyle Pitts are the two tight ends we’ll discuss after week 13.

Kittle had a rough go of things, catching just one of his two targets for seven yards. It was easily his worst fantasy showing of the season.

The game came on the road against the Bills in adverse weather conditions, so that played a role in the poor showing, but nobody expects a top-tier fantasy TE like Kittle to ever struggle that much.

I’d like to think it was just a one-week blip in what’s been an otherwise great fantasy season for Kittle, but with the injuries the Niners are dealing with, I’m definitely a little concerned about the tight end moving forward.

He’s got some tough matchups ahead, and the Niners’ offense is reeling a little bit. I expect the passing game to take on a bit more of the gameplan going forward, but I’m still concerned about Kittle until the offense proves it can deliver without its top two backs. I’d put Kittle’s panic meter at a 3, but still continue to start him, for now at least.

Pitts had another bad showing in week 13, failing to catch either of his two targets. He had just one catch for nine yards across three targets in his last game.

Pitts has failed to hit 15 receiving yards in three of the past four games, and he only had 55 yards in the other contest. He only has 12 targets over that span.

With more tough matchups coming, my panic meter for Pitts is at an 8. A lot of fantasy owners will start him out of necessity, or because of his upside, but it’s anybody’s guess what kind of fantasy outing Pitts might have. 

I’m just about ready to move on from Pitts.

Wide Receivers

Garrett Wilson and Darnell Mooney are worth discussing after week 13.

Wilson had 41 yards, but it took him five catches and 10 targets to get there. He hasn’t topped 50 yards in a game in any of the past three contests.

Wilson’s targets are still at a healthy amount, but unless he finds the end zone or has a couple big catches, he’s probably going to keep delivering subpar fantasy results. The addition of Davante Adams has appeared to catch up to Wilson and suck up a lot of his fantasy value.

Wilson has some favorable matchups ahead, so I’m not ready to bail on him quite yet, but he’s very hard to trust at this point. I’d put his panic meter at a 6, even though it really probably could be a point or two higher.

Wilson is unlikely to be a must-start fantasy player the rest of the season, even with six teams on bye in week 14 and in favorable defensive matchups.

Mooney had only 20 yards on three catches and six targets in week 13. It was his second straight down game, after he posted 27 yards on two grabs and four targets in week 12.

Mooney has been dealing with an Achilles injury, so that’s probably playing a role in things, and he has faced a couple tough defenses the past two weeks.

Things don’t look a ton better moving forward in terms of the matchups, but they also aren’t extremely difficult either. I think in time and as he heals up, Mooney will get back on track.

I’d still put his panic meter at a 4 after what we’ve seen the past couple weeks. Mooney had worked himself into being a near must-start fantasy player, but he’s probably on the wrong side of the start/sit line as week 14 approaches.

Quarterbacks

Brock Purdy and Kirk Cousins are the two quarterbacks I want to mention this week.

Purdy had a really rough go of things in week 13. He was 11-of-18 passing for 94 yards, with no touchdowns or interceptions. Purdy rushed for four yards on two carries and lost a fumble.

It was easily Purdy’s worst fantasy showing of the season, and it comes in his first game since being injured. I think the weather conditions played a bigger role than his injury in his down game, but it’s definitely concerning.

I’d put Purdy’s panic meter at a 5. He’s got some tough matchups coming, and until he proves he’s past his injury, he’s going to be hard to trust in a fantasy lineup. I think he’ll be a good fantasy asset on volume passing numbers alone, but until we see it, I’m definitely worried about him.

Cousins completed 24 of his 39 passes for 245 yards, no touchdowns and four interceptions. 

It was the second straight really weak fantasy showing for Cousins, and he now has no touchdown passes and six picks over his past three games. I’m not sure if those performances are because of tougher opponents or maybe an injury he’s working through, but it’s definitely time to panic with Cousins.

Thankfully, there’s better matchups ahead, so maybe Cousins can right the ship in his next game. Until then, I’m worried, and would put his panic meter at a 5.

You might be forced to start Cousins with so many other teams on byes this week, but Cousins is definitely not a very safe fantasy option right now.

Running Backs

Jahmyr Gibbs and Breece Hall are two running backs we should discuss a bit.

Gibbs had a fine showing back on Thursday, but his lack of touches and an off-the-field incident is what puts him on my list.

Gibbs rushed for 87 yards on nine carries and caught half of his four targets for 17 yards. It was the least amount of touches Gibbs has had in a game this season, and without a touchdown, the fantasy score was pretty unimpressive.

Gibbs also leaked some of the team’s plays and code words on social media, but coach Dan Campbell doesn’t seem too concerned about it, so I don’t think it will affect Gibbs’ playing time.

The low-touch game paired with the off-the-field incident makes things just a touch concerning for Gibbs, but I’d still only put his panic meter at a 2. With a ton of favorable matchups ahead, you can keep plugging him into your starting lineup and expect him to deliver big fantasy scores every week.

Hall also has a great schedule ahead (actually the best among fantasy RBs), but he also cracks my list after a down week 13 showing.

Hall had 60 rushing yards on 12 carries, while failing to catch his lone target on Sunday. He was dealing with a knee injury coming into the game and played 62% of the team’s snaps. Backup Braelon Allen got seven touches while playing 28% of the team’s snaps.

I’m not overly concerned about Hall at this point, but I think the scenario of shutting him down for the season is definitely out there. The Jets are out of the playoff picture and already looking toward the future, and if Hall is in their plans, having him healthy for 2025 makes more sense than playing him in meaningless games.

That’s just speculation on my part, but at the very least, I could see more of a backfield committee forming for the Jets. I’d put Hall’s panic meter at a 3, but it could rise in a hurry, so make sure you have a backup plan in place in case Hall was supposed to carry your team through the fantasy playoffs.