Booms and Busts - Fantasy Football Starts and Sits for Week 13 Lineups Include Bucky Irving, C.J. Stroud, Mark Andrews

Dave's fantasy football start 'em and sit 'em booms and busts for Week 13 of 2024. Sneaky starts that may boom, and typical starters that will disappoint.

Thanksgiving week is here. Hard to believe we’ve come this far, but here we are. Happy Thanksgiving and enjoy all the good food if you celebrate. If you don’t, then enjoy all the football this week!

We had some fantastic calls here for Week 12. Tua Tagovailoa and Jayden Daniels both popped for big games. Daniels finished the week as the QB1, while Tagovailoa finished as QB3. We got a little lucky listing J.K. Dobbins as a bust. He was on his way to a big game, but injured his knee and left the game early. We did have one gigantic miss. We incorrectly labeled Jordan Addison as a bust. In a tough matchup against the Chicago Bears, Addison went off for 162 yards on eight receptions and scored a touchdown. Certainly not the desired result, but those are the breaks of the game. We turn the page to Week 13. There are no byes this week, which means we've got a full slate of games, and there are plenty of options to choose from.

Make sure you’re following RotoBaller on X and check out RotoBaller.com for all your fantasy football needs. Let’s get into our boom/bust picks for Week 13 of the 2024 NFL season.

Editor's Note: Identify fantasy football draft busts, overvalued ADPs, and key players to avoid so you can draft with confidence this season.

Week 13 Fantasy Football Booms

Bucky Irving - RB, Tampa Bay Buccaneers at Carolina Panthers

Irving is fresh off a monster game against the New York Giants where he combined for 151 scrimmage yards, scored a touchdown, and finished Week 12 as the RB3.

Bucky Irving gets his TD!

📺: #TBvsNYG on CBS/Paramount+
📱: https://t.co/waVpO8ZBqG pic.twitter.com/j2wq4LgrfZ

— NFL (@NFL) November 24, 2024

What was also encouraging was the fact Irving out-snapped fellow back Rachaad White for the first time all year.

Post-bye rookie bump?

Bucky Irving out-snapped Rachaad White in Week 12. First time all season.

— Jacob Gibbs (@jagibbs_23) November 24, 2024

Perhaps the Bucky Irving takeover is finally happening. He has a great matchup this week, as Tampa Bay takes on a Carolina Panthers team that allows the most PPR points per game to opposing backs, per Fantasy Football Today. Carolina also ranks dead last in defensive rushing DVOA, per FTN Fantasy, so we could see another spike game from Irving.

Fire him up as a strong RB2 play. He should have another good performance.

Marvin Harrison Jr. - WR, Arizona Cardinals at Minnesota Vikings

Things haven’t exactly gone as expected for Harrison in his rookie season. He was routinely taken at the Round 1/2 turn of drafts, but his production hasn’t met the cost. Despite that, he does have a good opportunity in front of him this week.

The Vikings allow the second-most PPR points per game to receivers and allow the fifth-most receiving yards per game to their opponents' WR1. If Arizona’s offensive line holds up against the Vikings' blitzing defense, the rookie is set up for a big day.

Harrison has been a massive disappointment, but this week, he can be a viable option. He’s a fine play as a back-end WR2, WR3, or flex play.

C.J. Stroud - QB, Houston Texans at Jacksonville Jaguars

The going has been rough for the sophomore quarterback the last three weeks. He’s thrown three touchdowns against five interceptions and is only the QB15 on the season.

First career INT for @JarvisBrownlee3!

📺: Watch #TENvsHOU on @NFLonCBS stream on NFL+ pic.twitter.com/xbXvjMAMJW

— Tennessee Titans (@Titans) November 24, 2024

Stroud has struggled, but the Jaguars might be the elixir to cure his woes. Jacksonville allows the most passing yards per game, ranks dead last in defensive passing DVOA, and allows the most fantasy points per game to opposing quarterbacks.

This is the perfect get-right spot for Stroud, and he should deliver one of his best games of the year. Start him as a QB1.

Rhamondre Stevenson - RB, New England Patriots vs. Indianapolis Colts

The Patriots RB1 has struggled a bit since posting back-to-back top-12 finishes in Weeks 8 and 9. However, this week sets up nicely for the fourth-year back. New England faces a Colts defense that allows the sixth-most rushing yards per game. The Patriots are also just 2.5-point underdogs, and that suggests this should be a competitive game. That would mean plenty of rushing opportunities for Stevenson.

As long as the Patriots stay competitive in this game, then Stevenson has a good shot to crack the century mark for the first time since Week 1. Start him as an RB2 or flex play.

Week 13 Fantasy Football Busts

Nick Chubb - RB, Cleveland Browns at Denver Broncos

Chubb is fresh off a two-touchdown effort in an upset victory over the Pittsburgh Steelers last Thursday.

Nick Chubb with the touchdown!pic.twitter.com/j91pCTSrSe

— BrownsNation.com (@BrownsNationcom) November 22, 2024

While that was good to see, he failed to crack 3.0 yards per carry and still doesn’t look back to form from his knee injury. Things don’t get any easier for Chubb this week, as Cleveland takes on the surging Denver Broncos.

Denver allows the sixth-fewest rushing yards per game and is PFF’s 10th-highest-graded run defense. Cleveland could struggle to run the football in this game, and if that happens, it would be at risk of falling behind early. That would effectively script Chubb out of the game and kill his fantasy value, as he hasn't seen much work as a receiver.

Even if the Browns remain competitive, this is not a matchup Chubb is likely to pop for a big yardage total, which means his value will be tied to touchdown luck. That's not a great bet considering the Browns' opponent. It’s best to leave Chubb on the bench this week.

Mark Andrews - TE, Baltimore Ravens vs. Philadelphia Eagles

Andrews is fresh off a TE8 finish in Week 12. He posted a 5-44-1 line in a victory over the Los Angeles Chargers.

MARK ANDREWS JUST MOSSED THE DEFENDER FOR THE TOUCHDOWN 🔥

Perfect ball placement from Jackson 💪 pic.twitter.com/gyPiEwSoLT

— ESPN (@espn) November 26, 2024

The only problem? Andrews only played 42% of offensive snaps. He still registered a 38% targets per route run rate and a 22.7% target share, per Fantasy Points Data Suite, but his playing time is problematic for consistent fantasy success.

Baltimore faces the Philadelphia Eagles this week. Philadelphia has been very good at guarding tight ends. It allows the third-fewest PPR points per game to the position and ranks fourth in defensive DVOA against tight ends.

It’s not a great matchup, and Andrews is not getting consistent playing time. That is not a combination you should rely on in your critical Week 14 match. Look elsewhere for a tight end.

Travis Etienne Jr. - RB, Jacksonville Jaguars vs. Houston Texans

Etienne has struggled this year, and it’s unlikely he will turn his season around this week. Houston allows the fifth-fewest PPR points per game to opposing rushers and ranks second in defensive rushing DVOA.

The fourth-year back has also ceded playing time to fellow back Tank Bigsby, and this has capped Etienne’s weekly ceiling. He previously had a safe floor due to his pass-catching abilities, but Etienne hasn’t seen as much usage in that area, either. Trevor Lawrence might return this week, and this could be a boost to Etienne’s value. However, Jacksonville’s offense hasn’t been functional even with Lawrence healthy, so there’s no guarantee his return will help.

Etienne is a talented player, but things just haven’t panned out in Jacksonville this year. In a tough matchup, it’s best to seek out other options at running back this week. Only start him if you have to do so.

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