Early Fantasy Football Start 'Em Sit 'Em Picks for Week 13 ft. Lamar Jackson, Courtland Sutton, Rashid Shaheed, George Kittle

Fantasy Football is rounding into the penultimate week of the regular season in most leagues. As such, most teams are on the bubble between locking up a playoff spot or sliding from a good seed to a bad seed. Picking the best players to play this week could be the difference between elimination or de facto elimination and surviving another game.

Sportskeeda has compiled a list of must-start and must-avoid players to help those looking for an early big-picture view of who could have a great Week 13. There are no byes this week with Thanksgiving requiring all hands on deck for the NFL, so managers will be able to fire on all cylinders in that regard.

Fantasy Football Week 13 Start 'Em picks

Lamar Jackson at New York Jets v Baltimore Ravens - Source: Getty

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It's time for Lamar Jackson to deliver. After a hot September, an injury-plagued October, and a sluggish November, the quarterback has a line of what should be home run games on tap, beginning with the Cincinnati Bengals. If he can't deliver at least 20 points this week, it's time to trade or bench him for the rest of the season.

On paper, you need to start him, but do so knowing it's all or nothing for what has been one of the faces of fantasy football quarterbacks over the past few years.

Jonathan Taylor is worth starting every week without a second thought, even though he faces the stiff Houston Texans defense. Taylor has been matchup-proof this season and, as such, let the hot back ride.

The Kansas City Chiefs finally found their way against the Indianapolis Colts in Week 12. In Week 13, Patrick Mahomes is set to have a monumental showing against a Dallas Cowboys defense that has struggled for most of the season. Expect perhaps one of the shootouts of the year, which means big things for fantasy football.

Must Starts

Lamar Jackson
Saquon Barkley
James Cook
Michael Wilson
Tyler Warren
Courtland Sutton
TreVeyon Henderson
George Pickens
Stefon Diggs
Derrick Henry
Patrick Mahomes
Jonathan Taylor
Zay Flowers
Dak Prescott

Fantasy Football Week 13 Sit 'Em picks

Rashid Shaheed at Arizona Cardinals v Seattle Seahawks - Source: Getty

Rashid Shaheed was a solid option earlier this year, but the biggest fears about the trade for the receiver have come to fruition. The Seahawks gave up their 2026 fourth and fifth-round pick for Shaheed, per a Nov. 4 ESPN report, and are still looking for their first notable return from the investment. Fantasy football managers are similarly left in the dark.

Shaheed posted 0.0 points in his third game with the Seattle Seahawks and is still looking for as many total receiving yards with the team as he had in one game with the New Orleans Saints. Put simply, steer clear.

Overall, George Kittle has had an impressive showing in November, but it could end with a dud. Kittle faces the Cleveland Browns, who have one of the most impressive defenses this season. If he were to disappear in a game from a fantasy football perspective, it would be this one.

DK Metcalf finds himself trending in the wrong direction. The move to Pittsburgh seemed like a decent outcome for the receiver before the season, but his production hasn't been quite as stellar as most had hoped. With Metcalf chasing his first touchdown or 50-yard game since October, fantasy football managers should look elsewhere.