Why You Should Prioritize Devin Neal Ahead Of Week 13 Fantasy Football

Under normal circumstances, a starting running back popping up on waivers in Week 13 would be a “sprint to the podium” type of situation.

But it’s never that easy when it comes to the New Orleans Saints.

With Alvin Kamara set to miss extended time with an MCL injury (I’d honestly be surprised if we see him again in 2025), it should theoretically be a blast-off scenario for rookie Devin Neal.

He played on 88% of the snaps after Kamara’s exit on Sunday, but … womp womp … only earned 35% of the rushing attempts.

The culprit? One Mr. Taysom Hill, who actually led the team with 40% of the attempts vs. the Falcons and hogged every single goal-line carry.

That’s the bad news.

But the more I think about it, the more I like the idea of aggressively targeting Neal. For one, the season is almost over—what else are you waiting for?

But Neal should see his workload expand with a full week of practice reps as the No. 1 option. Hill has always been a nice fallback option for the Saints when things go awry, but the team should want to see what they have in Neal down the stretch.

Best of all, though, the Saints have a pretty sweet schedule on tap. In fact, looking at our strength of schedule tool, it’s the third-best schedule for RBs going forward:

If you’d like to see the strength of schedule for the other positions, as well as get access to all of our premium tools and ranks, take advantage of our Black Friday sale. You can get 40% off FantasyLife+ for an entire year (yes, next year’s draft kit included) with code BF40.

That playoff stretch in particular—CAR, NYJ, @TEN—looks awesome. I don’t think Neal will be a “league winner” per se (the Saints rarely project to score more than 20 points), but he should be able to deliver solid FLEX production down the stretch for RB-needy teams.

A DEEPER LOOK AT THE WEEK 13 RANKINGS …

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Editors’ Picks

Did you survive the waiver wire? Even if you’re left wanting, we have some great Fantasy Life content to help you prepare. Our Rankings and Xfinity Best Projections are also elite tools for you …

Thanksgiving Day DFS Plays

The Thanksgiving NFL slate is one of the most fun and active NFL DFS slates of the season, and Pete Overzet has found the skeleton key to figuring out tomorrow’s DFS slate.

Utilization Report for Week 13

Is there a new WR1 in Dallas? Based on George Pickens’ production, it’s up for debate. Dwain McFarland dives into Pickens’ role and his other Utilization takeaways for Week 13.

Waiver Wire Express Guide

Did you miss out on your top waiver priorities overnight? Don’t sweat. We’ve compiled a list of all of the best waiver targets and streamers for Week 13, many of whom should be available even after last night’s run.

Guess This Freedman’s Favorite RB for Week 13

This running back has 582 scrimmage yards and 6 TDs in the last three games, cementing himself as one of the best plays on the Thanksgiving weekend slate of games. Could his game be an island game on either Thursday or Friday? Hmmmm …

Matthew Freedman went one-stop shopping a few days before Black Friday with a single Freedman’s Favorites article. This article is chock full of information, broken out into Thanksgiving games, the Black Friday game and the rest of the action on Sunday and Monday. Who are some of the best plays he’s uncovered? Plus, we get Freedman’s yearly rankings of favorite pies. Is your favorite on there? ⤵️

THANKSGIVING PIE RANKINGS & MORE TOP PLAYS FOR WEEK 13

Rest-of-Season Rankings Updates Ahead of The Playoff Push

To quote the great Doctor Strange: we’re in the endgame now. The fantasy playoffs are just a few weeks away, so we’re running out of opportunities to shore up our rosters. There have been a handful of high-profile disappointments, but thankfully, new players are popping up to replace them on a weekly basis.

Our Rest of Season Fantasy Football Rankings give a nice snapshot of where things stand for fantasy at the moment. Let’s dive into a few interesting players from the updated ranks.

Joe Burrow, QB, Bengals (ADP: 43.5, ROS: 73)

It seemed as though Burrow would have a chance to return to the lineup last week, but they ultimately chose to play it safe. However, Burrow is expected to return for a Thanksgiving showdown vs. the Ravens in Week 13.

When Burrow is at his best, he’s a top-five fantasy quarterback. That level is typically reserved for dual-threat players, but Burrow has the talent and supporting cast to rack up huge fantasy totals with just his arm. He was the No. 3 QB in terms of fantasy points per game last season, and he was first at the position from Week 9 on.

Can Burrow play at that level right out of the gates? That remains to be seen, but he checks in at QB9 in our Week 13 rankings. If he’s fully up to speed, he could be a game-changer in the fantasy playoffs.

Trey Benson, RB, Cardinals (ADP: 137.7, ROS 98)

Benson hasn’t officially been ruled in for the Cardinals in Week 13, but his time is coming. He was able to log three limited practices last week after having his 21-day practice window opened. He’ll likely see his involvement get ramped up this week, and if he holds up, there’s a solid chance he returns vs. the Buccaneers.

Benson is a tantalizing prospect. He’s a ridiculous athlete, and he’s averaged 5.5 yards per attempt so far this season. He’s also been targeted on 19% of his routes run, so he has some pass-catching chops as well. Ultimately, he has the upside to be the team’s bell-cow back down the stretch.

When he does eventually return to the lineup, he could be a fringe top-15 player at the position. The Cardinals offense has shown plenty of upside with Jacoby Brissett under center, and the Cardinals have the 10th-easiest remaining strength of schedule for fantasy purposes at running back. The matchup vs. the Bengals in Week 17 stands out as particularly juicy.

Omarion Hampton, RB, Chargers (ADP: 39.6, ROS: 111)

Hampton is another back who feels on the precipice of a return. He’s been out of the lineup since Week 5, but it appeared as though the team was always anticipating a return following their Week 12 bye. Now that their bye is in the rear-view mirror, Hampton should be back within the next week or two.

Hampton is undoubtedly the most valuable of this trio when he does return to the lineup. The only reason that isn’t reflected in our rankings is that his return date feels more up in the air. Once he gets back on the field, Hampton moves into low-end RB1/high-end RB2 territory.

Before getting injured, Hampton was starting to display the talent that made him a first-round pick in 2025. He had 22.9 PPR points in Week 3, and he followed that up with 27.5 PPR points in Week 4. That game was notably his first without Najee Harris, and he handled 88% of the snaps and 100% of the designed rushing attempts. He also had a respectable 13% target share, resulting in an outstanding 90 UR Score.

The Chargers don’t have a friendly RB schedule to close the year, with matchups vs. the Chiefs and Texans during the fantasy playoffs. However, there’s also an excellent matchup vs. the Cowboys in between, and Hampton can help you get to that point if he returns to the lineup soon.

WHO GOT DOWNGRADED AHEAD OF WEEK 13?

The latest pre-Thanksgiving fantasy nuggets, silliness and NFL gossip from our merry band of football nerds.

👀 Is George Pickens the new WR1 in Big D? And concern for Justin Jefferson.

💪 DST strategy. We got you covered for both Week 13 and the rest of the season.

🪓 So which studs are you targeting on the chopping block?

🔪 And how much FAAB are you spending on Josh Allen, JT and other studs in your Guillotine Leagues^TM?

🗣️ More utilization goodness on KW3, Kyle Monangai and so much more.

🤯 Use code BF40 to save 40% off on any FantasyLife+ tier during our Black Friday promotion.

🚑️ Full injury rundown from today. Pacheco is back.

🤣 30 touches per week? The WR jealous of CMC’s workload.

📆 Is Jayden Daniels coming back this year? Here is his take.

😡 I dare you not to be mad about this. See, I knew you’d be mad.