Fantasy football projections, Week 13: Chiefs-Falcons featuring Tyreek Hill, Taylor Gabriel, Devonta Freeman, more

The Week 13 matchup between the Kansas City Chiefs and the Atlanta Falcons features a defensive minded team going up against an offensive juggernaut. We’ve got the fantasy projections courtesy of numberFire.

Kansas City managed to walk into Denver last week and win a thriller in overtime. A big reason for the when was the performance of wide receiver and kick returner extraordinaire Tyreek Hill. With virtually nothing happening for either team in the first half, Hill returned a kick for an 86-yard touchdown. He then proceeded to rush for a touchdown and also caught a touchdown pass in the second half of the game for his third score. Hill finished with nine catches for 52 yards. His performance was absolutely electric. Fantasy owners going into the playoffs have to like the way Hill is producing. It’s time to make the case that he is the real No. 1 receiver in the Chiefs’ offense. Hill should be in for another explosive performance in Atlanta. Topping his projections in Week 13 should be an easy task.

There for whatever reason the passing game struggles at the Georgia Dome, running back Spencer Ware will have to carry the load on the ground. Ware hasn’t exceeded more than 69 yards rushing since Week 7. He also has just two rushing touchdowns on the season. He may not be a dependable fantasy performer come postseason time. He may however help some of his owners get into the playoffs as only one team has given up more fantasy points to running backs than the Atlanta Falcons. Ware should surpass his projections on Sunday.

it may just be time for the Falcons to give wide receiver Taylor Gabriel the ball more often. He’s quickly become Atlanta’s version of Tyreek Hill. Despite seeing no more than five targets in any game this season, Gabriel has been on a hot streak for the past month. He scored four touchdowns in the last four games, including two against the Arizona Cardinals in Week 12. Fantasy owners have to wonder whether he will start seeing more volume as the fantasy playoffs draw near. Even if he doesn’t, Gabriel could make a good play moving forward in deeper leagues as a boom-or-bust-option. As much as the Chiefs are known for their defense, only one team has given up more points to fantasy wide receivers than Kansas City. With Julio Jones being blanketed by Marcus Peters, a guy like Gabriel may provide surprising value in Week 13.

Should both Jones and Gabriel be somehow successfully contained by the Chiefs, running back Devonta Freeman will have to move the chains forward out of the backfield. Like Gabriel, Freeman also managed to score twice against the Arizona Cardinals last week. He finished with 60 yards on 16 carries to go with the touchdowns. Even with teammate Tevin Coleman returning from injury, Freeman should still be a solid fantasy contributor heading into the playoffs. It should be noted however that he has just a single 100-yard rushing game this season. That came all the way back in Week 3. No team in the NFL has allowed fewer touchdowns to running backs than Kansas City. That reality will make it tough for Freeman to rise above his projections in Week 13.