Fantasy Football: 4 Things We Learned From Week 13

Rex Burkhead Is the Patriots Running Back We've Been Asking For

Rex Burkhead just needed a change of scenery to become a dominant fantasy force. After spending his first four seasons on special teams with the Bengals, Burkhead signed with the Patriots this offseason and has now become the New England running back we've always wanted.

Burkhead's flexibility on the field has turned him into an every-week starter in fantasy football. He's not the team's primary ball-carrier -- that honor goes to Dion Lewis -- but Burkhead still gets a lot of work, especially at the goal line. Over the past four weeks, Burkhead's 40 carries are second on the team (to Dion's 54), and his 15 targets in that stretch lead the backfield.

Burkhead combines the roles of James White and Mike Gillislee into one player, and it turns out that player is very good for fantasy football. His standard-league fantasy scores over the last five weeks have been 8.3, 12.3, 3.7, 17.3 and 22.3. The Pats' offense is fertile enough to support multiple running backs for fantasy purposes, so feel confident firing up Burkhead in your lineups down the stretch.