Week 12 is in full swing and I hope our Thanksgiving DFS slate helped you all win some money! Here, this week we have 11 games on the slate. There are no byes this week and looking over the slate I found some interesting things.
Quarterback is a position I’m willing to pay up for as what I consider values, can be a bust. Running backs and wide receivers have a plethora of values and I’m excited to help you build lineups around your studs with them. We get Travis Kelce and Mark Andrews back, so we have elite tight ends and some good values. Finally, I found a DST for a Black Friday cost that you can’t pass up!
Before I break down all of our picks, here are the most notable scoring rules for DraftKings contests: Full-point PPR, four-point passing TDs, three-point bonuses for 100 rushing yards, 100 receiving yards, and 300 passing. Along with having a $50,000 budget to build a complete lineup.
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Quarterbacks
Geno Smith ($6,000)
I wonder if it was the Week 11 bye but Geno Smith dropped to the peak of my value cost. Any time someone like him drops, you play him. Smith has thrown for eight touchdowns over his last four games. He also has back-to-back games with 275 passing yards. The Raiders are giving up an average of 289 yards per game. I like Smith’s chances of going over the 275 mark again.
Derek Carr ($5,700)
Like Geno Smith, Derek Carr has three multiple-touchdown games in a row. The Seattle Seahawks have given back-to-back multi-touchdown games to Tom Brady and Kyler Murray. Carr has an excellent chance to continue his streak here this week with a chance to go over 300 yards for the third time this season.
Running Backs
Jeff Wilson Jr. ($5,900) / Raheem Mostert ($5,700)
The tandem of the Miami Dolphins’ running backs is worth using in DFS. Jeff Wilson is making more of an impact of the two, but Mostert is keeping up with him as both running backs have scored touchdowns since Wilson joined the team. Going up against Houston Texans (32nd against RBs) I like both backs a lot this week to continue their touchdown streak.
Isiah Pacheco ($5,500)
Pacheco is the clear-cut RB1 for the Chiefs with Jerrick McKinnon being in on passing downs and Clyde Edwards-Helaire going to injured reserve with a high-ankle sprain. The downside of Pacheco is he shows no upside for catching the ball as he has caught all three of his targets for the season. The upside here is the 31 carries he’s gotten over the last two weeks. He’s looking for his first touchdown since Week 1.
Rachaad White ($5,100)
Even when Leonard Fournette ($5,800) is more than likely playing this week, Rachaad White has at least made this backfield a 50/50 split. White also got the first carry of the game and out-carried (22-14) Fournette, albeit that Fournette left at the beginning of the fourth quarter with a hip pointer. Head coach Todd Bowles said he’s going to ride the “hot hand”. That could be the team or Tom Brady saying that, but for a $700 savings, I’m going with the younger running back this week.
Latavius Murray ($5,000)
It’s nothing to be excited about when talking about the Denver Broncos, but with the release of Melvin Gordon, and Chase Edmonds on IR, Murray is the true RB1. Latavius Murray has had double-digit carries in four of his six games this season. I see number five coming along with a touchdown.
Wide Receivers
Josh Palmer ($5,400)
With the injury to Mike Williams and Keenan Allen, Josh Palmer has really stepped up outside of his own injuries. Even with Williams (kind of) and Allen on the field, Palmers was able to finish with eight receptions (10 targets) for 106 yards and two touchdowns. Keenan Allen has been a full participant in practice this week and with Palmer, as the WR2 I see another eight-plus target game with a chance to score against this Cardinals defense.
Donovan Peoples-Jones ($4,800)
How Donovan Peoples-Jones stays under $5k continues to blow my mind. From Week 4 through 8 Peoples-Jones has been on average putting up WR3 numbers. Over the last two weeks, he’s been a borderline WR1 with 10 receptions, 160 receiving yards, and a touchdown. How he only goes up $200 from last week’s performance is mind-blowing and a value we continue to put in our lineups this week.
Treylon Burks ($4,200)
If you followed me during the offseason, you would have known that Treylon Burks was my WR1 from this rookie class. It has taken a while for the rookie to get his feet underneath him as he finally broke out with seven receptions for 111 yards. Similar to Christian Watson, continue to ride the wave in what could be another high-end finish for the week. Although the Bengals rank seventh against wide receivers, they have been struggling over the last three weeks. I expect Burks to continue his breakout campaign here.
Marquez Valdes-Scantling ($4,000) /Skyy Moore ($3,000)
With injuries to both JuJu Smith-Schuster and Kadarius Toney, Patrick Mahomes will look to his other receivers. Of course, we all know Travis Kelce will get his, but that’s beside the point. Marquez Valdes-Scantling was getting over an illness last week and in all honesty, I think he still was with posting a sad stat line (one reception, 11 yards). I expect a bounceback against Jalen Ramsey who has been struggling against receivers lately, and if you listen to me on Beer Fueled Podcast, you will hear me being an advocate for MVS every week. He’s due for a big week, just hoping it’s this one.
Finally, Skyy Moore set career highs in targets (six), catches (five), and yards (63) last week. I love this play this week, especially if Smith-Schuster and Toney are to remain out. His upside could be that as a top-20 wide receiver.
Tight Ends
David Njoku ($3,600)
We can call last week’s game a “knock the rust off” as he played a season-low 37% of snaps, his lowest performance (1 reception, seven yards) since week 1. It’s all good here as he played and had Wednesday off as a rest day. I like David Njoku’s chances of bouncing back this week as I am sure he will be needed against a hot Tampa Bay offense.
Mike Gesicki ($3,500)
A sneaky yet fun play for this week at tight end is Mike Gesicki. It’s always a big opportunity for Tyreek Hill and Jaylen Waddle to go off, but everyone seems to forget about the athletic tight end. Rookie Derek Stingley Jr. has been everything Lovie Smith has wanted, and I think he may contain Hill/ Waddle (sometimes) leaving Tua Tagovailoa to find Gesicki as the next option with a chance for a touchdown.
DSTs
Kansas City Chiefs ($2,800)
Coming in as the 15th-ranked defense (based on cost) defense, you have to be excited about playing the Chiefs defense against a Matt Stafford-less offense. Bryce Perkins is expected to start and go into Arrowhead. With no Stafford, no Cooper Kupp and an offense that can barely do anything now I expect this defense to hit, sack, and even get some interceptions.
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