Turkey day provided some… interesting football. David Blough was Joe Montana. The matchup between the third string quarterback-led Lions and the dismal Bears hit the over in total points, because of course it would. The Cowboys got completely stymied by the Bills. Younghoe Koo turned out to have the touch of Pelé in a close comeback effort.
It was entertaining, to say the least, but it wasn’t the greatest for my daily fantasy success. Let’s hope that we can predict the outcomes of Sunday’s slate a little bit better.
Because DraftKings and FanDuel offer different prices for certain players and have a different cash total overall, one option may be better for a certain app than for the other app, and that will be noted. The first price is their DraftKings cost, and the second is the FanDuel cost.
Quarterback
Sam Darnold ($6,100/$7,600)
Darnold has been really, really good lately. Like top-tier quarterback in fantasy, good. We all know the Bengals defense is soft. What we may not know is just how well the Bengals will do with Andy Dalton back at the helm. It’s not like they were scoring 30 points per game to begin the season… well, they were really bad actually. But Dalton has proven to be a competitor in past years, and the Bengals are in a mode where they want to win at least one game for Zac Taylor. The Jets are an opponent who I actually think is exploitable enough for the Bengals to keep it close and put up some points, and so there is a good shot that Darnold has another strong week and puts the offense on his back once again.
Other options:Â Jameis Winston ($6,300/$7,600); Patrick Mahomes ($7,400/$8,600)
Running Back
Miles Sanders ($5,400/$5,800)
I’ve misfired on most of my Sanders predictions, but this week is too enticing to ignore. The Dolphins concede a ton of yards to opposing running backs, and if Doug Pederson hasn’t learned by now that the Eagles should lean on the run, then I don’t know how much reinforcing he’ll need. The game script should go in the Eagles way (should, but who knows with how they’ve been playing lately), and Sanders can do damage on the ground and through the air. His going rate is fairly low, and so he may be highly drafted, but the value is too good to ignore.
Aaron Jones ($6,800/$8,000 – more worth it on DraftKings)
FanDuel is much higher on Jones than DraftKings is, ranking him among the top five options. Meanwhile, Jones is below names like Leonard Fournette, Saquon Barkley, and James Conner (??) in price while in store for a better matchup and a larger role. While the Giants have done well to defend against the run in certain weeks (like against Dallas in both games this season), they fare worse against backs who have a larger role in the receiving game, like when the Patriots RB committee had nearly 100 yards receiving against them. With the passing game struggling in recent weeks, LaFleur will lean on Jones both through the ground game and as a security blanket for Rodgers, who has been force feeding Davante Adams in what seems like a desperate effort to get the star going. With Adams limited in practice this week, it would be smart for the Packers to keep this game on the ground.
Other options: Ronald Jones II ($5,100/$6,200); Darrel Williams ($4,400/$5,400)
Wide Receiver
DK Metcalf ($6,100/$6,300)
Tyler Lockett is a great deep threat. But he’s hobbled. Josh Gordon hasn’t fit in the offense too seamlessly so far. And so DK Metcalf seems to be the most reliable option for Russell Wilson. And the Vikings are ultra susceptible to wide receivers torching them this season. In fact, it’s been three straight weeks where receivers have put up 190 or more yards on the Vikings. Roll with Metcalf in this one as the most well-priced option of the Seattle receiving trio.
Sterling Shepard ($4,900/$5,900)
Golden Tate won’t take the field with a concussion. Evan Engram is missing… again. And so Sterling Shepard and Darius Slayton will need to pile up the yards in order to keep up with Green Bay’s offense. Slayton, interestingly, is priced higher than Shepard on both apps despite never being targeted more – or even being close to seeing more targets – than Shepard when both are playing. Shepard has seen nine targets in his last four games, and that should only rise in a game where Daniel Jones will be throwing the ball frequently.
Other options:Â Robbie Anderson ($4,800/$6,100); Tyler Boyd ($5,500/$6,600)
Tight End
Travis Kelce ($7,200/$7,100)
Kelce is finding his groove lately, and will look to follow up a strong 7-92-1 effort from Week 11. Eight tight ends have found the end zone against Oakland this season, and Kelce had the strongest showing of all back in Week 2 with a 10 target, seven catch game for 107 yards and a score. He’s worth the most expensive price tag, and could find the end zone multiple times in what could be an all out assault through the air by Mahomes and co.
Other options:Â Dallas Goedert ($4,100/$5,200)
Defense
Philadelphia Eagles ($3,600/$5,000)
The Birds are in desperation mode. Enter Miami. The turnover machine that is the Dolphins offense is going up against a defense that has been screwed over week after week by the dull offense. It’s easy to forget that the defense was the sole reason the Eagles were in contention with the Patriots and the Seahawks the past two weeks, and though both resulted in losses, the Dolphins likely will put up a lesser fight.
