RADIO
DraftKings NFL DFS lineup picks for the Thanksgiving Thursday, November 28, 2019. Austyn Varney's Week 13 daily fantasy football analysis and lineups advice.
Happy Thanksgiving! The NFL season is flying by and it's already November 28th. We enter week 13 with some Thanksgiving football, and there's no better way celebrate. A day full of food and family that's topped off with some football, and even better some DFS.
In this article, I will be providing you with my daily fantasy football lineup picks for DraftKings on Thanksgiving (11/28/19). You can also check out our FanDuel lineup picks.
Let's dive right in and crack the code. Good luck RotoBallers!
Editor's Note: The FFPC Playoff Challenge #2 is back with a massive $100,000 grand prize and $203,250 total prize pool, paying down to 100th place. Here's the deal: no salary cap, no draft, no pickups, no subs. Choose 8 players, and as NFL teams get knocked out so will your players, so choose your team wisely. The entries will sell out quickly, and registrations will close on Saturday January 17th at 4:30 pm ET . Don't wait - get your team now and end your fantasy football season with a shot at $100,000! Sign Up Now!
DraftKings Quarterbacks - Thanksgiving DFS Picks
Drew Brees NO @ ATL ($6,800)
Brees is the easy choice in cash games at quarterback. Facing off with the Atlanta Falcons on the road, Brees should throw three touchdowns for the third straight week. This Falcons Defense stifled the Saints in the Superdome, so I fully expect them to come out firing in this one. On the season, the Falcons rank 28th against opposing QB’s and allow 277 yards per game. Brees will throw the ball 40 times and I’d be surprised if Sean Payton doesn’t have some answers for this defense. Brees is the top raw QB on the slate if you can afford him.
Matt Ryan ATL vs. NO ($6,400)
Not in cash games, but Matt Ryan is worth a look in tournaments. Albeit a lot of them in garbage-time, Matt Ryan is still top 10 in the NFL in both passing yards and touchdowns. The Saints Defense isn’t nearly as strong on the road and the Falcons play much better in Atlanta. He’s too expensive on DraftKings to play in cash games, but is certainly worth a look in tournaments and I like him more if Julio Jones is in.
Josh Allen BUF @ DAL ($6,200)
Allen and his rushing upside alone is worth looking at. Through the past four games. Allen has run for four touchdowns with 112 yards in just the last two. He’s doing his part through the air as well, averaging over 200 yards and close to two touchdowns. The Cowboys are expected to have the lead in this game and the Bills are going to be throwing a ton to keep up. Allen is affordable on DraftKings and worth a look in all formats.
Mitch Trubisky CHI @ DET ($5,300)
I know Trubisky isn’t a great quarterback. This is just a match-up play. Everyone is all over David Montgomery and I don’t mind pivoting to Trubisky. The Lions are equally terrible against the pass and run, so who’s to say it’s not Trubisky that has the big day on the road. He’s super cheap and opens things up elsewhere on DraftKings. You also have a great weapon to pair him with in Allen Robinson, who we’ll get to.
DraftKings Running Backs - Thanksgiving DFS Picks
Alvin Kamara NO @ ATL ($8,100)
Kamara has been extremely disappointing this season, and there's a case to be made for fading him here. There are other options and he’s likely going to be pretty popular once again. We’ll go the other way. Kamara is still averaging 6.5 catches per game and he’s seen double-figure carries in all but one game this season. On a site like DraftKings, you’re getting a solid RB and elite WR in one. The Falcons are middle of the road against the rush and I expect Kamara to finish over 20 fantasy points here. The ownership will be high, but not as high as it should be as there are some who don’t believe he’s seeing enough volume.
Ezekiel Elliott DAL vs. BUF ($7,400)
If you want to pivot off of Alvin Kamara, Ezekiel Elliott is in a tremendous spot as well. At home as 6.5-point favorites against a defense that is not good against the run. I know the Bills have a reputation of being strong defensively, but this team has a gaping hole and it’s against the run. I fully expect 100 yards and a touchdown out of Elliott this week.
David Montgomery CHI @ DET ($5,400)
Montgomery is going to be extremely popular and it’s hard to argue. The Bears are road favorites and the Lions are pitiful against the run. David Montgomery is also locked into volume on both the ground and through the air. He’s been over 15 touches in five straight games and this game script sets up better than any of them. Expect Montgomery to be 50%+ owned and I’ll be a part of that number in cash games.
Devonta Freeman ATL vs. NO ($5,100)
In tournaments, I have a lot of interest in Devonta Freeman. For one, he’s supposed to be back to full health. This team doesn’t have much to play for and they waited for Freeman to be a full go. This backfield doesn’t have any completion for Freeman and he’ll see as many touches as he can handle. The Saints aren’t a terrible match-up and Freeman could see some extra carries if Hooper and Julio are both out. He won’t be popular and I don’t see the upside between Montgomery and Freeman all that much different.
DraftKings Wide Receivers - Thanksgiving DFS Picks
Mike Thomas NO @ ATL ($9,100)
The cheat code is super expensive on DraftKings, but it’s hard not to plug in the 25 fantasy points. He’s having a historic wide receiver season and the match-up with Atlanta is a great one. Even if a week where the entire team struggled, Thomas caught 13 balls for 152 yards against the Falcons a couple of weeks ago. In cash games, you figure out how to play Michael Thomas before you do anything else. In tournaments, I would recommend getting over the field.
Calvin Ridley ATL vs. NO ($6,600)
I don’t really care if Julio Jones plays or not here. Even if he does, Matt Ryan has shown a tendency to look towards Ridley when the attention is all over Jones. He’s been over 20 fantasy points in back to back weeks now and faces a Saints team that can give it up through the air. I do think the volume is more apparent if Jones is out, but the upside is similar.
Allen Robinson II CHI @ DET ($6,700)
Mitch Trubisky loves throwing the ball to Allen Robinson, targeting him six-plus times in all but one game this season. The Lions are one of the absolute worst defenses in the league and we saw them allow two game-winning drives to Dwayne Haskins just a week ago. I see Robinson getting over 100 yards and he’ll destroy value if he can find pay dirt.
Amari Cooper DAL vs. BUF ($6,000)
Cooper is priced way down over on DraftKings. His production has been down the last two weeks, but he’s the healthiest he’s been in a month and the Cowboys are back home. I wouldn’t put much credence into last week as he not only faced a shadowing Stephon Gilmore, but has had hamstring issues this year and the field was not stable. I don’t think Cooper wanted to blow his hamstring in week 12. He has a solid match-up here against Buffalo and I’m a fan of Cooper in all formats on DraftKings. The price is just too low.
Russell Gage ATL vs. NO ($4,500)
This is a guy I do care if Julio Jones plays or not. Even with Jones on the field, Gage saw 10 targets on Sunday and he caught eight of them for 76 yards. The Falcons are going to be throwing once again in this game and you can lock Gage in for at least five or six targets regardless. If Jones and Hooper happen to sit, 12-15 targets isn’t a crazy guess with another 12-15 going to Ridley.
DraftKings Tight Ends - Thanksgiving DFS Picks
Jared Cook ($4,800)
It seems like a lot of people are suggesting there isn’t a strong TE play on this slate and I’m not sure why. Jared Cook is seeing consistent volume from Drew Brees and he’s looking at him just as often in the red-zone as he is Michael Thomas. The price on Cook is friendly on DraftKings and he’s the easy cash game play.
Dawson Knox ($2,800)
I figure a lot of folks will pay down for either Jason Witten or Dawson Knox. I like both, but we already have our Cowboys exposure to Ezekiel Elliot and Amari Cooper and Witten doesn’t correlate with either. Knox does. The Bills will be playing from behind in this game and Knox has seen consistent carries from Allen. If he finds a way to score a short touchdown, Knox will more than payoff at under $3k.
DraftKings Defenses - Thanksgiving DFS Picks
Chicago Bears Defense - $2,500
Facing either Jeff Driskel or David Blough, how can you go anywhere else in this game? The Bears' defense hasn’t been great of late, but they’re still the best defense on this slate and they certainly aren’t priced like it. Driskel was picked off three times by the Redskins last week and while I can’t say much about the Bears with certainty, they are better than the Redskins.the Lions offense is easily the worst on this slate and I won’t be going anywhere other than Chicago at defense.
