It’s Week 13, Thanksgiving is behind us, and it’s time to get right back to business in DFS tournaments. I hope everyone had a fantastic holiday filled with food, family, friends, and most important, daily fantasy football winnings! If you’re a regular follower of this column, the latter point was almost assured last week. We crushed it in DraftKings and FanDuel contests almost as well as I crushed my Thanksgiving Day prime rib (yep, no turkey here!).
We exist to pinpoint sleepers and high-value DFS picks each week by compiling a list of sleepers and/or dark-horse picks to help you win some cold, hard cash. The more value players you add, the more money you’ll have left for proven weekly studs at other roster spots.
MORE WEEK 13 DFS: Lineup Builder
If you read this column last week, you would have benefited from our advice to plug a plethora of low-cost, high-value players into your Week 12 DFS lineups. Here’s a healthy list of our hits from last Sunday, including each player’s DraftKings cost and final PPR output:
- Carson Wentz, Colts vs. Buccaneers (DK: $5,800 | FD: $7,300): 26.34
- Mac Jones, Patriots vs, Titans (DK: $5,400 | FD: $6,800): 25.5
- Joe Burrow, Bengals vs. Steelers (DK: $6,200 | FD: $7,100): 18.4
- Darrell Henderson, Jr., Rams at Packers (DK: $5,800 | FD: $7,300): 17.3
- James Robinson, Jaguars vs. Falcons (DK: $6,200 | FD: $7,600): 12.5
- Jaylen Waddle, Dolphins vs. Panthers (DK: $5,900 | FD: $6,700): 28.7
- D.J. Moore, Panthers at Dolphins (DK: $6,200 | FD: $6,700): 14.3
- Brandon Aiyuk, 49ers vs. Vikings (DK: $5,300 | FD: $6,300): 12.5
- Bengals D/ST vs. Steelers (DK: $2,700 | FD: $3,300): 19.0
That’s a list as plentiful as my (non-)Turkey Day spread! And we also crushed our Thanksgiving lineup, with Tony Pollard, Stefon Diggs, Darnell Mooney, and Hunter Renfrow leading the pack. We’re beaming with pride going into Week 13, and you’re probably doing the same if you plugged in some of these low-cost, high-production players.
Getting the most bang for your buck has always been the name of the game in DFS, so it’s important to do your due diligence before constructing lineups. Leave the deep-diving to us -- we are here for you, from the first kickoff through the last play of the 2021 NFL season.
All player values are from DraftKings and FanDuel. All stats are from NFL.com and Pro Football Reference.
WEEK 13 DFS LINEUPS: DraftKings | FanDuel | Yahoo
NFL DFS Picks Week 13: QB sleepers, values for DraftKings, FanDuel
Carson Wentz, Colts at Texans (DK: $6,100 | FD: $7,500)
Wentz did not let me down last week against the Bucs, posting a beefy 26 fantasy points behind 306 passing yards and three touchdowns. His DraftKings price somehow rose just $300 after that performance, so I’m all over him once again in Houston. Colts wideout T.Y. Hilton always feasts all over the Texans, who have allowed 300 yards of passing offense in two of their past four games. Houston will Wentz in pain this weekend.
Derek Carr, Raiders vs. WFT (DK: $6,000 | FD: $7,500)
Carr led the Raiders to a massive Thanksgiving victory over the Cowboys in Arlington, keeping their playoff hopes alive in an uber-competitive AFC. Now he gets to tango with Washington Football Team, the most generous defense to fantasy QBs. The Vegas vet averages 19.9 fantasy points per game this season, so get in the Carr this weekend.
Jared Goff, Lions vs. Vikings (DK: $5,200 | FD: $6,400)
The Lions are my upset-special this week (at least against the spread), and Goff should be the main catalyst if Detroit can make it happen. The veteran QB didn’t exactly wow us with his yardage numbers last week against Chicago, but he did toss two TDs and almost beat the Bears on Thanksgiving Day. Now he gets a home meeting against the Vikings, who rank 31st in fantasy points allowed to QBs. Grab Goff and watch him go off!!
WEEK 13 STANDARD RANKINGS:
Quarterback | Running back | Wide receiver | Tight end | D/ST | Kicker
NFL DFS Picks Week 13: RB sleepers, values for DraftKings, FanDuel
Elijah Mitchell, 49ers at Seahawks (DK: $6,000 | FD: $7,600)
The Book of Eli has been a fantasy bestseller this season, providing the Niners with the running efficiency they always seem to enjoy despite a rash of injuries to its RB corps. Mitchell quietly averages 16.3 PPR points per game this season, he just hung 30.8 on Minnesota last weekend, and now he gets a Seahawks D that ranks 31st in points allowed to the RB position. WFT’s Antonio Gibson posted his season high in rushing yards on Monday night against the Seahawks, and Mitchell might do the same this weekend.
Myles Gaskin, Dolphins vs. Giants (DK: $5,800 | FD: $6,400)
It’s hard to ever love Gaskin -- like artichokes in anything besides spinach dip -- but he’s certainly serviceable at $5,800 in a plus matchup. He scored twice last week in Miami’s rout of the Panthers, and now he and the 'Phins welcome the Giants 29th-ranked fantasy rushing defense to South Beach. Gaskin has scored at least 16.7 PPR points in three of his past four games and at least 18.6 in his past two. Gas' it up.
Antonio Gibson, WFT at Raiders (DK: $5,700 | FD: $6,200)
As I mentioned earlier, Gibson has been tearing it up lately. The second-year back has 56.9 points over the course of the past three weeks, and he saw more volume on Monday in a win over Seattle than ever before in his young career. Gibson rushed 29 times for 111 yards, and caught all seven targets for 35 yards. He had two touchdowns vultured away by fellow back J.D. McKissic, but McKissic was carted off the field with a head injury late in the game, so Gibson should continue to see heavy usage levels in Las Vegas. The Raiders rank 28th in the NFL in fantasy points allowed to running backs.
WEEK 13 PPR RANKINGS:
Quarterback | Running back | Wide receiver | Tight end | D/ST | Kicker
NFL DFS Picks Week 13: WR sleepers, values for DraftKings, FanDuel
Jaylen Waddle, Dolphins vs. Giants (DK: $6,400 | FD: $6,900)
Waddle highlighted my wideout hits last week, hauling in nine-of-10 targets for 137 yards and a TD against a decent Carolina defense. Now he draws a matchup with a decently-generous Giants secondary, in the friendly 80 degrees temperatures of southern Florida. I can’t get away from this kid. He’s just too talented, and he’s a bargain at basically anything under $7,000 at this point.
Hunter Renfrow, Raiders vs. WFT (DK: $5,800 | FD: $6,400)
I had Renfrow in my Thanksgiving Day lineups, and I’ll undoubtedly have him in some of my classic DFS lineups this Sunday. He’s been as steady as they come this season, averaging 14.3 PPR points per game, and he exploded for 24.6 points on Turkey Day. He’s garnered eight or more targets in a whopping seven of the Raiders' 11 games, he’s seen the field for 72 percent of offensive snaps in three straight games, and he’s hauled in 78 percent of his targets this season. Stack Carr with Renfrow for double the pleasure, double the fun.
Christian Kirk, Cardinals at Bears (DK: $5,600 | FD: $6,200)
Kirk suffered the second-worst fantasy output of his season his last time out in Week 11, catching just two passes for 25 yards, but many variables went into that poor line. The Cards were missing their superstar duo of QB Kyler Murray (ankle) and wideout DeAndre Hopkins (hamstring) for the third straight game, which meant star treatment for Kirk from Seattle’s secondary. Arizona turned to bruising back James Connor (26 touches, 99 yards, TD), speedy wideout Rondale Moore (11-of-11 for 51 yards), and steady-handed tight end Zach Ertz (eight of nine for 88 yards and two TDs), and Colt McCoy targeted Kirk just five times. The fourth-year receiver should get a bump in volume this week against the Bears, who rank 28th against wide receivers in fantasy. If Murray returns, that’s a massive plus. It’s probably even better for Kirk if Hopkins gets back in action. Kirk scored four touchdowns in the eight games 'Nuk played this season, but he’s scored zero since the start of Hopkins' injury absence.
WEEK 13 FANTASY: Start 'em, sit 'em
NFL DFS Picks Week 13: TE sleepers, values for DraftKings, FanDuel
Dallas Goedert, Eagles at Jets (DK: $4,500 | FD: $5,800)
Goedert got shut down almost completely by the Giants last weekend, forcing him into a season-low fantasy output of one point. Don’t expect similar results with the other Big City squad this Sunday. The Jets rank 23rd in PPR points allowed to tight ends and have surrendered six tight ends to score in the past seven weeks.
Logan Thomas, WFT at Raiders (DK: $4,000 | FD: $5,600)
He’s back! Thomas looked great in his long-awaited return from a hamstring injury that cost him six games. The veteran caught three passes for 31 yards in WFT’s Monday night victory over the Seahawks, but he was inches away from a three-yard touchdown score toward the end of the game that would have bumped him from 6.1 points to 13.2 points. Ironically, 13.2 was his output in his last registered game back in Week 3 in Buffalo. Well, I’m going ahead and projecting Thomas at 13.2 this week against the Raiders, who yield the fourth-most fantasy points to the tight end position.
NFL DFS Picks Week 13: D/ST sleepers, values for DraftKings, FanDuel
49ers at Seahawks (DK: $3,000 | FD: $4,200)
The Niners D/ST has quietly posted 32 fantasy points over the course of its past three games, and it’s no big surprise that it all comes at the same time San Francisco’s offense is figuring itself out. Now it gets a divisional battle with the Seahawks, who just struggled with endless three-and-outs in an ugly Monday Night Football loss to WFT. Russell Wilson had multiple ducks, floaters, wobblers, and sailed passes get nearly pick-sixed by Kamren Curl and friends on Monday, leading Seattle to just 10 first downs all game. But if he wants to give it another go, Nick Bosa and company will be more than obliged to further bruise his ego.