Even in 2020, Thanksgiving and the NFL go hand in hand. We wouldn't want you to watch football without some strong DraftKings lineups shooting up DFS leaderboards, so we have Thanksgiving-slate advice for those of you looking to play daily fantasy football for the holiday. Now with just two games after rescheduling, things get a bit trickier, but there are paths to winning.
The toughest part about a small slate is your lineup doesn't always look logical when viewed through the lens of a normal Sunday. You might have a RB and WR from the same team or a player against your D/ST, but that's almost unavoidable. Instead, focus on picking the players and matchups that feel right to you, and just avoid having egregiously illogical overlaps.
Thanksgiving NFL DFS Lineup: DraftKings daily fantasy football picks for Thursday
Note: This lineup has been updated following the removal of Baltimore-Pittsburgh from the DK main slate after its rescheduling to Sunday. That required a number of lineup alterations, with our most up-to-date lineup now below.
QB Deshaun Watson, Texans @ Lions ($7,400)
We originally had Lamar Jackson in this slot, but the schedule changes forced a shift to Watson. We're going to be overloaded with Texans, which can work beautifully or terribly in a tournament, depending on how this game plays out. Watson is the obvious best QB on the slate now with just two games, so we're trusting him to deliver for us.
DRAFTKINGS THANKSGIVING DFS:
Texans-Lions | Washington-Cowboys
RB Duke Johnson, Texans @ Lions ($5,700)
The Lions have allowed the most DK points to running backs in 2020. Johnson will start at least one more week with David Johnson's IR stint not allowed to be finished until after the Thanksgiving game. Add in Duke's pass-catching ability in DK's PPR scoring and he works out to be a great play.
FANDUEL THANKSGIVING DFS:
Texans-Lions | Washington-Cowboys | Full slate
RB J.D. McKissic, Washington @ Cowboys ($5,100)
McKissic had a quiet Week 11 and still totaled 9.9 DK points. Prior to that, he'd seen a combined 29 targets across the two previous weeks. It's hard to find such a solid floor at a cheap RB price on DK, but McKissic is that thanks to his target volume against a bad defense.
WEEK 12 DFS TOURNAMENT LINEUPS: DraftKings | FanDuel
WR Terry McLaurin, Washington @ Cowboys ($7,000)
McLaurin is priced as the highest WR on this slate, and maybe that means some will avoid him. Not us. We were going to stack Alex Smith with McLaurin until the pricing worked out well enough that we could pay up at the QB spot. But McLaurin has had double-digit DK points in five straight weeks and should easily make that six against Dallas.
WEEK 12 DFS CASH LINEUPS: DraftKings | FanDuel
WR Marvin Jones Jr., Lions vs. Texans ($5,500)
Originally where we slotted Chase Claypool, Jones comes in after the schedule shifts. Kenny Golladay (hip) looks likely to be out or at least limited, so Jones will be Matthew Stafford's top wide receiver in what likely will be a shootout.
MORE WEEK 12 DFS: Best stacks | Best values | Lineup Builder
WR Keke Coutee, Texans @ Lions ($3,400)
If we're lacking one place, it's the absence of Will Fuller and Brandin Cooks to pair with Watson. We originally had Cooks, but the postponement forced us to use salary differently. Coutee is a fun value play on DK with Randall Cobb and Kenny Stills out. His possession-receiver skills help him in DraftKings' PPR scoring.
TE T.J. Hockenson, Lions vs. Texans ($4,700)
The Texans don't come to Detroit with a great defense, so while we considered stacking Mark Andrews with Jackson, it made sense to get our Lions share with Hockenson at the tight end spot. He's taken a step up in consistency in his second year in the league, and Houston is only about league average when it comes to stopping TEs.
WEEK 12 PPR RANKINGS:
Quarterback | Running back | Wide receiver | Tight end | D/ST | Kicker
FLEX Ezekiel Elliott, Cowboys vs. Washington ($6,800)
The final alteration after the postponement, Elliott will be highly owned on this slate and is going against the defense we chose. That's why we hoped to avoid him, but the two-game slate makes that tougher to do, and so we'll use him here trusting that he'll see his usual high volume of carries.
WEEK 12 STANDARD RANKINGS:
Quarterback | Running back | Wide receiver | Tight end | D/ST | Kicker
D/ST Washington Football Team @ Cowboys ($3,700)
Washington has averaged 3.2 sacks per game this season, and we'll be counting on the WFT getting Andy Dalton to the ground at least three times to make this play work out. Part of picking a D/ST on this slate will basically be picking the defense that's facing the fewest players you rostered. Since we faded the Cowboys here, it made sense to use the Washington D/ST.