Thursday NFL DFS Picks: FanDuel strategy, lineup advice for Thanksgiving daily fantasy football tournaments

Tony Fortier-Bensen

Thursday NFL DFS Picks: FanDuel strategy, lineup advice for Thanksgiving daily fantasy football tournaments image

When it comes to daily fantasy football in tournament play, the goal is to find surprising performances from little-known players. With only three games on the Thanksgiving Thursday slate, there is only so much variety that can be done, but we've done our best to mix it up in Week 12 DFS FanDuel GPP/tournament lineup.

Against a struggling Cowboys run-defense, we're drafting a Melvin Gordon and pairing him up with his quarterback Philip Rivers in a QB-RB stack.  We're eating chalk with Adam Thielen and Evan Engram, but we also take our shots with a preseason favorite wide receiver in our Week 12 FanDuel tournament/GPP picks.

WEEK 12 DFS:
Yahoo GPP lineup | Y! cash | DK GPPDK cash | FD GPP | FD cash | Values | StacksDFS lineup builder

Thursday FanDuel NFL DFS Picks: Thanksgiving GPP lineup

Philip Rivers, QB, LAC at DAL ($7,900)

Rivers might find himself in a similar situation as he was in against Buffalo last week, playing against a struggling offense. Rivers easily dismantled the Bills secondary for 251 yards and two touchdowns, and the Chargers come into this matchup hot, posting a 4:1 TD-to-INT ratio over the past two games. The Cowboys have allowed multiple TDs to QBs in back-to-back weeks, although they've limited the overall passing yardage. Still, Rivers should be able to pick apart this defense for plenty of fantasy points.

Melvin Gordon, RB, LAC at DAL ($8,400)

With the loss of LB Sean Lee (hamstring), the Cowboys defense has not looked that great, and the run defense has been flat-out bad. In the past two games, they've given up double-digit fantasy days to three RBs (Tevin Coleman, Corey Clement and Jay Ajayi).Coming off a big game last week, expect Gordon to feast this Thanksgiving.

THANKSGIVING DFS: DraftKings GPP lineup

Jerick McKinnon, RB, MIN at DET ($6,200)

The Lions are coming off a game where the Bears' rushing attack could do no wrong. Jordan Howard ran for 125 yards and a score, and Tarik Cohen added a score on nine carries for 44 yards. Latavius Murray and McKinnon are in a similar committee as the Bears, and if Howard and Cohen can have big games at the same time, McKinnon and Murray can as well, especially since they've done it before.

Adam Thielen, MIN at DET ($8,300)

With only three games on the Thanksgiving special, we're bound to have to eat some chalk with a couple picks, and Thielen will likely be one of them. Thielen has been leading the Vikings receiving corps for the past several weeks, leading the team in targets, receptions, receiving yards and receiving touchdowns since Week 7.  Case Keenum and Thielen are connecting often lately, and there's little reason to suspect it will stop against the Lions defense.

WEEK 12 RANKINGS
Quarterback | Running back | Wide receiver | Tight end | D/ST | Kicker

Josh Doctson, WR, WSH at NYG ($6,600)

After Marshon Lattimore left the game in Week 11, Doctson was able to wriggle free and break out a couple big plays. He hasn't found the end zone in his past three contests, but he's also been a combined couple feet from scoring a touchdown each of the past three weeks. The fourth time is the charm for Doctson to finally reach the end zone on top of the solid amount of yardage he'll accumulate in this favorable matchup.

Kenny Golladay, WR, DET vs. MIN ($5,800)

It's hard to find someone outside the pack you can trust in a three-team slate, but Golladay might be one of the better options in tournament play. Golladay has had two decent games since his five-game absence from a hamstring injury, but his numbers don't jump out of the boxscore at you  However, if Xavier Rhodes covers Golden Tate, many will be jumping onto Marvin Jones bandwagon since he has a track record of big games this year. It wouldn't be surprising if Golladay steals his thunder.

Evan Engram, TE, NYG at WSH ($7,500)

Despite being the most expensive tight end on this slate, Evans' counterpart Vernon Davis will likely draw just as many, if not more, picks among the public. The Vikings, Lions, Chargers and Cowboys all rank in the upper half at stopping opposing TEs and have mediocre fantasy TEs, so, really, the only decision is between Engram and Davis. Engram has been one of the most consistent and arguably one of the best TEs outside Zach Ertz, Rob Gronkowski and Travis Kelce, so he gets the nod, even if it is just chalk.

Nick Rose, K, WSH vs NYG ($4,700)

With only three games on the slate, you have to find someone who can make a difference, and it doesn't hurt to go bold with a kicker. Since taking over for an injured Dustin Hopkins, Rose is eight of nine on field-goal attempts and 13 for 14 in PATs in five games. It wouldn't be surprising if this game becomes high scoring, making this a good game to pick Rose.

D/ST: Los Angeles Chargers vs. Cowboys ($4,200)

The Chargers just stomped all over Nathan Peterman and Tyrod Taylor for five interceptions and two touchdowns last week, and they fall into another good matchup this week. The Cowboys offense has faltered in two games without Ezekiel Elliott and Tyron Smith, scoring a combined 16 points and giving up six turnovers. On a short week, the Cowboys don't have too much time to right the ship, and the Chargers might be in for another cornucopia of turnovers, especially if Smith (groin) is out again.

Tony Fortier-Bensen