After hitting on the highest-owned daily fantasy football options at each position ahead of last Thursday's NFL DFS slate, we turn our attention to Week 13 values that are sure to be popular cash and tournament lineup picks on FanDuel. Factor these into GPPs that kick off with Packers-Lions on Thursday and then use them to supplement our DFS findings after TNF starts.
These are not recommendations, as the most heavily-owned players should be faded in tourneys to some degree (my top cash game plays can be found here). But we can surmise that the following players should see a significant bump in DFS ownership from their typical rate, from the overwhelmingly popular to the trendy, dirt-cheap plays.
MORE: Week 13 fantasy football rankings:
Quarterbacks | Running backs | Wide receivers | Tight ends | Defenses | Kickers
Projected FanDuel ownership, Week 13 QBs
It suddenly appears Cam Newton ($9,000/QB2 price on FanDuel) has supporting cast that holds up well to Tom Brady ($9,400/QB1) and Aaron Rodgers ($8,700/QB3). There's a major cliff down to the QB4-6 price range featuring QBs primed to get faded for various reasons, so Newton's floor/ceiling combo against the No. 32 defense in yards per attempt should make him a popular cash and tourney pick. Marcus Mariota ($7,100/QB20) has provided a nice cash-game floor when healthy and gets a Jags D that just revived San Diego.
Projected FanDuel ownership, Week 13 RBs
C.J. Anderson and Buck Allen both tightened their grip on a featured back role in primetime broadcasts last week. The low-teens RB price tag of ($6,800 on FanDuel) should carry broad appeal in all formats, especially with rampant injury and production drop-off among the top tier at RB recently. Anderson may even come close to the crazy Thomas Rawls levels of ownership from Week 12 as he gets a spicy matchup in San Diego. DFS players will also take notice of Antonio Andrews topping 5.0 yards per carry and Spencer Ware topping 8.0 YPC on double-digit carries in November. David Johnson is sure to be a popular pick, too, subbing in for the injured Chris Johnson.
MORE: Week 13 FanDuel tourney lineup | Cash-game lineup
Projected FanDuel ownership, Week 13 WRs
Odell Beckham could follow the same the path to top-WR ownership that DeAndre Hopkins took heading into Week 12: Ride a monster game featuring an absurd highlight catch in crunch-time, and then have everyone willing to pay the WR1 premium. That included myself, as "Nuk" nuked my DFS lineup. That's not to say ODB won't be worth the $9,400/WR1 price tag and his realistic ceiling could still make him a viable tourney play coupled with a low-owned surrounding cast in your entry. Calvin Johnson put on a vintage Megatron show on Thanksgiving and now stands out due to a $400 drop from Hopkins at $8,500/WR5.
MORE DAILY FANTASY: Week 13 DFS Paybook | Best DFS values
Projected FanDuel ownership, Week 13 TEs
Greg Olsen is primed for high ownership in cash games. The drop from an injured Gronk at $8,400 to Olsen vs. Saints at $6,600 should make him popular. It's also a massive week for the punt tourney plays after Sunday's TE apocalypse. Injuries to Jimmy Graham and Rob Gronkowski will yield dramatic boosts in ownership for the Seahawks' Luke Willson ($4,800/TE38) and particularly New England's Scott Chandler ($5,300/TE14). Chandler's projected target floor will make him a chic play even in cash games, as it appears Gronk will rest for at least Week 13.