Watching NFL games on Thanksgiving in 2019 isn't just a reason to eat more and spend a little less time talking with family. It's also Week 13, which carries heavy fantasy football impcations for everyone trying to get into the playoffs in seasonal leagues. That means you need some timely lineup advice on who to start and sit in Thursday's three matchups.
Because we have six teams to break down instead of two, let's get right down to the heaping helping that comes with "the mini-Decider" and throw in some lineup decisions for the DraftKings showdown slate. For start 'em, sit 'em advice for the full slate of Week 13 games, click here.
MORE THURSDAY FANTASY:
FanDuel lineup | DraftKings lineup | DK Showdown picks
Fantasy Start 'em, Sit 'em: Bears vs. Lions (12:30 p.m. ET, Fox)
Bears starts and sits
- Start: WR Allen Robinson, RB Tarik Cohen, RB David Montgomery, Bears defense/special teams
- Sit: QB Mitchell Trubisky, K Eddy Pineiro
- Sleeper: WR Anthony Miller
Robinson might get some Darius Slay, but his heavy targets and production in good overall matchups makes him a no-brainer. Cohen and Miller, as backfield and slot options, will be busier in the passing game with No. 2 wideout Taylor Gabriel (concussion) and tight ends Ben Braunecker (concussion) and Adam Shaheen (foot) all set to miss the game. With Montgomery, you are hoping for volume a TD in a favorable matchup, and with Chicago's D, you are hoping for some sacks and turnovers against a limited backup QB.
Lions starts and sits
- Start: WR Kenny Golladay, WR Marvin Jones Jr., K Matt Prater
- Sit: QB David Blough, RB Bo Scarbrough, TE T.J. Hockenson, WR Danny Amendola, RB J.D. McKissic
- Sleeper: Lions defense/special teams
Golladay was quieter with Driskel, but you have to keep playing him with Blough because of his big-play and scoring ability where he doesn't need too many targets to come through. File Jones in the same category. Blough is more of a gunslinger will try to let both of this talented receivers make plays on the ball. Prater is in there for the long field-goal pop.
As for the ancillary players, including the running backs, they are hard to trust here. Driskel's potential value is hurt by a hamstring injury that can limit what he does rushing. Because of Trubisky on the other side and Thanksigiving home pride, Detroit's D could make a few plays here, however.
WEEK 13 NON-PPR RANKINGS:
Quarterback | Running back | Wide receiver | Tight end | D/ST | Kicker
Fantasy Start 'em, Sit 'em: Bills vs. Cowboys (4:30 p.m. ET, CBS)
Bills starts and sits
- Start: QB QB Josh Allen, WR John Brown, RB Devin Singletary
- Sit: RB Frank Gore, TE Dawson Knox, Bills defense/special teams
- Sleeper: WR Cole Beasley
Allen has been one of the steadiest fantasy forces because of his multiple-TD delivery and strong running despite not being a big chucker, so it's hard to bench him here in standard leagues. Brown has been solid all season and Singletary is enjoying his second-half rookie breakout. Extending past that is difficult, but Beasley seems to keep getting the job done with his key targets and TDs. Plus, there's the revenge-game narrative here back playing against the Cowboys.
Cowboys start and sits
- Start: QB Dak Prescott, RB Ezekiel Elliott, WR Amari Cooper, K Brett Maher
- Sit: WR Michael Gallup, WR Randall Cobb, TE Jason Witten, TE Blake Jarwin, WR Tavon Austin, Cowboys defense/special teams
- Sleeper: RB Tony Pollard
Prescott will need to be more like Allen with his running boosting his numbers here because the Bills field a tough pass defense. That includes cornerback Tre'Davious White, who can contain Coper the way that Marshon Lattimore and Stephon Gilmore have done this season. Elliott has the best matchup against Buffalo's run defense, and by association, Pollard has deep desperate eague appeal.
You can sit Gallup, but only if you have more viable WR2 and WR3 options because the Bills have been good in coverage elsewhere too, thus not even considering the Cowboys' tight ends in seasonal. Dallas' defense is hard to trust to make enough plays without Leighton Vander Esch (neck).
WEEK 13 PPR RANKINGS: Running back | Wide receiver | Tight end
Fantasy Start 'em, Sit 'em: Saints vs. Falcons (8:20 p.m. ET, NBC)
Saints starts and sits
- Start: QB Drew Brees, WR Michael Thomas, RB Alvin Kamara, TE Jared Cook, RB Latavius Murray
- Sit: Saints defense/special teams, WR Tre'Quan Smith, QB/RB/TE Taysom Hill
- Sleeper: WR Ted Ginn Jr.
Brees, Thomas and Kamara are the automatic triumvirate, but Cook has been coming on strong in the passing game and Murray has become a more essential part of the running game. The matchup is great for all of them, despite what happened in the first meeting in New Orleans.
New Orleans' defense has struggled of late and might be without Lattimore (hamstring) again. Smith and HIll don't get involved enough to trust. The dart throw goes to Ginn finding the end zone away from Thomas.
Falcons starts and sits
- Start: WR Julio Jones, WR Calvin Ridley
- Sit: QB Matt Ryan, RB Devonta Freeman, Falcons defense/special teams
- Sleeper: WR Russell Gage
Jones is dealing with a shoulder injury but should play through it. Regardless of Lattimore's status, Jones has to be in your lineup. Ridley has been red hot of late and still produced late when Ryan did nothing last week. Speaking of Ryan, it's been too ugly of late to go there in seasonal, even at home.
Freeman (foot) could return to a very bad matchup, and you need to think Atlanta's defense is back to being more like the one that played Tampa Bay last week. Gage has been getting a lot more run as a third receiver with tight end Austin Hooper (knee) staying on the shelf. Consider him a deep-league PPR special.
WEEK 13 DFS LINEUPS:
FD Cash | FD GPP | DK Cash | DK GPP | Y! Cash | Y! GPP
DraftKings NFL Thanksgiving cash game lineup
QB: Mitchell Trubisky, Bears ($5,300)
RB: Alvin Kamara, Saints ($8,100)
RB: Ezekiel Elliott, Cowboys ($7,400)
WR: Michael Thomas, Saints ($9,100)
WR: Russell Gage, Falcons ($4,500)
WR: Anthony Miller, Bears ($3,900)
TE: Blake Jarwin, Cowboys ($3,000)
FLEX: Tarik Cohen, Bears ($5,000)
D/ST: Bears ($2,500)
MORE WEEK 13 DFS: Stacks | Values | Lineup Builder
The core players for Thanksgiving were pretty easy to identify: Kamara, Elliott and Thomas. So, we're going with stars and scrubs here thinking that trio will smash their matchups. Gage, Miller and Cohen fall in line with our sleepers, the latter two being tied to our bargain-bin DFS-only QB play of Trubisky. Chicago's defense should get sacks and takeaways from a banged-up Driskel. Then it was rolling the dice on Jarwin getting one of those random big-play TDs, as his price was all we could afford there.
