Once again we bring you a special edition of our weekly DraftKings analysis, this time featuring the three games on the Thanksgiving Day slate. Just as you will be stuffing your face with delicious turkey, stuffing, mashed potatoes and other delicacies, we’re looking to stuff your wallet while you sit back in your food coma post meal watching the games.
So instead of our traditional format here, we’ll break the three game slate putting out my favorite guys that will make up majority of my lineups come Thursday.
Let’s get it.
Quarterback
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Drew Brees ($6,800)
- Take out his outlier stinker against the Falcons in their last matchup and Brees is averaging 25.5 DK points since his return. He seemingly always shows up in primetime games and I’m not buying into the other higher priced QBs on the slate. It also helps that we just watched Jameis put up a big game against Atlanta’s defense.
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Mitchell Trubisky ($5,300)
- He’s had his moments, and Trubisky has already produced against the Lions once. Their defense is nothing to write home about, and Mitch set a season high last week with 7 rushing attempts so there’s a glimmer of hope they’ll allow him to use his legs more which makes him more dangerous.
Running Back
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Ezekiel Elliott ($7,400)
- This is the cheapest he’s been priced all year. The Bills have a VERY good pass defense, but are vulnerable in the running game. I could see another tough contest for Dak here, and if Garrett has any sort of brain up there in his head he’ll have Elliott touching the ball close to 30 times this week.
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Tarik Cohen ($5,000)
- David Montgomery has been pretty poor as of late, and Cohen has stepped up, rushing for over 4.0 YPC his last three games. This includes heavy usage in the passing game as the Bears know he’s one of the best weapons they have in the offense. Detroit has a strong weakness in their run defense that Cohen should look to exploit. He had a solid performance in last year’s Thanksgiving game as well against the Lions.
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Bo Scarborough ($4,700)
- I don’t love it, but there’s no denying the volume and touchdown equity that he has. Scarbrough is the only true lead rusher and power back on the team and he’s the guy that will operate on the goal line and handle the bulk of the carries. It just hurts to see no involvement in the passing game whatsoever. He could fall into the end zone and pay off his low salary if you’re looking to spend up elsewhere.
Wide Receiver
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Michael Thomas ($9,100)
- He’s Michael Freakin’ Thomas. That should be enough
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Calvin Ridley ($6,600)
- I’m so over Julio Jones. While Jones has failed to capitalize on blow up spots, Ridley is running away with the opportunities. This has the looks of a very high scoring game and the Falcons will need to pull out everything they got. Ridley’s ceiling is enormous this week against the Saints.
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Michael Gallup ($5,500)
- Targeting WRs against the Bills usually isn’t great, but I could see some value for Gallup here. Tre’Davious White will likely have Amari Cooper on the right side, and the Bills also are very good covering the slot (Randall Cobb). It’s the left side where they aren’t as dominant, which leaves big play threat Michael Gallup, who should be relatively low owned.
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Cole Beasley ($4,700)
- Revenge game narrative in play! He’s had a quietly consistent year for the Bills and is starting to pick up his play as of late. Averaging 11.6 DK ppg, his target numbers have been pretty solid after going for 6-79-1 last week against the Broncos.
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Anthony Miller ($3,900)
- Taylor Gabriel is likely out with a concussion, opening the door for more Miller targets this week. The Lions defense isn’t great, and Miller has had 20 targets over his last two games. Double digit points scored in two straight now, Miller is trending up while getting an increased role in a plus matchup.
Tight End
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Jared Cook ($4,800)
- He’s gotten way more involved in the Saints offense scoring double digits in five straight contests. Easily trending in the right direction, along with a high point total game, I like where this is heading for Cook this week.
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Dawson Knox ($2,900)
- While the Cowboys defense has been relatively stout against QBs and WRs, there is a small weakness with the TE position. Knox has flashed his potential from time to time and is one touchdown away from paying off big time in a huge game for the Bills. There’s not much else value out there at the TE position this slate.
Defense
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Chicago Bears ($2,500)
- This is pretty surprising honestly seeing them this low. Sure they aren’t as good as the 2018 version, but they still have the talent to be a good defense and are facing a backup in Jeff Driskell who looked awful last week at Washington. That speaks volume, and this game has the lowest total on the board by far.
