NFL DFS: Finest DraftKings and FanDuel Predictions and Suggestions for Week 13 – AthlonSports.com

Given Pittsburgh’s recent defensive battles, this could be a good week to bring Rahod Bateman to DFS

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If you followed my Thanksgiving every day fantasy (DFS) Football picks, to quote the great Adam Sandler, not too shabby! And in this context I would like to wish all my Menorah Lighting readers a happy Hanukkah before I get into the DFS picks of week 13.

Related: Start ‘Em, Sit’ Em Week 13 RB / WR Fantasy Advice

I know Sunday is the last night of Hanukkah too, but I hope we can earn you a little bit of money with my DFS picks before you light the last candle.

Position rankings in week 13: QB I RB I WR I TE I DST IKI Flex

And no, I don’t mean the type of chocolate that comes in the gold and silver plastic packaging. I’m talking about real cash.

Speaking of cash, that brings us to our weekly reminder that I’ll go over each position and list a “safe” selection and a “high risk / high reward” one. The first is essentially a cash game game and the second is a GPP game. I’ll also make sure the price for this player is about the same on DraftKings, FanDuel, and the other big sites. And in week 13 there are definitely different prices, but we’ll get to that! For those of you unfamiliar with DFS, do yourself a favor and check out Cash Games vs. GPPs. Or call me on Twitter (@MarkStrausberg) and I’ll explain it to you personally.

There’s a bad joke here about a potential Hanukkah miracle, but I’ll ignore it and get on with my DFS picks for week 13 in a moment.

Teams goodbye: Carolina, Cleveland, Green Bay, Tennesee

Safe Quarterback Week 13 Pick

Tom Brady, Tampa Bay Buccaneers at Atlanta Falcons (DK $ 7200, FD $ 8100)

The suggestion to play Brady seems to be in line with the suggestion of leading a healthy lifestyle. Sure there are reasons not to, but why not? Okay, one of those reasons is his wage bill. But you can make salary adjustments elsewhere. There’s no really good reason not to snag Brady and his league-top 30 touchdown passes and 3,403 pass yards who come in second. Even the matchup is a breeze as Atlanta is giving up the second most fantasy points to QBs this season. Easy cash game selection this week.

Selecting the high risk / reward quarterback for week 13

Tyrod Taylor, Houston Texans vs. Indianapolis Colts (DK $ 5300, FD $ 7000)

At the other end of the salary spectrum is the very affordable Taylor. Whether by air or land, Taylor has at least two touchdowns in four of the five games he’s started this year.

The Colts are only a few points better than Atlanta, as they have given quarterbacks the fourth most fantasy points per game with just under 26 points. If Taylor can get anywhere near that, he should be delivering a lot of profit and probably very little equity.

Related: Start ‘Em, Sit’ Em Week 13 QB / TE / DST Fantasy Advice

Safe walking back week 13 selection

Joe Mixon, Cincinnati Bengals vs. Los Angeles Chargers (DK $ 8100, FD $ 9400)

So Mixon is having a pretty good season:

But there is more than just one phenomenal season. For one thing, he could have more yards, but the Bengals rested him in the fourth quarter last week, which makes his 165 rushing yards even more impressive. Second, there were reports that the Bengals would play more with Mixon after they left. And they have after giving him 58 laziness in the past two weeks.

Should he see more than 25 carry, we should expect another big day against the Chargers, who give the seventh most fantasy points to RBs. I definitely like Jonathan Taylor this week too, but Mixon is about a giant cheaper and should give us almost the same production.

High Risk / Reward Running Back Week 13 selection

Jamaal Williams, Detroit Lions vs. Minnesota Vikings (DK $ 5400, FD $ 6500)

Williams is priced right in this mid-range with many other attractive options around it like Antonio Gibson, Miles Sanders, and Myles Gaskin. That should help keep his possessions low, making it a high leverage game.

For more reasons why you should start Williams, check out my suggestions for Start ‘Em, Sit’ Em in Week 13.

Related: Fantasy Football 5 Up, 5 Down for Week 13

Safe Wide Receiver selection of the 13th week

Marquise Brown, Baltimore Ravens at Pittsburgh Steelers (DK $ 6500, FD $ 7100)

As I said earlier, the Pittsburgh D is a shadow of what it used to be. Brown now has half a dozen TDs a year. Despite the appearance of Rahod Bateman, Brown still has 23 catches since the Ravens left Week 8.

We’re taking Baltimore’s leaders and we’re hoping he’ll score against Pittsburgh for the fourth game in a row.

High Risk / High Reward Wide Receiver Selection of the 13th week

Rashod Bateman, Baltimore Ravens at Pittsburgh Steelers (DK $ 4900, FD $ 5500)

But I love the pivot to Baltimore’s WR2, Bateman. Since the Steelers are awarding 37.26 PPR Fantasy Points per game to WRs (tied for seventh place in the league), there are plenty of Fantasy Points to bypass.

Pick for sure tight end of week 13

Logan Thomas, Washington Football Team at Las Vegas Raider, (DK $ 4000, FD $ 5600)

I discussed Thomas in my Week 13 TE Leaderboards earlier this week. Sometimes my mind changes between Monday and the end of the week. This is not one of those times. I still love Thomas this week, and I expect him to beat at least half the TEs that are above him.

High risk / high reward choices for close to the end of week 13

CJ Uzomah, Cincinnati Bengals vs. Los Angeles Chargers (DK $ 3200, FD $ 5200)

It’s obviously cheaper at DraftKings, but even proportionally, Uzomah is a much better buy at DK than at FD. But even with FD, I may be willing to pay the price. Only four other TEs have more touchdowns than Uzomah’s five. And he’s a good bet to score every week. I really like his chances of doing it this week against the Chargers who, along with the Eagles, gave the opposing TEs 10 points, most of all teams.

Safe Defense / Special Team Selection (DST) Week 13

Los Angles Rams vs Jacksonville Jaguars (DK $ 4000, FD $ 4900)

I didn’t see this tweet until late Friday night, but it made me smile.

Gaines is one of the lesser-known players in the Los Angeles defense. I’m sure he and the rest of the Rams will be pumped after they devastated the Jaguars on Sunday.

High Risk / Reward Defense / Special Teams (DST) week 13 selection

Miami Dolphins vs. New York Giants (DK $ 3300, FD $ 4000)

Daniel Jones is out this week and Mike Glennon will start in his place. I could have just stopped there. And I think Glennon is better than his reputation. But even in his best year, he averaged little more than one TD per game.

This will be a low score game. The Giants D could keep New York in the game. But if not, this game could get really ugly for the G-Men very quickly. And the biggest beneficiary will be the Dolphins’ D.

– Written by Mark Strausberg, a member of the Athlon Network Contributor who, despite his youthful exuberance and good looks, played fantasy sports before Wildcats or Hoosiers even made it onto the VHS. Do you have a question or thought about fantasy sports? Find him on Twitter @MarkStrausberg.