Upside Plays

Jonathan Taylor is a slam dunk. In a must-win game for the Colts, Taylor should get plenty of run. He’s currently 266 Rushing Yards away from the 2,000 yard mark. That’s a lofty goal but not out of the range of outcomes for the standout rusher. At DK Sportsbook, the Colts are 15 point road favorites. The Jaguars rank last in the league in rushing percentage allowed when trailing by 7 or more points (44-percent rate h/t RotoGrinders). Get your popcorn ready for this one.

Speaking of incentives, Cooper Kupp should have some extra motivation to finish his historic season strong. In a must-win game against division rival 49ers, Kupp also needs 12 Receptions (a feat he’s achieved once already this season) to break the single-season receiving record. He’s also 171 Receiving Yards away from a 2,000 yard receiving season. Fire up fantasy’s WR1 and find value elsewhere.

On the heels of a straight-up embarrassing romp of the Washington Football Team, Dak Prescott and the Cowboys host the Cardinals. Over the past four games, Arizona has allowed the No. 7 most fantasy points to opposing quarterbacks. Pair Prescott up with Amari Cooper, who led the team in Week 16 with a season-high 27.5-percent Target Share.

Projecting at only 1.2-percent ownership, Dalton Schultz looks like the most overlooked piece from the Cowboys side of the ball. Schultz gets a great game environment in a weather-controlled dome in a game ranked No. 1 in Pace of Play. Schultz has shown tournament-winning upside while surpassing 20 DKPt in back-to-back games. The Cardinals have been suspect within 10 yards of the LOS allowing a 55-percent Pass Rate in that area where Shultz mostly operates.

Two weeks of rest (a missed week due to injury and a bye week) seemed to be all that was needed for Jalen Hurts to return from an ankle sprain unscathed. With more opportunities on offense and another week removed from injury, he should be deployed even more as a rusher. Despite ranking dead last in aFPA to opposing quarterbacks, the Giants have also had trouble on the ground. Hurts’ 2.3 Red Zone Carries Per Game has led to his league leading 10 Rushing Touchdowns. Giddyup!

Dallas Goedert provides a nice value/ceiling combo at $5,100. The versatile tight end has eclipsed 100 receiving yards in back to back games for the Eagles. In Weeks 13 and 15, Goedert saw Target Shares of 27-percent and 35-percent (Week 14 was a bye). While you can run Hurts naked (without a pairing), Goedert looks to be the preferred stacking option with Hurts.

George Kittle will be massive chalk, but has broken the slate in back-to-back weeks. His 40-percent Target Share in Weeks 13 and 14 are likely an outlier, but his normal Target Share outside of those weeks was still a healthy 21-percent. I believe this game is the biggest blowout on the slate and would be open to running some three-plus player stacks on the 49ers side of the ball.

Regardless if Chase Edmonds is activated from IR, James Conner is still very much in play. The Cardinals have a slate-high 30-point implied team total and some of that should be expected to be earned on the ground. The Lions rank No. 10 or worse in Rushing Yards Allowed (135/gm/avg), Rushing TD Percentage (41-percent), and aFPA (No. 4). He makes for a nice one-off too if you’re fading Kyler Murray in a lineup or two.

Patrick Mahomes is priced up at $8,000, but he’s worth the spend-up at the position. Mahomes should have no problem returning to fantasy relevancy with a visit from a Raiders team he dismantled (39DKPt) a couple weeks back. In a game tied for No. 1 in Pace of Play, The Chiefs own a slate-high 28.75 Vegas team total.

With cheaper bellcow streamers soaking up ownership, Alvin Kamara is a light-chalk leverage play in a smash spot against the Jets. The Jets have had no answer for enemy running backs allowing a league-worst 36.9 DKPt/game average. Ranking last in Rush Percentage Inside 10 has resulted in 18 enemy rushing touchdowns (also league worst). Interestingly, Kamara still ranks inside the top 10 in Carries Inside 10 (13 carries), even after missing four weeks with a knee injury. It’s Kamara time.

With how much preseason hype was surrounding Elijah Moore, I have been surprised at how quiet his second half breakout has been in the fantasy world. Moore quickly became Zach Wilson’s go-to after returning from injury. Earning a target on 34-percent of his routes run over the past two weeks and leading the team in targets in that same time frame. Moore will look to get fed more as his competition for targets has shrunk with Corey Davis missing the remainder of the season. The schedule for the Jets doesn’t scare anyone as Moore will continue to break out and bring some boom weeks.

Javonte Williams is shaping up to be the quintessential league winning running back. The ultimate breakout took place in Week 13 with Melvin Gordon inactive. Williams was the No. 1 running back in fantasy on the week. Racking up 102 rushing yards on 23 carries and topping it off with six receptions on nine targets for an additional 76 yards and a touchdown. With Gordon banged up, the door is open for Williams to take over and smash his way through an attractive schedule.

The Bucs tend to pressure opposing teams into passing by running up the score. Since opposing offenses have mostly abandoned the run, the Bucs are allowing a league-high 71-percent Pass Percentage. They also allow a 75-percent (No. 3) Passing TD Percentage. Matt Ryan himself is inexpensive ($5,600) and his counterparts are as well (Kyle Pitts at $5,600 and Russell Gage at $5,300). Paying down for Ryan gives you a great way to approach the game ranked No. 3 in Pace of Play.

With Darren Waller listed doubtful with a variety of injuries, the public will be drawn to Foster Moreau. A leverage play tight-end from the same game is the Football Team’s Logan Thomas. In games he’s started, he averages an elite 20.9-percent Air Yards Share (31.3-percent in Week 12). He makes a great low-rostered pairing with Taylor Heinicke with the Raiders having been had by opposing tight ends, ranking No. 5 in aFPA.

A week removed from a top three QB finish (30.8 DKPt), Jalen Hurts projects as the QB2. While the trio of rushing touchdowns against New Orleans was a bit of a fluke, Hurts’ QB1 upside is not. Expect a lot of plays to be run on both sides of the ball as this game leads the slate in Pace of Play. Pair Hurts with DeVonta Smith or Dallas Goedert or run him solo but whatever you do, don’t fade him.

With Cam Newton injected back into the Panther’s offense, Robby Anderson is back in the conversation. With Newton, Anderson has nearly matched D.J. Moore with a 20-percent Target Share and Receptions (9). The Dolphins can be had over the top too, as they rank dead last in explosive plays (20 plus yards downfield). At only $4,700 and projecting to be hardly owned, there are worse spots to find this kind of upside.

With three games on the docket, the pickings are slim on a short Thanksgiving slate. At the quarterback position, Josh Allen is the clear-cut top option and is worth the spend-up. After bodying DFS lineups in a surprising flop performance against the Colts, expect a bounce-back game against a Saints team that has allowed a lot of fantasy points to the quarterback this season (No. 7) but especially over the past four weeks (No. 1 in points allowed).

With the questions surrounding the Cowboys offensive weapons, consider a complete dart throw in tight end Sean McKeon. With Blake Jarwin shelved on IR, the second-year tight end has seen a slight uptick in playing time. Dallas should run more two tight end sets in support of the run-heavy Game Script, which would put him on the field more. McKeon is athletic given his 93rd-percentile Vertical Jump and 78th-percentile Speed Score. At the stone minimum $2,500 10 DKPt gives us tournament-winning upside.

Patrick Mahomes looked pretty back to himself while dismantling the Raiders in prime time. After a handful of subpar outings, Mahomes posted his highest scoring fantasy game of the season (39.2 DKPt). Vegas is back in on the Chiefs as denoted by their slate-high 29 point implied team total and I’m here for it. The game ranks No.1 in Pace of Play and both offenses can fill the stat sheet. Both teams rank top ten in both Sec/Play and Situation Neutral pace (h/t Football Outsiders).

Checking in as our WR2 (by projections), Tyreek Hill finds himself in an interesting spot facing the Cowboys. Though the Cowboys defense has been good against the pass (No. 9 DVOA), the high game total and fast paced game environment takes precedence.  Despite their similar Target Shares, Hill edges out Kelce as the stacking option to prefer here because of his deep ball proclivity (27.7-percent and 21.7-percent respectively).