NFL Draftkings Picks: Week 13

Wide Receiver

Cooper Kupp | $9000 | JAX @ LAR

If paying up for running back does not tickle your fancy, then you can pair Cooper Kupp with Matthew Stafford (covered above). Kupp may have some competition for targets with Odell Beckham Jr. finding his place in the Rams offense, or you could look at it as OBJ gives Kupp some more room to work. The duo tied with 10 targets each against the Packers last week. The Jaguars should not present as much of a challenge and one could argue that they both merit being played in the same lineup. Vegas has Los Angeles pegged to score 30.25 points in Week 13. There is plenty to go around here. You can also consider Van Jefferson if you are looking for an upside GPP value play.

Keenan Allen | $7500 |LAC @ CIN

The matchup is not a great one for Keenan Allen this week as the Cincinnati Bengals are 12^th best in points allowed to wide receivers. However, they are worse against the run. This would lead us to believe it will be the Austin Ekeler show in Week 13. Not so fast. We mentioned the total in this one. Allen has been one of the most consistent receivers in fantasy and Justin Herbert is going to have to drop back a ton in this one to keep up. Allen has hit double figures in every game played this season and has been over 15.5 DK points in his last five starts. Allen will likely be lower owned this week and has 30 point potential.

Tight End

Mark Andrews | $6000 | BAL @ PIT

We mentioned how bad Lamar Jackson was in the open. Despite the poor performance, it became pretty clear how much Jackson trusts Mark Andrews. The duo connected not once, but twice, on amazing downfield throws. Andrews is the top-scoring tight end on the slate and like his quarterback, has struggled against the rival Steelers. The hot streak is too hard to ignore in this one and despite the red “9” next to the matchup rank, Pittsburgh is allowing the ninth most points to the position over the past five weeks. Players like Cole Kmet, Donald Parham, and Austin Hooper have found moderate success against them. A stud like Andrews should fare very well here and like Keenan Allen mentioned above, could be lower owned due to a perceived bad matchup.

George Kittle | $5900 | SF @ SEA

With Deebo Samuel likely out this game and possibly more, look for George Kittle to see more targets in the coming weeks. Kittle struggled in Week 12, seeing only two targets. It was the first time since returning from an injury that the stud tight end had not reached double-digit points. The Seattle Seahawks are reeling and just lost on Monday Night Football to the Washington Football Team. Oddly enough, Kittle has not scored a touchdown against Seattle in eight games played. He was however able to put up 16.3 DK points against them in Week 17 last year. The Iowa grad should do well with an increase in targets and could even score his first TD against his division rival in Week 13.

Sleepers to Separate From the Pack

Up next we give you some players to help differentiate your lineup from the masses and give you the edge you need to compete in some of the bigger tournaments. Just like the section above, we highlight two players at each position except now instead of studs, you get players that are expected to be less than 10% owned on the main slate.

Quarterbacks

Taylor Heinicke | $5600 | WAS @ LV

Would you believe that Taylor Heinicke is averaging more DK points than the likes of Russell Wilson, Matt Ryan, and Ben Roethlisberger? That is, in fact, true. The gritty signal-caller for the Washington Football team is $800 less than Wilson despite averaging more points. This is strictly a value play at low ownership. The underrated quarterback has a season-high of just 27.9 DK points but averages a fair 17.7 per game. The matchup is ideal here and the total sits at 49.5, good for the top three on the slate. We only need Heinicke to hit his average to return value and rostering him allows us to pay up in other areas.

Derek Carr | $6000 | WAS @ LV

We just mentioned the total in this one sits at 49.5. The Football Team has been atrocious against opposing quarterbacks, allowing the most DK points to the position by a solid 3.4 DK points. Carr has been hit or miss this season but gives us near 30 point upside in what looks to be a high-scoring affair. You may want to look at paying the extra $400 to move up from Heinicke here as there is more upside, but also a lower floor. Carr could go out and post 8.24 DK points as he did against Chicago. While unlikely, it is still in the realm of possibilities. Remember, Carr will be missing a reliable target in Darren Waller so there is some risk here. This is a matchup and ownership play as the Raiders signal-caller is only projected to be between five and ten percent rostered.

Running Backs

Myles Gaskin | $5800 | NYG @ MIA

This is a play that almost made the Fantasy Data Favorites. The New York Giants are allowing the fourth-most points to the running back position since Week 8 with 29.8 points allowed. Myles Gaskin has been the clear feature back of late for Miami and has posted 16.7 or more points in three of four. The Dolphins have won four straight after starting the season at 1-7 and find themselves in contention for a playoff spot. Head coach Brian Flores is likely still easing Tua Tagovoiloa back into things with his injured finger and will lean on his run game. The potential absence of Daniel Jones also will make it difficult for Joe Judge’s team to mount much of an attack offensively, leaving Gaskin and the Miami offense free to run as they wish.

Cordarrelle Patterson | $7000 | TB @ ATL

This is a good chance to roster Cordarrelle Patterson at a low percentage rate. It is a risky play for sure, but C-Patt returned with a bang after missing a week due to injury. The journeyman swiss army knife found the end zone twice and put up over 100 yards on the ground against a solid Jacksonville Jaguars defense. Meanwhile, the Tampa Bay Buccaneers have been allowing 25.5 DK points per game over their last four while seeming to improve on the back end of the defense, forcing teams to run a bit more. Patterson is almost game script proof. If they fall behind, he will make hay in the passing game. If the game is close, the Falcons will likely turn to him to grind down the clock against a high-powered Tampa offense. Regardless, there will not be many people on him this week, allowing you to leverage the field if Patterson goes for 20 plus a second consecutive week.

Wide Receiver

Devonta Smith |$6100 | PHI @ NYJ

Over the past five weeks, the New York Jets have allowed the second-most DK points to the wide receiver position at 41.3 per. The Minnesota Vikings allow the most at 48.1 but face the Detroit Lions who lack a true threat at wide receiver. We can trust Jalen Hurts and Devonta Smith a lot more than we can Jared Goff and Josh Reynolds. Smith has been quiet the past two weeks, but a matchup against a Swiss cheese New York secondary is just what the fantasy doctors ordered. In Week 12, the Eagles attempted 31 passes and Smith only saw two targets for whatever reason. Philadelphia will likely try to correct that error and target the rookie heavily in what should be an easy victory.

Brandin Cooks | $5900 | IND @ HOU

Another team struggling against the wide receiver position is the Indianapolis Colts. Frank Reich and crew have given up a healthy 35.3 points per game over the last five and were torched by rookie Elijah Moore in Week 9 to the tune of 27.4 points. Brandin Cooks put up 17.9 against them in Week 6 without scoring a touchdown. Tyrod Taylor is the quarterback now and the offense has been a bit more competitive over the past few weeks, even stunning the division-leading Tennessee Titans. If the Colts jump out to an early lead, Cooks will be targeted heavily and at just $5,900 has 20 point upside in Week 13.

Tight End

Dallas Goedert | $4500 | PHI @ NYJ

The New York Jets have been allowing points by the boatload. The tight end position is a tough one to peg on a week to week basis but one thing you can count on is the Jets giving up a bunch of points. In fact, they allow the most in the league at 30.4. Getting a piece of the opposition is a good strategy every week. Like Devonta Smith, Goedert saw a limited number of targets (3) in Week 12 despite 31 pass attempts from Jalen Hurts. As is the case with Smith, look for that to change, and do not be afraid to roster them both in Week 13.

Pat Freiermuth | $4200 | BAL @ PIT

The Pittsburgh Steelers rookie tight end Pat Freiermuth returned to practice on Thursday and should be good to go for the matchup against the division-rival Baltimore Ravens. The Penn State grad has been very reliable of late, position double figures in five of six games. The Ravens have been susceptible to the position and rank allow the third-most points to tight ends at 16.8 per game including 12.5 to David Njoku in Week 12. Freiermuth has also been a target monster. Over the past six games, he has seen 40 targets, good for 6.67 per contest. This trend should continue in Week 13. The Ravens are stout against the run and that should force Big Ben and the Steelers to look to the air for yards and points.

Fantasy Data Favorites

In this section, we will give you one play from each position for the week that we like the most. This will be a player that likely will give you a high upside at a lower cost than their counterparts and also come with a low ownership projection. Here you go!

Quarterback

Tom Brady | $7200 | TB @ ATL

The ownership on Tom Brady is likely to be very high this week and rightfully so, but fade him at your own risk. It is hard to ignore the matchup and the history Brady has against the Falcons. Since joining Tampa Bay in 2020, the first-ballot Hall of Famer is averaging 32.33 DK points against them over three games. Atlanta has not turned into the ’86 Bears since they last played. It is hard not to see Brady going over 30 again in this one unless Leonard Fournette decides to rush for three touchdowns like he did last week against the Indianapolis Colts.

Running Back

Antonio Gibson | $5700 | WAS @ LV

The favorites this week are all likely to be on the higher side of the rosters scale, but we simply cannot ignore them and quite frankly feel like they are the best players to select this week and set you up for success. There are several other areas you can differentiate your build to stand out from the crowd. On to Antonio Gibson. Last week the second-year pro was heavily involved in the passing game. This was all before teammate JD McKissick left with a concussion. McKissick is still out and the matchup is a tasty one. The Las Vegas Raiders are allowing the fifth-most points to running backs over the past five weeks. Another 25 plus point performance is not out of the realm of possibilities in Week 13, especially if McKissick is ultimately ruled out.

Wide Receiver

Chris Godwin | $6600 | TB @ ATL

Along with Tom Brady, Chris Godwin has shredded the Atlanta Falcons as of late. Godwin is also averaging an absurd amount of DK points over the past couple of years. Over the past four games, the young wideout is averaging 24.38 points with a high of 37.4 in Week 9 of 2019. The only thing that may hold back the duo is a heavy dose of Leonard Fournette or the lack of the Falcons offense ability to keep the game close beyond the first half. You could choose to fade them both due to high ownership percentages and leverage the field if it turns ugly quickly.

Tight End

Logan Thomas | $4000 | WAS @ LV

Logan Thomas looked good in his return to game action on Monday night against the Seattle Seahawks. Thomas saw six targets and turned them into three receptions for 31 yards and 6.1 DK points. The Las Vegas Raiders are second in the league in points per game allowed to the position with 17.1 points allowed, just 2.2 points behind the league-worst Philadelphia Eagles. We mentioned this game has a total of 49.5 so there should be plenty of opportunities for Thomas in this one. Putting things more into favor for the former quarterback is the fact that the Raiders are good against wide receivers from a fantasy perspective. Simply look to the Cowboys-Raiders stat line from Thanksgiving to see all you need to convince you to roster Thomas and Gibson. This is a cheap stack that allows you to pay up at multiple other positions in Week 13.

Summing It All Up

As we all know, football is unpredictable, we make these picks using the data available to us at fantasydata.com and try to help our readers make educated, thoughtful decisions when creating their DK lineup. If you find this helpful or have any comments, be sure to notate them below. Thank you for reading.