It wouldn’t be Thanksgiving without turkey, Cowboys, and Lions. This year’s Thanksgiving Day slate includes Houston at Detroit, Baltimore at Pittsburgh, and Washington at Dallas. The DFS sites priced players fairly cheaply this year, so you can plug and play almost anyone you want this Thanksgiving.
Here are the players I’m focusing on Thursday.
Quarterback
DeShaun Watson, Texans ($7,400 on DraftKings, $8,700 on FanDuel) – Watson is priced highest on the board, but he’s still cheap for his potential. The quarterback hit 300 yards passing in five of his past seven games, tossing 16 touchdowns in that span while rushing for another. The Lions D ranks around the middle of the league in defending the quarterback position.
Running Backs
Gus Edwards, Ravens ($4,000 on DK, $5,200 on FD) – Baltimore placed both Mark Ingram and J.K. Dobbins on the reserve/COVID-19 list this week, so Edwards should see the vast majority of the carries on Thanksgiving. That makes him worth every penny at this low salary – even against that stout Steelers defense.
D’Andre Swift, Lions ($6,500 on DK, $7,200 on FD) – In a situation that bears monitoring up until kickoff, Swift participated in a limited fashion on Tuesday. That’s a good sign he’s on track to play on Thanksgiving as he goes through the NFL’s concussion protocol. If he plays, Swift stands to fare well against Houston’s league-worst defense against opposing running backs in DFS.
Wide Receivers
Will Fuller, Texans ($6,400 on DK, $7,400 on FD) – Pair Watson with his top receiver, who he targets nearly seven times per game. Since the Week 8 bye, Fuller has caught 16 passes for 218 yards and a TD. He hasn’t caught a pass in the end zone in the past two weeks, which has helped to keep his salary down – and also leads one to think he’s due to find paydirt on Thanksgiving. I’d double-stack Fuller with fellow wideout Brandin Cooks ($5,300 on DK, $6,500 on FD), an affordable triple pairing (along with Watson) of the Houston offense.
Terry McLaurin, Washington ($7,000 on DK, $7,900 on FD) – As with Swift, McLaurin remains questionable as of Wednesday, but all signs point to him playing on Thanksgiving. He continues to be Washington’s top receiver, putting up double-digit DFS points in every game except for one in 2020. He will face Dallas’ putrid pass D — the second-worst in the league against opposing receivers in DFS.
Tight End
Dalton Schultz, Cowboys ($3,800 on DK, $5,300 on FD) – Fill-in quarterback Andy Dalton is making the Dallas tight end a more integral part of the offense. In the past three weeks, Schultz caught 14 passes (on 21 targets) for 126 yards and a touchdown.