Week 13 has arrived, and with it comes one of the most fun NFL DFS slates of the season on Thanksgiving Day! Fantasy Alarm has you covered with the normal allotment of NFL DFS position coaches specifically for this annual three-game slate, and we’ll run it back on Sunday with more content for the 10-game main slate on Sunday. Three-game slates are tricky and weird, but let’s take a look at the top defenses/special teams in this year’s NFL DFS Thanksgiving D/ST Coach!

NFL DFS Thanksgiving D/ST Coach for FanDuel & DraftKings Fantasy

The options are always thin for the annual NFL DFS Thanksgiving D/ST Coach. With just three games, we only have six teams to target. So I can’t truly say any team is a fade. This is a position of variance, and on a slate like this, variance tends to prevail. Is there a pick six, a kick return for a touchdown, or maybe a five-or-six sack performance in the cards? It’s entirely possible. So don’t try to force a D/ST into your lineups. This should always be the last piece of the puzzle, and that’s especially true for smaller slates.

NFL Thanksgiving Defense/Special Teams

Maybe I’m a victim of the moment, or possibly you’ll call it recency bias. However you want to phrase it, I think this is one of the best NFL DFS Thanksgiving slates we’ve had over the last few years. We have three great games lined up. For six teams that have to play on a short week, all three games have an implied total over 49 points. And that just makes picking the optimal NFL DFS D/ST that much more difficult.

We have a battle for the NFC North as the Green Bay Packers head to Detroit. Then we also have the Kansas City Chiefs and Dallas Cowboys going against each other after both organizations claimed crucial wins in Week 12. And we wrap things up in primetime with the Cincinnati Bengals potentially getting Joe Burrow back from injury, and Ja'Marr Chase will return from his one-game suspension. They’ll have a tough test on the road against the Baltimore Ravens. It’s going to be a fun slate to watch while indulging in some outstanding holiday food all day. Let’s take a look at the latest NFL DFS Thanksgiving D/ST Coach!

 

 

 

NFL DFS D/ST Top Tier Pick For Thanksgiving

Baltimore Ravens – DraftKings: $3,000 | FanDuel: $4,600

Obviously, the matchup is less-than-ideal with the Bengals potentially getting Joe Burrow back from injury. Ja'Marr Chase will be suiting up as well. Both players have the freshest legs of anybody playing in this game. But the Ravens are the biggest favorites on the slate by seven points.

The Ravens' defense has played much better after a disastrous start to the 2025 campaign. In their last four games, they’ve collected nine sacks and forced nine takeaways while allowing 45 total points. Granted, in that span, they’ve played the New York Jets, Cleveland Browns, Minnesota Vikings, and Miami Dolphins. That’s not exactly a murderer’s row in terms of opposing offenses.

This is a divisional matchup, and these can certainly be tricky, especially if the Bengals turn up with the best version of themselves for this game. But I like how this D/ST has been trending with Roquan Smith back, so on a short slate with minimal options, I’ll roll the dice on Baltimore. And if it helps persuade you, this is the only game on the three-game slate not being played in a controlled environment, so we will have cooler temperatures and some light-to-moderate winds for this AFC North battle.

 

 

 

NFL DFS D/ST Mid-Tier Pick For Thanksgiving

Green Bay Packers – DraftKings: $2,600 | FanDuel: $4,000

The Green Bay Packers hosted the Detroit Lions back in Week 1, and it was the ultimate overreaction to Detroit’s first game without Ben Johnson because the Packers shut down Detroit’s loaded offense. But that’s sometimes how things go in Week 1. The Las Vegas Raiders beat the New England Patriots back in Week 1. That’s why we can’t take much away from the first handful of games every year.

The Packers' defense has been largely inconsistent, and truthfully, a bit too conservative at times. But they did return 18 fantasy points against the Minnesota Vikings in Week 12 with five sacks and three takeaways. The offensive line for Detroit also just gave up three sacks to the New York Giants of all teams, so there’s even more potential for a pass rush that contains Micah Parsons, who collected his 10th sack of the season. And by his own standards, that’s his minimum requirement every year. Well, he’s hit the minimum requirement for five straight seasons now.

Playing any D/ST against the Detroit Lions isn’t ideal, but this is a divisional game, and the Packers are only 2.5-point underdogs on the road. I like the savings we’re getting if Green Bay plans on getting aggressive with their pass rush.

 

 

 

NFL Thanksgiving DFS D/ST Value Pick

Dallas Cowboys – DraftKings: $2,400 | FanDuel: $3,500

This obviously isn’t the prettiest recommendation, but it’s got some teeth. The Cowboys enter Week 13 with a 5-5-1 record, and they’re on a small two-game winning streak. This past Sunday, they fell down 21 points early to the Philadelphia Eagles. But over the final 40 minutes of that game, this defense stood tall and didn’t give up a single point to their NFC East rival.

The presence of Quinnen Williams has seemingly beefed up the Dallas run defense, as Philly totaled 55 total rushing yards from Jalen Hurts and Saquon Barkley.

The Kansas City Chiefs come to town, and while they’re averaging 21 points per game over their last three games, that does feel somewhat underwhelming for an offense led by Patrick Mahomes. Last week’s win for the Chiefs certainly felt like more of a Colts loss than a Chiefs win, but Chiefs Kingdom isn’t complaining one way or the other.

I do believe this defense is finding their stride and might be able to fight back against the Chiefs. This is a huge game for both teams as they both need a win to stay in the playoff hunt. I like Dallas to step up as a value D/ST at home.
 

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