Here’s the true beauty of the Thanksgiving DFS week. Yes, we’ve already had four games. But guess what? There are no bye weeks this week. So we still get a fairly full slate of games this Sunday. If you really think about it, what’s the difference between six teams on bye with a Thursday game vs. 8 teams already playing? It’s a Thanksgiving Miracle! Thanks NFL!

So, even though we already had our Thanksgiving slate, we aren’t going to treat this any differently than we would any other DFS slate. We’ll have out top picks, our mid tiers, our value picks, and our fades. So let’s dive in! 

 

 

 

NFL DFS TE Top Tier Picks For Week 13

George Kittle TE San Francisco 49ers, DraftKings: $5,300 | FanDuel: $6,800

They finally did it. They finally priced Trey McBride appropriately - which has him as top 5-7 player at the flex. Which makes sense considering he’s easily been a top five option in any format since Jacoby Brissett took over. So you can absolutely still pay up and use Trey McBride this week - we won’t argue against that. But it’s the first week in a while that you don’t have to.

Tyler Warren has a tough matchup here with the Texans who have been a top team in coverage in general but also against the tight end based on virtually ever metric. George Kittle on the other hand has a decent matchup and he’s been back to his elite self lately, especially with Brock Purdy back, so he has just as much upside as anyone. The weather is supposed to be a little tough for this one which could prevent the longer passes and play right into Kittle’s hands. 

Brock Bowers TE Las Vegas Raiders, DraftKings: $5,800 | FanDuel: $7,200

We don’t necessarily love this one. But we’re a little torn on whether this Chargers defense is actually elite vs. TEs or not. Derwin James is obviously a good player and he can be a problem. But the Chargers really have not faced elite competition at the position. 

So yes, they are technically top five against the position in raw points scored. But FTN Fantasy’s DVOA stat, which attempts to level account for strength of opponents, suggests that they are actually ranked 23. A lot of folks could be fading Bowers because of the scary looking matchup that might not be so scary so he’s an okay contrarian play. 

 

 

 

NFL DFS TE Mid-Tier Picks For Week 13

Oronde Gadsden TE, Los Angeles Chargers - DraftKings: $4,300 | FanDuel: $5,900

The shine seems to be off Oronde Gadsden here. His price has now dropped down into the mid-tier range for DFS. After two dud weeks and a bye week, I’ve been getting a lot of questions about starting Gadsden in redraft leagues. But we are still starting him there and we’re using him in DFS too, for one specific reason. Upside. 

Gadsden is still a converted wide receiver with a coordinator and tight end coach with a history of using tight ends like wide receivers in Mark Andrews and Darren Waller. When healthy, he’s been leading this team in routes run while running high aDot routes. And now, coming out of the bye, he’s hopefully over whatever is ailing him. As this price we are throwing him in lineups, especially GPPs where all that matters is upside. 

Juwan Johnson TE, New Orleans Saints - DraftKings: $4,200 | FanDuel: $5,500

Juwan Johnson started this season hot. And then he suffered a knee injury against the Buffalo Bills. That saw him play poorly in that game and the two subsequent games as he was battling the knee injury. And a lot of folks jumped off the wagon during that period.

But, besides those three games where he was banged up, he’s had double digit PPR points in every other game. That’s eight games with 10 or more points. That includes the last five straight games. And there were tough matchups in there against the Rams and the Falcons last week. This week against the Miami Dolphins is not a tough matchup. Quite the opposite, in fact.

 

 

 

NFL DFS TE Value Picks For Week 13

Dalton Schultz TE, Houston Texans - DraftKings: $3,800 | FanDuel: $5,200

Last week Dalton Schultz had a terrible game. No doubt about it. But he also faced the single best defense in the NFL this year against the tight end. We tried to warn you not to do it. But that’s over now. And now Schultz has one of the best matchups against the Indianapolis Colts.

We are rooting for Jayden Higgins to be a full time player for redraft and dynasty. We’ll even consider him in DFS. But the Colts have very good corners now in Kenny Moore and Sauce Gardner. And not so great linebackers. Schultz has proven that he’s capable of a big workload and 8-10 targets if need be. And the Texans may need it this week. 

Harold Fannin Jr TE, Cleveland Browns - DraftKings: $3,400 | FanDuel: $5,100

Anytime we see a quarterback change, we look to see who they are leaning on. Certain QBs trust certain guys or they like throwing to a certain area. The Shedeur Sanders era is here and he’s been named the starter moving forward. And, in the first game at least, Harold Fannin led this team in routes run and targets. Not just for the tight ends - for all players on the team.

On top of that, the 49ers aren’t the defensive team they used to be, especially against the tight end. Talanoa Hufanga is gone. Fred Warner got hurt. His backup, Tatum Bethune? Also hurt. Curtis Robinson struggled in his first game starting to the point that they signed Eric Kendricks to the practice squad. I don’t expect Kendricks to be up to speed this week at least which means a good matchup for Fannin. Hopefully the weather is good enough for short throws to the tight end at least. 

 

NFL DFS TE Tight Ends Who Aren’t Tight End Special

Taysom Hill TE, New Orleans Saints - DraftKings: $2,700 | FanDuel: $5,600

Anyone who has followed my work knows that I almost NEVER recommend this player. He’s not a tight end. Outside of a brief stretch where Juwan Johnson was hurt, he very rarely catches passes. But I’m willing to recognize a unique circumstance. Alvin Kamara is hurt and, with him out, last week Taysom Hill got 10 carries. More carries than Devin Neal even. So, for one time here, I’m willing to throw him in there. If he let’s us down, you won’t EVER see this from me again. 

 

 

 

NFL DFS TE Fades For Week 13

Trey McBride TE, Arizona Cardinals - DraftKings: $7,800 | FanDuel: $8,300

Trey McBride is never a FULL fade for us. If we can afford him, we’ll use him. But this is the first week in a low time he’s not a core play for us. They FINALLY priced him near $8,000 on DraftKings, with the elite RBs and WRs. And he’s produced that way so that’s what they should have been doing. So our run of featuring him every single week is over.

Tyler Warren, TE, Indianapolis Colts - DraftKings: $5,200 | FanDuel: $6,300

This is another player who is never a full fade either. Because, as some point, he’s going to have some sort of gadget touchdown - either on the ground or throwing it. He’s a converted QB who ran a ton of wildcat in college after all. But the Houston Texans are the best secondary in the league and we saw on prime time last week how they shut down Josh Allen. So we’re not running out and making Warren a priority here.Â