Fantasy Football Week 13: DFS building blocks, values and a star to fade
Whether you've played Daily Fantasy on Yahoo before or are giving it a try for the first time, this weekly column will take a look at the DFS landscape, revealing whom I like building lineups around, stars to fade, undervalued plays and bargain bin options to help you construct a better team.
[Play in Yahoo's Week 13 Sunday Baller — guaranteed prize pool of $130K]
Lineup building blocks
Tyreek Hill ($43) @ Washington Commanders
Hill sat out Wednesday’s practice with an ankle injury, but he’s good to go this week, making him a DFS building block. He’s on pace to record the first 2,000-yard receiving season in NFL history and gets a Commanders defense allowing the second-most fantasy points to wide receivers. Washington also sports by far the lowest pressure rate since trading Montez Sweat and Chase Young, and Hill leads the league by a mile in targets per route run when his QB isn’t pressured. Hill’s big salary should be worth it in a highly favorable matchup.
Tua Tagovailoa ($35) @ Washington Commanders
The Commanders are yielding 7.5 YPA, the most passing touchdowns (28) and the most fantasy points to quarterbacks this season. Miami has the highest implied team total that’s around 30 points, and Washington’s third-highest pass rate over expectation will help produce a bunch of plays in a fast-paced matchup. Tagovailoa has put up bigger numbers at home this season, but he’s in a prime spot Sunday.
Rachaad White ($27) vs. Carolina Panthers
White isn’t an efficient runner, but volume has made him an extremely valuable fantasy back. He ranks fourth in the league in touches and second among RBs in receiving yards. White has secured 43-of-46 targets this year and gets a Carolina defense allowing the third-most fantasy points to running backs. The Buccaneers are a 5.5-point home favorite against arguably the worst team in the league, so game script should be favorable as well. I have White as a top-five RB this week.
Star to Fade
Justin Herbert ($34) @ New England Patriots
Herbert isn’t a bad fantasy start this week, but you can do better in DFS. His salary is just $1 less than Tagovailoa’s and more than QBs with much better matchups like Brock Purdy ($32) and Sam Howell ($30). With Austin Ekeler not himself playing through an ankle injury, and Keenan Allen missing Wednesday’s practice, the Chargers’ offense is thin. New England is stingy against fantasy quarterbacks, so play a cheaper Purdy or Howell instead.
Undervalued Options
Courtland Sutton ($19) @ Houston Texans
Sutton has the 38th-most overall targets this season but ranks top 15 in red-zone looks. He’s relied more on touchdowns than volume during his bounce-back season, but Sutton should see more work in Week 13. The Texans have one of this week’s highest implied team point totals and defend the run well but just gave up 364 passing yards to Trevor Lawrence. Russell Wilson has been locked onto running backs this season, but game script should force double-digit targets to Sutton this week.
Rhamondre Stevenson ($20) vs. Los Angeles Chargers
Stevenson saw increased playing time coming out of the bye and a season-high 21 carries last week. He’s topped 100 yards from scrimmage in three straight games after failing to do so over his first eight this season. Stevenson has a big role in the passing game, and the Chargers have allowed the third-most receiving yards to running backs. It appears Bailey Zappe (with some Malik Cunningham possibly mixed in) will see most of the QB reps in Week 13, but Stevenson figures to be the team’s centerpiece on offense either way.
Zack Moss ($17) @ Tennessee Titans
Moss gets Indianapolis’ backfield to himself once again with Jonathan Taylor undergoing thumb surgery. It’s not an ideal matchup against Tennessee, but Moss ran for a career-high 165 yards and put up 32.5 fantasy points (0.5 PPR) when he faced the Titans earlier this year. The Colts are slight favorites, and Moss has impressed all season, so his DFS salary is undervalued.
Bargain Bin
Juwan Johnson ($11) vs. Detroit Lions
Johnson should see an expanded role with Michael Thomas on IR, Rashid Shaheed out and Chris Olave highly questionable after suffering a concussion last week. Johnson saw a season-high seven targets last week and gets a pass-funnel Lions defense that’s been getting obliterated through the air recently. Johnson is a DFS sleeper at the near minimum.
