The Daily Spin – NFL Cash Game Edition – Thanksgiving Slate

Zachary Turcotte
By Zachary Turcotte November 25, 2020 03:38

The Daily Spin – NFL Cash Game Edition – Thanksgiving Slate

*NOTE – the Steelers/Ravens game has been postponed until Sunday. These players scores WILL NOT count on the Thursday slate so DO NOT leave them in your lineups!! I went through quickly and deleted those plays.

Happy Thanksgiving! In a year where things have been so challenging, it is nice to have a day to give thanks for the good things in our life. What better way to show our gratitude than to eat up, settle down in front of the television for some football, and kick back for the day?

I will have the full recap of Week 11 in my column this weekend (WINNER), but for now, I want to get right into the slate on Thursday since it is fast approaching. There is still a lot of information that we need to collect on injuries before we can finalize our lineups, but as I get additional info, I will come back and edit the column and note the updates in slack chat as well. For now, I will get the main names out there that I am focusing on and let you get to work with your research.

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QB DK 50000 FD 60000
Deshaun Watson 7400 14.8% 8700 14.5%
Matthew Stafford 5800 11.6% 7200 12.0%

 

Deshaun Watson – Deshaun is a must play for cash games. There is no reason to be paying down here to roll the dice on any other QB on the slate though I will list Stafford if you just cannot help yourself. Watson has been fantastic since the Texans fired Bill O’Brien, scoring below 24.16 points only one time during a terrible weather day in Cleveland. In those six games, Watson has completed over 70% of his passes for 1791 yards, 14 TDs and only 2 INTs. He has also rushed for 211 yards and a TD during that time which is a great bonus at QB. The Lions defense ranks 25th overall and 23rd against the pass and got taken out by 20 points last week by a backup QB making his first NFL start. Don’t screw around here.

Matthew Stafford – So you decided to screw around with your lineup and go off the beaten path to save a few dollars. Stafford was not great last week, but he was missing some key pieces that he may get back this week. It sounds like Kenny Golladay might be out long term, but Amendola should be back and D’Andre Swift has a chance to return which would be a serious boost for Stafford. Houston ranks 29th in the NFL overall on defense so if there is a week where he can get it done, this is the game. I will not be playing him, but he’s the other option I would consider.

 

RB DK 50000 FD 60000
Ezekial Elliott 6800 13.6% 8500 14.2%
D’Andre Swift 6500 13.0% 7200 12.0%
James Conner 6200 12.4% 6700 11.2%
Antonio Gibson 6000 12.0% 6800 11.3%
JD McKissic 5100 10.2% 5600 9.3%

 

Ezekial Elliott – The biggest RB name on the slate this week as is usually the case each year on Thanksgiving. He had a cold stretch for a few weeks after Dak went down with an injury, but he looked strong against the Vikings last week, rushing for over 100 yards and catching a TD. Back at home this week against Washington, he should have a better chance to get into a groove now that his line is a little healthier and Andy Dalton is more comfortable in the offense. I am not a Zeke fan, but his volume and likely high ownership make him a key cash game play this week.

D’Andre Swift – If Swift plays, he’s probably the best RB on the board on Thursday. We need to see what info comes out on Wednesday regarding his status, but Tuesday’s practice report listed him as limited, a positive sign. Houston ranks 31st in the league against the run and Swift is also a strong pass catcher averaging about 5 targets per week. The Lions clearly need Swift to be the top back that gets 15-20 touches per week, but we need more clarity on the concussion status before kickoff.

Antonio Gibson – I mentioned that Gibson was in play last week with McKissic and he did not disappoint, rushing for 94 yards and a TD. He has five TDs in his last four games so he’s starting to dominate the goal line touches which is key as McKissic is heavily involved in the passing game. The Cowboys are ranked 25th in the NFL against the run so this could be a repeat performance of what we saw in Washington just a few weeks ago when Gibson torched this same Cowboy team for 128 yards on 20 carries, including a TD.

 

 

WR DK 50000 FD 60000
Terry McLaurin 7000 14.0% 7900 13.2%
Will Fuller 6400 12.8% 7400 12.3%
Amari Cooper 5700 11.4% 6900 11.5%
Marvin Jones Jr 5500 11.0% 6000 10.0%
CeeDee Lamb 5400 10.8% 6200 10.3%
Brandin Cooks 5300 10.6% 6500 10.8%

 

Terry McLaurin – McLaurin is working through an ankle injury, but returned in limited fashion to practice on Tuesday and I expect him to play in what amounts to a playoff type game between Washington and Dallas with both teams still in the hunt for a division title in the NFC East. McLaurin is the best player on the Washington offense and has consistently seen 8-10 targets per week while averaging just under 90 yards per game. He had a solid 11/7/90/1 line versus the Cowboys in a blowout win just a few weeks ago and Dallas has struggled mightily against WR1 all season, with Adam Thielen being the most recent benefactor going for 11/8/123/2. If this game is competitive, as I expect, McLaurin should again have a chance to see double digit targets.

Amari Cooper – Much like the Steelers, we need to tackle the same dilemma in evaluating Cowboy WRs. Once again, I think the play for cash games is to keep things simple and go for the player that is the most heavily targeted on a consistent basis which is Amari Cooper. Gallup has the most deep ball potential, but he is very hit or miss. CeeDee Lamb is also workable in cash games, but Cooper is likely to see an extra target or two which gives him the nod for me this week at a similar price.

Marvin Jones – Jones was one of many busts for the Lions last week as they went down to Carolina and were shut out in embarrassing fashion. He’s still the top receiving option for Matthew Stafford this week and playing at home against Houston could be just what he needs to have one of his famous breakout games where he catches multiple TD passes and goes over 100 yards. He’s going to see a lot of Vernon Hargreaves, one of the worst corners in the league so I would be surprised if the Lions did not try to get him at least 8 targets, especially if the game turns into a shootout.

Brandin Cooks – Since his infamous zero point effort against the Vikings, Cooks has turned into an elite cash game value play his last six games. In those six games, he’s seen 52 targets, caught 37 balls for 496 yards and 3 TDs. During that run, his salary never exceeded $5600. Nothing changes this week against Detroit, the 23rd ranked team against the pass and who have a couple of particular poor starting corners. Cooks lines up on both sides of the field and in the slot so he’s going to have opportunities to exploit mismatches against both Justin Coleman and Desmond Trufant. I’m expecting plenty of scoring in this game so Cooks should see his usual volume. Cooks is a cash game lock for me this week.

 

TE DK 50000 FD 60000
TJ Hockenson 4700 9.4% 6000 10.0%
Logan Thomas 3500 7.0% 5000 8.3%

 

 

TJ Hockenson – I want to believe that TJ has big game potential in him as he’s an incredible athlete, but he has yet to take the next step in becoming the kind of pass catching threat that can take over a game. Still, with limited options and a weak opponent in the Texans, plus the injury still sidelining Kenny Golladay, TJ should have a safe floor of 6-7 targets to use as a cash game option this week.

Logan Thomas – Ugly Week 11 for Logan (who I used for salary cap relief), but if you find yourself needing the cap space, this is your guy this week. He did catch four passes for 60 yards and a TD against the Cowboys a few weeks back and I still believe that having Alex Smith at QB will be a benefit for him the rest of the season given Smith’s proclivity for the short passing game and dumping the ball off to RBs and TEs.

 

DEF DK 50000 FD 60000
Cowboys 2800 5.6% 3300 5.5%

 

Cowboys – The Cowboys are not a great defense, but we do not have many good options down here as the Lions and Texans are also awful. If the Lions announce that Swift is out, that might swing me to Houston, but the Cowboys should compete this week against Washington at home. They looked better last week against the Vikings putting a couple of big hits on Kirk Cousins and creating two huge turnovers that led to points. Washington has the lowest expected point total on the board and the least likely team to get into a high scoring game so as long as we can get 4-5 points here, we’re happy with the savings.

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Zachary Turcotte
By Zachary Turcotte November 25, 2020 03:38

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