After a chaotic Thanksgiving slate that saw many of the NFL's best offenses play on the holiday, the Week 13 NFL DFS main slate returns to normal. We're back to just three stand-alone games, per usual, while just two teams — the Cardinals and Panthers — will be on bye. That will create a strong pool of potential picks for daily fantasy football players. It will also heighten the need for boom-or-bust stacks and lineup differentiation if you want to hit it big in DraftKings and FanDuel contests.
At this point in the season, most know which players have the best matchups on a week-to-week basis. They also know which superstars are must-starts, which players and trending in the right direction, and who stand out as value sleepers. That makes it a bit harder for NFL DFS players to put together a winning combination of players.
Stacking can help alleviate some of the concerns in searching for a unique lineup. Many will avoid taking too many players from the same team, but it can actually be a viable way to guarantee correlated production between two players. In other words, some players have symbiotic relationships with one another, and you can leverage that in order to score double points on certain touchdowns.
WEEK 13 DFS LINEUPS: DraftKings | FanDuel
There are a few different ways to approach stacks. Usually, the top pairings include quarterbacks and their best pass-catchers or running backs paired with D/STs. Game scripts usually lead to correlated success between those position groups. Of course, you can always buck the trend and pursue contrarian stacking options — like pairing an RB with a QB — in the hopes that might give you lineup differentiation with your unique choices.
You can also stack heavily in games that are projected to be high-scoring ones. That can create some risk if the contest doesn't go as expected; but if it does, it can pay off in spades.
DraftKings and FanDuel remain the top DFS platforms worldwide, but DraftKings has the more variable pricing. That makes it a bit easier to craft creative stacks, especially when targeting cheaper receivers. That's not to say you can't stack on FanDuel; it's just sometimes harder to find value when doing so.
Below are some of our favorite sets of teammates for Week 13 DraftKings and FanDuel lineups.
WEEK 13 DFS: Best values
Week 13 NFL DFS Picks: Top cash game stacks for DraftKings, FanDuel
QB Justin Herbert, RB Austin Ekeler, and WR Keenan Allen, Chargers at Raiders (DK Stack)
The Raiders have one of the weakest all-around defenses in the NFL, and this seems like a good matchup for each of the Chargers' top-three offensive weapons.
Herbert hasn't been consistent this season, but he has always played well during his career against the Raiders, recording multiple touchdowns in all five of his starts against them and posting at least three passing touchdowns in his past three games against them.
Ekeler and Allen combine to give our lineup a higher ceiling. Ekeler is far and away the most targeted Charger this season, garnering 98 looks so far this season. Allen, meanwhile, has just 21 in four games, but it's worth noting he didn't complete two of those contests due to a nagging hamstring injury. Plus, he caught four passes for 66 yards playing just 22 snaps against the Raiders in Week 1.
Indeed, the Chargers' top weapons this week have high ceilings and high floors, so that makes them ideal plays in cash game lineups. They may be popular, but they should be worth it in a potentially high-scoring affair.
WEEK 13 PPR RANKINGS:
QBs | RBs | WRs | TEs | D/STs | Kickers
QB Trevor Lawrence, WR Christian Kirk, and WR Zay Jones, Jaguars at Lions (DK/FD Stack)
The Jaguars are like a poor man's version of the Chargers this week. Despite Detroit's defense playing better in recent weeks, the Jaguars should be able to have success with a high-volume passing attack in what could be a high-scoring game.
Lawrence just had his most productive game of the season against the Ravens, posting a season-high 321 passing yards and three touchdowns. He has multiple scores in back-to-back games and should once again be asked to throw a lot, especially if Travis Etienne is less than 100 percent due to his foot injury.
Kirk and Jones are the two most targeted weapons in the Jacksonville offense, and they should be a good duo to pair with Lawrence. Kirk has a good combination of game-breaking speed and a high target floor, while Jones is coming off a game that saw him catch 11-of-14 targets for 145 yards. All were season-best marks.
Perhaps it would be best to fade Jones and expect regression to the mean, but he has double-digit targets in each of his past two games. So, maybe this is a sign of things to come and that his connection with Lawrence is growing stronger by the week.
WEEK 13 STANDARD RANKINGS:
QBs | RBs | WRs | TEs | D/STs | Kickers
RB Gus Edwards and Baltimore D/ST, Ravens vs. Broncos (DK/FD Stack)
This is one of the precious few worthwhile RB-D/ST stacks in Week 13. There aren't many strong defenses in good matchups this week, but the Ravens qualify even after struggling to contain the Jaguars last week.
The Broncos average an NFL-worst 14.3 points per game this season, and they've allowed 36 sacks, good for the fourth-most in the NFL. The Ravens' D/ST has scored double-digit fantasy points in three of its last five games, so it should have a chance to do so again against Denver's weak offense.
As for Edwards, he is the Ravens' lead back and has averaged 61 yards and a touchdown per game this season. His ceiling may be limited by Lamar Jackson's penchant for scrambling, but he still has a high carry floor and should have a solid day against a Broncos defense that is weaker against the run than the pass.
WEEK 13 FANTASY PICKS: Sleepers | Busts | Start 'em, sit 'em
Week 13 DraftKings, FanDuel Picks: Best stacks for daily fantasy football tournaments
QB Kenny Pickett, WR George Pickens, and TE Pat Freiermuth, Steelers at Falcons (DK/FD Stack)
The Steelers' passing game has a good matchup this week, but none of their players are likely to be highly owned. Why? Because Pickett has only thrown for three touchdowns thus far.
That said, Pickett has performed better recently. He hasn't thrown an interception in three weeks and has averaged 212.7 passing yards and 32.3 rushing yards per game in that span. Those numbers are solid, so if he can finally get into the end zone twice in one game, he should pay off his low-bar price tag. The Falcons have allowed 18 passing touchdowns to quarterbacks this season — tied for the seventh-most — so this should be a good chance for Pickett to do so.
Elsewhere, Pickens is starting to hit his stride as a downfield deep threat and very nearly caught a touchdown from Pickett against the Colts in Week 12. Freiermuth, meanwhile, is one of fantasy football's best tight ends, so starting him and hoping for another big game against a below-average Falcons pass defense seems like a reasonable move.
QB Deshaun Watson, RB Nick Chubb, and WR Amari Cooper, Browns at Texans (DK/FD Stack)
It has been 700 days since Deshaun Watson played in an NFL game. Can you trust him to perform? It's hard to say, but he has a mid-tier price tag and is playing the NFL's worst defense.
The Texans haven't been able to stop anyone in recent weeks, and that should continue as long as top cornerback Derek Stingley Jr. (hamstring) is out. Watson knows Houston's defense very well having been with the team last season, so he should be ready to attack it and earn some measure of revenge against his former employer, with whom he had a tense relationship.
The Texans have also been historically bad against the run this year, allowing a league-high 1,591 rushing yards and 14 touchdowns to running backs this season. That should position Chubb for another huge game, something he has given fantasy owners quite a few of this season.
As for Cooper, he seems likely to be Watson's No. 1 target and has averaged 5.2 catches for 88.8 yards over his last five games. He has also scored three times in that span. If Watson proves to be an upgrade over Jacoby Brissett, Cooper should be a threat to go over 100 yards every week.
QB Marcus Mariota, RB Cordarrelle Patterson, and WR Drake London, Falcons vs. Steelers (DK Stack)
The Falcons skew as a ground-dominant attack, but to beat the Steelers, they will probably have to take to the air a bit.
Pittsburgh has a top-five run defense, but it ranks 30th against the pass, giving up 263.7 yards per game. That should allow Mariota to connect on some big plays if he can throw with accuracy.
Mariota may not be an exciting pick, but his scrambling upside and solid matchup give him the potential to pop off. He has had some good throwing outings this season, and if he has one against the Steelers, it should bear results.
Finding players to pair with Mariota is a bit more difficult. Ultimately, it seems best to roll with Patterson, who is a great receiver out of the backfield and will also handle 10-13 carries. London, a 6-4 playmaker, is your best bet on the outside, as he has touchdowns in two of his past three games.
None of these three Falcons are too expensive, so they are worth a flier if you are trying to pay for top-end talent at other positions.