Daily fantasy football continues to climb in popularity as jackpots have risen consistently and more fans are joining sites every week. Our weekly article showcases players to target at three general levels of value: The big dollar talent (Heavy Hitters), the average-priced contributors (Average Athletes), and the guys very questionable players at the bottom of the cost charts (Sneaky Sleepers). Our selected players are based on DraftKings values as that is our daily fantasy site of choice, but the values should translate fairly well to any other sites you may use. We don’t share specific lineups or optimized computer rankings, but we will give you some great candidates for you to consider. We set this breakdown up that way because while winning is great, a big part of the fun draw of daily fantasy is mixing and matching your lineups to see how you can maximize your team. That and the fact that we are trying to win the same way that you are, and quite frankly, we don’t want our readers to all have the same exact lineups.

NFL Week 12 Recap

Oh so close to an epic weekend, that ended up being just “pretty good” as we couldn’t pin down the right wide receivers. That is, with the exception of sneaking Zay Jones into some lineups. Our running back room worked out great as we had locked in Star of the Week James Conner and Josh Jacobs in our lineups. Conner produced as we expected with over a 100 yards rushing, added some receptions and a touchdown. For his price tag he was a must-play, and worked out great. Jacobs was having a really nice game of his own, before his 80 yard walk-off touchdown turned his fantasy performance into gold. Our top quarterback pick of Justin Herbert more than carried his weight at that position. That was enough to keep us in the positive for Sunday, although with confidently getting those selections, we wanted more. Here’s the recap of who we were playing and how they faired in week twelve. We didn’t really have too many misses as almost everyone on the list at least put in a decent performance.

These Players Made Us Look Good:

Justin Herbert – 274 Yards Passing, 38 Yards Rushing, 3 Total TDs
James Conner – 120 Yards Rushing, 20 Yards Receiving, 1 Total TD
Austin Ekeler – 20 Yards Rushing, 60 Yards Receiving, 1 Total TD
Josh Jacobs – 229 Yards Rushing, 74 Yards Receiving, 2 Total TD
Geno Smith – 328 Yards Passing, 22 Yards Rushing, 2 Total TDs
DeAndre Hopkins – 87 Yards Receiving, 1 Total TD
D’Onta Foreman – 114 Yards Rushing, 1 Yard Receiving, 0 Total TD
Zay Jones – 145 Yards Receiving, 1 2Pt., 0 Total TD

These Players Made Us Look Foolish:

Curtis Samuel – 13 Yards Rushing, 0 Yards Receiving, 0 Total TD
Tre McBride – 1 Yard Receiving, 0 Total TD

NFL Week 13 Preview

It’s hard to not want to load up with some sure fire quarterbacks, but we’re definitely going cheap at the quarterback position this week. There are some really nice options, including Trevor Lawrence, Jared Goff, and even rookie Kenny Pickett could be considered. It’s simply too hard to pass up on big dollar players at the running back position, like Nick Chubb and Austin Ekeler this week. It’s also really tempting to spend a little more at the tight end position, with all four of the top targets in favorable situations. What kept us from a massive day in week twelve appears to be the same challenge for week thirteen. Who are the wide receivers that should be pieced into the puzzle of a lineup? Can a player like Zay Jones repeat his strong performance at a bargain price tag, or is this just a chasing the points situation? Selecting our Star of the Week was a little tougher than it’s been as well. Not because there aren’t some players we really like, just that finding the value player we really like was a little tougher. In fact, this is probably the first week where we’re not screaming to get the Star of the Week into all of your lineups as a focal player, just suggesting he find his way in as a low-cost QB option.

Before we highlight our three levels of talent, let’s look at our projected star of the week:

STAR OF THE WEEK:

We’re not jumping on the Mike White hype-wagon just yet in terms of his NFL career. In fact, at this point we don’t even know how many games he will start for the duration of this season. With that being said, if you’re a risk-taker and want to save your money for other positions as we are this weekend, give me a closer look. White was flat out impressive in his season debut tallying 315 Yards passing and 3 touchdowns, and looking extremely sharp and in command in doing so. And let’s not forget his debut performance from a season ago, one that was good enough to have his jersey sent to the Hall of Fame. Chasing the points can be a dangerous thing in fantasy football, but there is a lot to like about the possibilities of White having another strong game. He’ll facing a Vikings team that is 28th against fantasy quarterbacks, and outside of veteran Patrick Peterson is extremely thin at the cornerback position due to injury. This game has a rising over/under point total as well as the Vikings are certainly capable of putting some points up on their end as well. That should keep White throwing for the duration of the game, and unlike Zach Wilson, he has his full unit of wide receivers healthy and at his disposal. With a price tag of just $5,400 he’s worth a solo play without stacking for the opportunity to have a potential backfield of Nick Chubb and Josh Jacobs. Let’s see if the Mike White magic continues for another week, or if it was all just a dream.

Quarterbacks:

Justin Herbert – $7,200 vs. Raiders
Joe Burrow – $6,900 vs. Chiefs

Running Backs:

Nick Chubb – $8,000 vs. Texans
Josh Jacobs – $7,900 vs. Chargers

Wide Receivers:

Davante Adams – $8,700 vs. Chargers
Ja’Marr Chase – $7,900 vs. Chiefs

Tight Ends:

Travis Kelce – $7,900 vs. Bengals
T.J. Hockenson – $5,200 vs. Jets

Defense / Special Teams:

Seattle Seahawks – $3,600 vs. Rams

Quarterbacks:

Trevor Lawrence – $5,900 vs. Lions
Jimmy Garoppolo – $5,700 vs. Dolphins

Running Backs:

Aaron Jones – $6,900 vs. Bears
Dameon Pierce – $5,900 vs. Browns

Wide Receivers:

Brandon Aiyuk – $6,100 vs. Dolphins
Tyler Lockett – $6,000 vs. Rams

Tight Ends:

David Njoku – $3,900 vs. Texans
Foster Moreau – $3,600 vs. Chargers

Defense / Special Teams:

Green Bay Packers – $3,000 vs. Bears

Quarterbacks:

Mike White – $5,400 vs. Vikings
Jared Goff – $5,300 – vs. Jaguars

Running Backs:

Kareem Hunt – $4,800 vs. Texans
Tyler Allgeier – $4,700 vs. Steelers

Wide Receivers:

Darius Slayton – $5,100 vs. Commanders
Zay Jones – $4,900 vs. Lions

Tight Ends:

Tyler Conklin – $3,100 vs. Vikings
Evan Engram – $3,000 vs. Lions

Defense / Special Teams:

Denver Broncos – $2,400 vs. Ravens

If you play Daily Fantasy Football, we’d love to hear your take and who you like each week. Find us on Twitter @TheBetCrushers and let us know. Good luck and enjoy the weekend!