If you’re looking for early Thanksgiving Week 12 DFS targets before crafting your lineups, then you’ve come to the right place. We’ve analyzed each team’s highest-probability game scripts to assess which player on each team has a great shot at outproducing expectations. Some of these guys will be pricey for good reasons. Others might be cheap, high-upside bargains.
Favorite Week 12 Undervalued DFS Targets
I didn’t play it safe in last Tuesday’s article, recommending deep bargains for Week 11 like Kendall Hinton, Dawson Knox, Ameer Abdullah, Demarcus Robinson, and even Quez Watkins. I had my fair share of misses. But on the whole, many of these uber-risky DFS options came through.
The following recommended Week 12 fantasy football DFS targets (for tournaments, 50/50, or head-to-head competitions) aim to lock in relatively high floors while maximizing upside, identifying one player for each team playing on Thanksgiving.
Detroit Lions vs. Buffalo Bills
Jamaal Williams already has 12 rushing touchdowns. He hasn’t been priced as a DFS bargain since maybe Week 2.
So, where does that leave us? Well, the Bills’ defense has been surprisingly beatable on the ground, yielding 4.6 yards per carry and a higher-than-average 21 rushing scores. Justin Jackson’s workload has grown steadily over the past few weeks, hitting 10 touches this past Sunday.
MORE: Week 12 NFL Survivor Pool Picks
To beat Buffalo, the Lions have to establish the ground game. If D’Andre Swift continues to play a secondary backfield role, Jackson could get another 7+ touches. Given how cheap he is in DFS, that makes him my favorite Detroit bargain.
For Buffalo, I almost recommended James Cook last week but went with Knox instead. Both thrived. This week, Cook should be cheaper. He’s my favorite bargain.
Dallas Cowboys vs. New York Giants
Based on likely game script, I’ve got Dallas winning this one by 20+ points, as the Giants simply don’t have enough firepower to compete, outside of the overworked Saquon Barkley.
That should make No. 3 RB Malik Davis a solid bet for mop-up work. He might cost only about 10% of what Dak Prescott costs. With Davis, we’re hoping for 5+ points.
The Giants probably won’t give Barkley 20+ touches if this game gets out of hand by halftime. Enter Matt Breida.
I’m kicking myself for starting Kenneth Gainwell over him in my 14-team fantasy league (yeah, I was in bye week hell). Breida could get some nice passing-game work in catch-up mode.
Minnesota Vikings vs. New England Patriots
It’s always tough to spot cheap bargains on the top-heavy Vikings. Last week, I suggested T.J. Hockenson, and he ended up leading the team in catches and receiving yards (though that’s not saying much in their ugly blowout loss).
On Thanksgiving night, I’d go with Hockenson again. He’ll still be comfortably more affordable than Dalvin Cook, Justin Jefferson, and Kirk Cousins. But the opposing Patriots have one of the worst defenses against tight ends (based on TE fantasy points per game). I’m banking on Cousins to continue looking Hockenson’s way.
As for New England, last week, I recommended their D/ST, which scored 17 points — the most on the team. But there’s no way I’d recommend them in this road matchup. Instead, let’s go fairly deep with DeVante Parker, New England’s de facto No. 2 WR (when healthy).
Happy Thanksgiving, everybody.