Every Sunday in the weekly fantasy chats, I get asked about my favorite plays of the week or who is my player pool that weekend for DFS.
This article series covers exactly that.
I will go through the players I am targeting as the tournament plays for all formats here. I will cover core players and games to target for stacks in other posts.
The idea is that this will paint a clearer picture of framing lineups.
Week 13 DFS Content:
It is not that all tournament players cannot be used in cash games. If a player here works out for your team structure in cash games surrounding your primary core, use them.
These players just come with some element of inherent risk, but they are the primary players I still want to be ahead of the field on compared to the percentage of rosters they are projected to make this weekend.
I will have some analysis on the player selections and game writeups, but check out the Week 13 Worksheet for a fully detailed breakdown of the players and games.
Quarterback
Jalen Hurts ($8,200 DraftKings/$9,000)
Hurts has now been a QB1 scorer in 10 straight games and a top-five scorer in eight of those weeks.
That includes games against the Jets, Cowboys, and Chiefs, three of the top seven teams in passing points allowed per game to quarterbacks.
This week, Hurts gets another front-end defense as San Francisco ranks fifth in passing points allowed per game (10.6).
When these teams played in the postseason a year ago, Hurts completed 15-of-25 passes for 121 yards with zero touchdowns, rushing 11 times for 39 yards and a touchdown.
We will likely need a rushing score in this matchup, which is why I have Hurts more as a tournament play this week, but if we are hunting for one, he now has scored double-double rushing touchdowns three seasons in a row.
Russell Wilson ($5,700/$7,400)
If Tua or Hurts fail this weekend, then this slate is going to be wide open for a pay-down option to flourish.
Wilson has rushed for 30 or more yards in five of his past seven games and leads the NFL with a 20-to-4 TD-to-INT ratio.
Houston has been a pass defense we have been targeting for the past several weeks. Not only is C.J. Stroud and the offense pressing the attack, but this defense has now allowed a top-10 scoring quarterback in six of their past seven games.
The only exception has been Bryce Young, while that list includes Desmond Ridder (26.2 points), Derek Carr (16.3), and Baker Mayfield (19.0) to go along with Joe Burrow (19.9), Kyler Murray (21.7), and Trevor Lawrence (24.6).
Over that span, Houston has allowed a 67.8% completion rate (28th), 8.3 Y/A (30th), and 12.2 yards per completion (29th).
Kenny Pickett ($5,100/$6,700)
I am just as surprised as you are, but here we are.
In his first game without Matt Canada calling the offense, Pickett showed a level of functionality we had not in weeks.
Pickett completed a season-high 72.7% of his passes for a season-high 278 yards on Sunday.
His 8.4 yards per pass attempt was his highest rate in a game since Week 7.
24.2% of his passes were 15 or more air yards (his second highest in a game this season) while 39.3% of his throws were between the numbers, his highest rate in a game since Week 7.
There is a chicken or egg question here in that if this was truly related to the departure of Canada or another example of how bad the Cincinnati defense has been this season, but Pickett gets another favorable layout this weekend.
Arizona is allowing a league-high 70.2% completion rate this season to go along with 7.7 yards per pass attempt (27th) and a 5.7% touchdown rate (31st).
The Cardinals are 31st in the league in terms of pressure rate (30.4%) and are blitzing at the lowest rate in the league (15.1%).
When Pickett was not pressured last Sunday, he was 24-of-27 passing.
