NFL DFS: Week 12 Values

Here are my favorite values at each position heading into Sunday’s main slate of games on FanDuel. And because I really like two quarterbacks, you get two at that position. Be thankful!

Eli Manning, Giants ($6,700)

Ronald Darby (injured reserve, ACL), Jalen Mills (missed Week 11, foot), Sidney Jones, Rasul Douglas, Avonte Maddox...the top five cornerbacks from this Eagles unit might be missing come Sunday. Expect DFSers to do with Eli what they do during draft season—draft OBJ aggressively and all but ignore the man passing him the ball. Manning is only $100 more than Ryan Tannehill and Derek Carr. Tannehill is making his first start in five games after missing time with an injury to his throwing shoulder. Carr is on the road to Baltimore without any weapons of note (except for maybe Jared Cook). Manning offers more upside than either of those two, and he’d be the last man of consequence were it not for...

Nick Mullens, 49ers ($6,000)

Mullens gets the Buccaneers “defense” at home, which means we love him and his buddy George Kittle this week. This works because you can run it back with some dude named Cameron Brate. More on him later. For now, enjoy the 54-point game total. Hot damn. I didn’t think it would be that high. The only reason I’m not diving in 100% with Mullens is the presence of stud running back Matt Breida, who should be as healthy as ever coming out of the bye week. He could dominate this game on his own. Either way, get some pieces of this one, people. I’ll leave you with this quote from Mullens, who I love. I really hope he’s not a short story in this league, not with this attitude:

“I’m always self-scouting. I have a lot of things I need to work on,” Mullens said. “It’s always running through your mind. It keeps me pretty angry most of the time, to be honest. I’m always hard on myself. There’s definitely some things I need to get better at for this team to be better.”

Sterling Shepard, Giants ($6,000)

You know where this had to go, right? I can’t like Eli without liking his receivers. Chandon Sullivan, De’Vante Bausby, and Cre’Von LeBlanc have some fancy names. Fancy names I never heard of, honestly. But those three guys represent the bottom-end of the Philly depth chart at cornerback. So give me all the Shepard for 6K, and if you need some propaganda to push you over the ledge, look no further...

Gus Edwards, Ravens ($5,300)

He had 115 yards and a score last week in Lamar Jackson’s first start. As Joe Flacco (hip) has already been ruled out and Alex Collins (foot) missed practice on Thursday, Edwards makes sense as a cost-saving option. Even if Collins suits up (likely) he should do so in a limited capacity. Edwards should produce more than enough to pay off his low price. The Raiders allow 142.3 rushing yards per game, and the Ravens managed 265 yards on the ground against the Bengals a week ago. Expect this veteran defense and coach to try to impose their will on one of the worst teams in the NFL, and finally climb above their mediocre .500 record. Lamar Jackson will have to wait at least one more week to show us his arm.

Cameron Brate, Buccaneers ($4,400)

The loss of O.J. Howard is Brate’s boon. This game has massive shootout potential (again, 54-point total) and once the Bucs near the red area you can expect Brate to be as likely as anyone to receive Jameis Winston’s attention. Mike Evans and Chris Godwin lead the Bucs with nine red zone looks apiece, followed by Adam Humpries (8). But Brate and the injured O.J. Howard each have seven, and now Howard is shelved for the season. It’s entirely possible that Brate would be the leader in red area targets were he not splitting time with Howard all year (and if Winston was his QB). For instance, last year Brate was second only to Mike Evans. Expect Brate to be popular at his price this weekend, especially in a game with this high of a total. It’s not often you find legitimate two-touchdown upside at this price point.

New England Patriots D/ST @ New York Jets ($4,100)

This is cheap for a “get right” spot for Wild Bill’s defense. The Patriots are fresh off of a bye week and almost assuredly had enough time to prepare for Josh McCown and company. The Jets (3-7) are on a four-game skid, and are nearly devoid of playmakers. The playmakers they do have are injured (Bilal Powell) or running up against rough matchups (Gilmore and McCourty vs. Anderson and Enunwa). This looks like a great spot for New England in what should be a drubbing. Sure, it’s a divisional game. So maybe the Patriots won’t win by 10 points like “Vegas” suggests. But at least New England shouldn’t fall behind the Jets in this one, since the Jets can’t score. Pin those ears back and get after that quarterback, Patriots. Good things will happen.

There are plenty of other guys I like, but the above are plays I am definitely weaving in. And Manning/Mullens are the only signal-callers I need this weekend. Just set all my money on fire. How about you all? Who do you like this weekend?