It’s finally here- Week 12 of the 2024 season, and another DraftKings main slate. We are back offering you DFS advice to try and help you navigate your way to victories throughout the season. The players selected here are based on their price, their ability to hit value and likely ownership. The selections are leaning more towards GPP slates, rather than cash (50/50) slates. But let’s get into it
Tua Tagovailoa v NE ($5,800)
Since making his return in week 8, nobody in the National Football League has a higher completion percentage than Miami’s Tua Tagovailoa. His 77.7% success rate comes on 130 attempts – the eighth most for QBs in that period. Simply put, Tua is legit – and it’s no surprise the Dolphins find themselves right back in the playoff picture with him under center again. The laser focus on Tyreek Hill may not quite be what it once was, but with Jonnu Smith (more on him later) emerging as a true difference maker at the tight end position, Tua has been able to spread the ball about far more…and it’s clearly working. The Fins host divisional rivals New England this weekend fresh off of Matt Stafford carving them up for almost 300-yards and 4 TDs. We could be in for another excellent week from Miami’s #1 – he’s a steal at only $5,800.
Tommy DeVito v TB ($4,000)
Speaking of steals. It’s always nice when the DraftKings pricing is set right before significant personnel news breaks. The time of Danny Dimes is over in New York…the second coming of DeVito is upon. Daniel Jones has been benched (technically he’s now the QB3 behind Drew Lock) and although many had assumed Lock would be the de facto starter, it is indeed last year’s fantasy darling Tommy DeVito who has been given the nod moving forward. In his six starts last season, DeVito had three weekly finishes inside the top-18, including one 3TD effort against the Commanders which saw him place as QB7. Are we expecting much from Tommy Cutlets on his return, no…but at the positional minimum of $4,000, he’s a great punt play to allow you to roster some super-studs at the RB and WR positions. Tampa Bay is giving up the most fantasy points to opposing quarterbacks this season – so there is some hope DeVito can get it done and produce for fantasy this week. Just remember, sometimes in life you get exactly what you pay for.
Also consider: Jared Goff @IND ($6,600) & Bo Nix @LV ($6,300)
Tyrone Tracy Jr. v TB ($6,000)
We’re three players in and already on our second New York Giant…what a world. Tyrone Tracy has excelled ever since taking over the backfield in Gotham back in week 5. In his six games as starter, the rookie out of Purdue has finished as a top-10 back on no less than four occasions – if you’re a re-draft manager who picked him up off waivers in the first month, congratulations. His 89.2 fantasy points in that spell rank as the overall RB10 – ahead of Breece Hall, Josh Jacobs and DeVon Achane. The change of QB may see a change in tact for the G-Men, but with Tommy DeVito under center, we can safely speculate this offense will continue to flow through Tracy. The Bucs aren’t quite as bad against the run as they are the pass – but they are still allowing over 140-yards per game on the ground to opposition rushers. Tracy will see plenty of the ball – he’s a low-cost, high-upside play this week.
Kareem Hunt @CAR ($5,700)
*Isiah Pacheco has been ruled OUT of Sunday’s game – Hunt is a MUST start*
All this talk of Isiah Pacheco’s return is music to the ears of Kareem Hunt managers. Pacheco looks set to suit up for the first time since the Chiefs’ week 2 victory over the Bengals, a game that unfortunately saw him suffer the broken fibula which has kept him sidelined these past two months…and I am not worried one iota. In Pacheco’s absence, Hunt has been the overall RB18, and with four finishes inside the top-14 – one of the most consistent backs for fantasy football. Kansas City have had no reason to rush back their third-year rusher – they were a perfect 9-0 until just last week and the veteran Hunt has been a more than capable replacement…so why throw Pacheco back into the deep end straight away? I see this as a 60/40 split in Hunt’s favour at worst – he’s only $5,700 and will be the lead back against the worst run defense in the NFL – roster him with confidence.
Brian Robinson Jr. v DAL ($5,600)
Am I missing something? Why is Brian Robinson Jr. – a back who hasn’t finished outside RB2 territory in every full game he’s played this year – only $5,600 against the worst defense against fantasy running backs in the entire league? The Cowboys are in turmoil and enter their divisional clash on the road in Washington as 10 point underdogs…woof. The Commanders are going to be toying with their NFC East division mates and there will be no mercy shown following their back-to-back defeats against Pittsburgh and Philadelphia. Washington and their OROY favourite Jayen Daniels will want to put the Cowboys to the sword, so I can see a world where every major offensive weapon for the Commanders gets into the end zone at some point. Robinson will look to continue his impressive run of games with a touchdown – he’s 6-of-8 on the year so far, look for him to make it 7-of-9 come Sunday night.
Also consider: Kenneth Walker III v AZ ($6,900), James Conner @SEA ($6,500) & Rachaad White @NYG ($5,400)
Courtland Sutton @LV ($5,800)
There are a number of buy-low candidates in season-long formats as trade deadlines approach – and the Broncos’ Courtland Sutton is one of the names right at the tippy-top of my list. The seventh-year wideout has double digit fantasy performances in half a dozen games this year, with five of those coming in his last six – he is on fire. Nobody has benefited more from Bo Nix finding his feet in the professional ranks than Sutton – the veteran receiver ranks as the overall WR14 on the year and the WR5 over the last month. The Raiders are a tough passing defense, but the Broncos’ rookie QB is oozing confidence right now. Expect Sutton to once again lead the team in targets, receptions and fantasy points.
Jaylen Waddle v NE ($5,300)
As a Miami Dolphin fan and Tyreek Hill re-draft manager, this one pains me. To say Jaylen Waddle has been disappointing for fantasy this season would be somewhat of an understatement. The fourth-year receiver and former first round pick is the overall WR61 on the season and has only one finish inside the top-30 on the year (week 1’s WR17 performance vs Jacksonville). Granted, a large part of that can be put on the injury suffered by Tua Tagovailoa…but Tua has been back for almost a month now and has looked good each and every time he has taken the field – so what exactly is going on with Jaylen Waddle? The answer…I don’t know, and to be honest, I am not concerned. Tua appears to want to spread the ball around since returning, and whilst this has benefitted Jonnu Smith and somewhat negatively impacted Tyreek Hill – Waddle seems to be the forgotten man…until this weekend. Tyreek Hill continues to deal with a wrist injury he apparently aggravated during his week 1 incident with Dade-County’s finest and the Patriots are far more effective at shutting down the TE position as opposed to WRs. If he gooses, I’m out for the season – but for me, this is the Penguin’s get-right game.
Nick Westbrook-Ikhine @HOU ($4,100)
Now we’re getting to the good stuff! Week 12 is truly soul destroying for bye-weeks – we’re missing the Bills, Saints, Bengals, Jets and the Falcons…oh yeh, and the Jags, but they’ve been missing for weeks. With relatively few games on the slate, we have to look a little deeper for some of those fantasy gems – and boy have we got one right here. Can I interest you in a wide receiver who has caught a touchdown in five of his last six outings? How about a wideout who has finished as a WR3 or better in four of his last five? If you answered yes to both of those questions and don’t want to pay $8,300 for Amon-Ra St. Brown – how about a man who is less than half of ARSB’s price tag? Nick Westbrook-Ikhine may only be the WR62 on the year, but since week 7 he ranks as the over WR21. Calvin Ridley may be making the headlines for Tennessee, but Westbrook-Ikhine should not be ignored, especially with Ridley missing practise this week with an illness. The former Jaguar should be fine to play, but even if he does NWI is a fantastic punt-play at only $4,100.
Also consider: Terry McLaurin v DAL ($6,800), Jaxon Smith-Njigba v AZ ($6,300) & Jauan Jennings @GB ($5,600)
Travis Kelce @CAR ($5,800)
If the Chiefs get bored of running all over the Carolina Panthers on Sunday, they could always mix things up a bit and use their future Hall of Fame tight end for a change of pace. Carolina ranks 32nd against the run, and doesn’t fare much better against TE’s – currently sitting at 25th on the year against the position through 11 weeks. The masses may be off Kelce after last week’s disappointing performance in Buffalo – the 35-year old hauling in only 2-of-4 targets from Patrick Mahomes for 8-scoreless yards. The reigning Super Bowl Champions will be out for blood, and a trip to Charlotte is just the remedy to combat their first defeat since last Christmas Day. It’s a potentially pricey gamble with such a positive game-script for the Chiefs…but I’m willing to take it – Kelce could go absolutely nuts in this one…especially as The Eras Tour takes a break after the previous nights’ performance in Toronto.
Jonnu Smith v NE ($4,100)
If you’d have told me at the start of the season that I would be including three Miami Dolphins players not named Tyreek Hill or DeVon Achane – I would have assumed both were injured or had been traded away…but here we are. I’ve waxed lyrical enough in this article about Tua since his return – TLDR: he’s been great. Jonnu Smith has emerged as one of Tagovailoa’s favourite targets over the last month – culminating in a career game last weekend against the Raiders. I am not advocating for Jonnu to once again go over 100-yards and score two touchdowns – but I can definitely see him putting up another serviceable double-digit fantasy performance. The Patriots are a middle-of-the-road unit against tight ends – but with the speed of Tyreek Hill, Jaylen Waddle and DeVon Achane to take into account, that should once again free up plenty of space for Smith to make an impact.
Also consider: Zach Ertz v DAL ($3,800) & Luke Schoonmaker @WAS ($2,500)
Tampa Bay Buccaneers @NYG ($3,300)
Whilst I am more than happy to take a speculative punt on Tommy DeVito for a positional minimum $4,000, I have to be honest with myself and with you all – I’d rather bet the field. To that end, the Tampa Bay Buccaneers are by far and away my favourite play at the DST position this week, despite their relatively generous secondary. Bizarrely, the 6-point spread in Tampa Bay’s favour makes this one of the closer projected outcomes on the week…but I don’t see it that way. The Bucs may have lost their last four outings – but that was against Baltimore, Kansas City, Atlanta and San Francisco…Tommy DeVito and the Giants are a far friendlier matchup. Baker Mayfield should have Mike Evans back at his disposal for this one – expect Tampa to be out of sight leading to some potential panic-picks from Tommy Cutlets as the G-Men play catch-up.
Denver Broncos @LV ($3,200)
When in doubt, roster the Broncos DST. Denver is an absolutely elite defensive unit, having given up 20 or more points only once since week 1. That was against the Ravens in Baltimore…so we can’t exactly fault them. Gardner Minshew is no Lamar Jackson, and with the Raiders potentially missing both their first and second choice running backs – we could be seeing Ameer Abdullah leading the charge on the ground. Patrick Surtain will take care of Jakobi Meyers, so if the rest of the Denver defense can contain rookie tight end Brock Bowers – we may see a shutout in this one. I prefer the Bucs for the interceptions upside – but the Broncos are as safe as it gets on the slate. They are priced down at the 7th highest option on the slate – take advantage of the value.
Also consider: Miami Dolphins v NE ($3,100) & Chicago Bears v MIN ($2,500)
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