We are here to cover the last game on Thanksgiving of the 2022 season and the DraftKings showdown slate- New England @Minnesota. I hope you have won/ are winning some cash from the day and not in a food coma! This one could be great, or it could be a hard watch. I don’t there is much in the middle here.
DraftKings Thanksgiving Showdown 2022 – New England @Minnesota Captain Picks
Justin Jefferson ($17,400 Capt/ $11,600 Flex)
Putting Jefferson in as your CPT hurts a little because of the price, but when you look through the slate Jefferson is the clear option as the player to finish with the highest score. Needs Kirk Cousins to be able to have some time in the pocket against this tough Patriots pass rush though, which is no guarantee. Kinda need Cousins in the flex with this play too, but then that really starts to limit you.
Dalvin Cook ($15,000 Capt/ $10,000 Flex)
This game isn’t an obvious one to put Cook in as CPT, but he can have a good performance against the Patriots. Cook is the leading RB for the team, but has started to see more targets in the offense. That not only helps his floor, but it helps lift his ceiling.
Rhamondre Stevenson ($14,400 Capt/ $9,600 Flex)
If you want to back a Patriot in this one, it has to be Stevenson. Stevenson has been getting a good share of the carries out of the backfield, and has seen his role in the passing game increase. Wasn’t as efficient last week as he has been at other times this year, but after seeing the Cowboys run all over the Vikings, we could see the same here.
T.J. Hockenson ($10,800 Capt/ $7,200 Flex)
Bit of a left-field option here. Typically the only TE I would consider putting in the CPT spot would be Travis Kelce, and probably Mark Andrews. But, Hockenson has really hit the ground running after his trade to the Vikings, with all three of his games with 9 or more targets. The weakness of this Patriots defense is at TE, and the price point gives you some nice wiggle room to spend up elsewhere.
DraftKings Thanksgiving Showdown 2022 – New England @Minnesota Flex Picks
Kirk Cousins ($10,200 Flex)
Cousins just could not deal with the pressure last week, with the Cowboys just bringing wave after wave of pressure. But, Cousins and this offense should be able to turn things around here. That’s not to say that the Patriots defense is a weak unit, because it isn’t, but they are beatable through the air. An expensive flex pairing with Jefferson.
Mac Jones ($9,000 Flex)
Jones really isn’t in play for me here, despite the weakness that the Vikings have in the secondary. The offense has been far more effective running the ball this season, and I can’t see the Patriots changing their offense for this game.
Jakobi Meyers ($8,200 Flex)
Meyers is the leading receiver for the Patriots, with a strong target share in the offense. The last few weeks haven’t been great, but Jones hasn’t helped that much at all. The Vikings secondary isn’t that strong outside of Patrick Peterson, so Meyers is a decent flex option here.
Adam Thielen/ K.J. Osborn ($7,000/ $4,600 Flex)
Thielen really has just dropped off for fantasy. Seems to have a safe floor week to week for low double-digits, but really doesn’t look like the player he was when he would have those blow up games with multiple TDs. Against this Patriots defense, I don’t fancy that trend to change. Floor play.
Osborn on the other hand is the ceiling play. Not getting a massive amount of targets, with Jefferson, Thielen and Hockenson ahead of him in the pecking order, but has big play ability. You need to accept that he could just flame out though.
Damien Harris ($6,800 Flex)
Harris had a good effective performance last time out, and was more efficient than Stevenson. Still going to be in fair fewer lineups than Stevenson despite the price. I’ll have some shares of Harris, and even lineups with Stevenson and Harris in them- we saw that was fine last week for the Cowboys.
DeVante Parker/ Nelson Agholor/ Tyquan Thornton ($5,200/ $3,400/ $1,800 Flex)
The receivers outside of Jakobi Meyers are just not really worth considering in a strong way. Parker is on paper the WR2, but has been struggling with an injury, so at the price-point I’m not really interested in him. I’d rather spend down on either Agholor or Thornton. When considering a punt play, I typically go for the cheaper option which is what I recommend here. Thornton has legimate upside on the slate.
Alexander Mattison ($5,000 Flex)
Cook hasn’t yet suffered an injury, but he hasn’t yet finished a single season having played every week. I don’t want to wish injury on any player, but I will prepare for it with a few lineups with Mattison thrown in. Still getting a few touches in the offense regardless and has the ability to pop up with a score.
Jonnu Smith/ Hunter Henry ($3,200/ $3,000 Flex)
The Patriots TEs are TD-dependent in the offense, and with little between them in pricing I think you have to really mix your exposure to both of them. Of the two I prefer Smith, who has been getting more targets than Henry recently- but I’m not expecting much from either of them if I’m honest.
DraftKings Thanksgiving Showdown 2022 – New England @Minnesota Kickers and DSTs
The Vikings DST ($4,400) were a unit I was interested in before I saw that Zadarius Smith is struggling with an injury he tried to play through last week. That pass rush just isn’t the same without a fully functioning Smith. Jones has been able to take care of the ball more effectively recently too, so I’m not liking this play all that much. However, the Patriots DST ($4,200) are strangely slightly cheaper on the slate, and by far have the ability to have a decent fantasy score. The Cowboys managed to pressurize Cousins plenty last week, and the Patriots pass rush is effective to repeat that. Could record plenty of sacks in this one.
As with all showdown slates, the kickers are in play as a safe floor play. Nick Folk ($4,000) missed some kicks last week in some strong winds, but playing in a dome the veteran should be able to put that behind him. Has the leg to convert from distance. Equally, Greg Joseph ($3,800) has been pretty solid overall this season. With the Vikings likely to stall out on offense a few times, Joseph could see plenty of FG attempts here.
So, there are our DraftKings selections for the 2022 Showdown of New England @Minnesota! Remember any DFS questions, you can check out our articles here. Or you can find us on Twitter, Facebook, or Instagram.
Image Credit: Brace Hemmelgarn – USA TODAY Sports
