We’re actually taking a different approach this week. Instead of covering the full Week 13 slate, we’re going to key in on the Thanksgiving Day games. This is actually one of my favorite slates of the season, with three games spread throughout the day and a glorious amount of food and football to digest. I actually had my biggest payday ever on a Thanksgiving slate thanks to guys like Matthew Stafford, Calvin Johnson, DeMarco Murray, Miles Austin and the Seattle D/ST. With that in mind, let’s get into this slate! 

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Quarterback of the Day 

Drew Brees (NO): $6,800 at ATL
With everyone but Mitchell Trubisky in tough matchups, this is easily the best quarterback option on this slate. Not much needs to be explained about Brees exploits, as he’s easily one of the best quarterbacks in football. That’s clear when you see that he has at least 21 DraftKings points in four of his five healthy starts this season while scoring at least 25 in three of those. That’s truly horrifying for a defense like the Falcons, with Atlanta allowing the sixth-most passing yards in the NFL while owning a 24th OPRK against opposing quarterbacks. In two games against the Falcons last season, Brees had 567 passing yards, seven passing TDs and two rushing TDs en route to over 30 DK points per game.  

Cash Game Running Back 

David Montgomery (CHI): $5,400 at DET
Alvin Kamara and Ezekiel Elliot are obviously the cream of the crop for cash game running backs but Montgomery is a great salary saver with huge upside. While Montgomery’s stats aren’t really going to back up this play, it’s just a pristine spot for him to succeed. Let’s start with the matchup, as the Lions are allowing the second-most fantasy points to opposing running backs this season. That spectacular matchup is huge for a guy who’s had at least 13 carries in five-straight games, averaging 17 totes a game in that span. He’s also recorded at least three targets in four of his last five games and we simply can’t overlook this monster role in such a premier matchup.  

GPP Running Back 

Bo Scarbrough (DET): $4,700 vs. CHI
Anytime you can find a running back who’s guaranteed to see double-digit carries below $5,000, you have to keep them in consideration. Over his last two games, Scarbrough has 32 total carries for 153 rushing yards. That’s really all you can ask for from such a cheap player, as he’s definitely established himself as the early-down and goal-line back for Detroit. We’re really not concerned with the Bears run defense either, owning a 14th OPRK against opposing running backs this season.  

Cash Game Wide Receiver 

Michael Thomas (NO): $9,100 at ATL
Well, duh! If we like Brees and the Saints passing attack, we obviously love Thomas! The simple fact is, this is the best wide receiver in football right now. That’s pretty clear when you see that he leads the league with 104 catches and nearly 26 fantasy points per game. It’s truly absurd production, scoring at least 16 DK points in every game this season while scoring at least 25 DK points in five-straight games. No player in the league has done that and it’s truly scary that he has that high of a floor in such a supreme matchup. In fact, the Falcons allow the third-most fantasy points to opposing wide receivers this season, which was evident when Thomas had 13 catches for 152 yards in their last meeting.  

GPP Wide Receiver 

Russell Gage (ATL): $4,500 vs. NO
With Atlanta likely trailing in this game, Gage should be in for another solid target share. In Week 12, Gage had eight catches for 76 yards on 10 targets. That’s the second time in his last four games that he’s received at least nine targets and that’s a monster total from a player in this price range. He’s also played over 60 percent of the team’s snaps in that four-game span, getting a ton of work out of the slot. The game script here is huge for Gage too, as we expect the Falcons to be trailing and Matt Ryan to be feeding Gage underneath in full-on catch-up mode.  

Tight End of the Day 

Jared Cook (NO): $4,800 at ATL
The tight ends on this slate are a complete disaster and Cook is really the only choice if Austin Hooper remains out. The next highest guys include T.J. Hockenson, Jason Witten and Jaeden Graham, making Cook a slam dunk pick. His recent form would make him intriguing in a full slate anyway, scoring at least 11 DK points in five-straight games while dropping a season-high 22 DraftKings points in Week 12. That’s bad news for a Falcons secondary who’s expected to get shredded by Brees and this passing attack. 

D/ST of the Day 

Chicago Bears (at DET) $2,500
This was probably the most surprising price tag that I saw on this slate. Chicago was my first inclination coming in and I was blown away to see that they were the fourth-highest D/ST out of six teams. While Chicago has been struggling a bit recently, they still rank fourth in both yardage surrendered and points allowed. Those are the stout defensive numbers that we expected from this unit at the beginning of the year and we have to love that they face a Lions offense missing Matthew Stafford and Kerryon Johnson. The Bears actually held the Lions to just 13 points in Week 10 and they’re only projected for 17 points here.