This content has been archived. It may no longer be relevant
Bears vs Lions
Raiders vs Cowboys
Bills vs Saints
By Matt Morrison (@dynastyjerk)
Without a doubt, this is my favorite day of the year to watch football. Yes, the NFL playoffs are great, and the Super Bowl is always an event, but Thanksgiving Day football is second to none in my opinion. There is nothing better than eating, drinking, relaxing and watching football with family. This year there are numerous fantasy implications for my teams as I’m sure there are for most of your teams as well. Given that there are three games, I will be doing three variations of my normal Thursday Night Football article. Each will be abbreviated, but it should give you most of the info you need. Let’s do it…
Value of the Game Recap
Last week I picked Jakobi Meyers as my Value of the Game with this projected stat line…
| Week 11 Projection | Receptions | Receiving Yards | TDs | DOFP |
| Jakobi Meyers | 4 | 49 | 1 | 14.9 |
My prediction was close in terms of receptions and yardage, but he was unable to get the touchdown that I projected he would receive. Due to that, Russell Gage ended the game as the biggest value. He didn’t have a particularly great game, but 9.9 Dynasty Owner fantasy points combined with a salary of $654,049 was good enough to make Gage the Week 11 Thursday Night Football Value of the Game.
Bears vs Lions
What To Watch For
The number one thing I want to see in the opening game on Thursday is how David Montgomery plays. I was very hopeful for Montgomery in Week 11. Unfortunately, he was unable to do much fantasy work with 15 touches. He ended Week 11 with only 7.7 Dynasty Owner fantasy points. I look for him to at least double this fantasy output in Week 12 as he should be able to exploit an excellent matchup.
Starters
Justin Fields ($4,717,989) – if he plays
David Montgomery ($1,003,845)
D’Andre Swift ($2,134,728)
Cole Kmet ($1,894,444)
T.J. Hockenson ($4,955,306)
Bench
Darnell Mooney ($894,263)
Value of the Game
My Value of the Game projection for the Bears/Lions matchup will be David Montgomery. Montgomery has too juicy of a matchup with too cheap of a salary for me not to pick him. I predict…
| Week 12 Projections | Rushes | Rushing Yards | Receptions | Receiving Yards | TDs | DOFP |
| David Montgomery | 21 | 104 | 2 | 16 | 1 | 22.0 |
Raiders vs Cowboys
What To Watch For
The tight ends will be what I’m keeping my eye on most for this game. I’m talking about Darren Waller and Dalton Schultz specifically. Both should be very strong fantasy plays this week.
Waller rebounded nicely in Week 11. He had not broken 100 receiving yards since Week 1 until last week when he had seven receptions for 116 yards. While I don’t predict a 116 yard performance, I do think he will find the end zone this week. Start him with confidence.
Likewise, I am very bullish on Dalton Schultz this week. As we all know, Amari Cooper will miss his second straight game due to COVID protocols. In his absence, Schultz should see increased volume. He had a very healthy game of six receptions for 53 yards in Week 11.
Starters
Derek Carr ($25,000,000)
Dak Prescott ($40,000,000)
Josh Jacobs ($2,983,350)
Ezekiel Elliott ($15,000,000)
Hunter Renfrow ($708,987)
CeeDee Lamb ($3,502,503)
Michael Gallup ($880,995)
Darren Waller ($7,450,000)
Dalton Schultz ($728,090)
Bench
Kenyan Drake ($5,500,000)
Tony Pollard ($796,945)
Bryan Edwards ($1,173,113)
Value of the Game
My Value of the Game (VOTG) is going to be another player that should benefit greatly from Amari Cooper’s absence. That player is Michael Gallup. Gallup had a rather disappointing Week 11 although his 9.4 Dynasty Owner fantasy point performance didn’t kill your week. Here is what I think Gallup will do in the middle game on Thanksgiving day…
| Week 12 Projection | Receptions | Receiving Yards | TDs | DOFP |
| Michael Gallup | 5 | 72 | 1 | 18.2 |
This stat line combined with a salary of $880,995 makes Michael Gallup my “middle game” VOTG.
Bills vs Saints
What To Watch For
I want to see how the Bills play at least from a team standpoint. They have lost two of their last three games, and in those two games, they were at least 75 percent favorites to win at the time of kickoff. I want to see if their defensive efficiency will return against the Saints. Likewise, let’s see if the Saints’ defense can return to their old form in this game. This game has a 46.5 over/under at the time of writing. It seems that Vegas is giving both defenses quite a bit of respect. I also anticipate a lower scoring game.
Starters
Josh Allen ($5,295,760)
Alvin Kamara ($15,000,000) – if he plays
Mark Ingram ($2,500,000) – if Kamara doesn’t play
Stefon Diggs ($14,400,000)
Dawson Knox ($880,400)
Bench
Trevor Siemian ($990,000)
Zack Moss ($1,153,079)
Devin Singletary ($974,500)
Cole Beasley ($7,250,000)
Emmanuel Sanders ($6,000,000)
Value of the Game
In the evening game, I will select Dawson Knox as my Value of the Game. I am always hesitant to pick a tight end in this spot, but his salary is too cheap to ignore. Even a modest game of 10.0 Dynasty Owner fantasy points would return the kind of value you are looking for as a Dynasty Owner.
| Week 12 Projection | Receptions | Receiving Yards | TDs | DOFP |
| Dawson Knox | 4 | 60 | 0 | 10.0 |
Like I said, this is a risk, but if Knox is able to give at least 10.0 Dynasty Owner fantasy points, his salary of $880,400 will make him the Value of the Game.
Thank you all for reading, and I hope you have a great Thanksgiving. Take care and be safe.
TheJerk