NFL DFS Building Blocks Week 13 – Fantasy Football Blueprint

Slate Overview

Looking at the Week 13 main slate, we’re coming off three good games on Thanksgiving and a decent game on Friday, and now we’re left with the leftovers. No game looks extremely appealing, and we don’t have a bunch of top offenses on the slate. This is the type of week where taking a shot on a single game, or even a single team, and building an overstack makes a lot of sense.

I wouldn’t go crazy building a bunch of lineups this week because almost every game is a bit of a lottery pick. We always want to find spots where we’re a little uncomfortable and we’re fading the chalk, but there really aren’t any clear chalk fade spots here. We’ll get into ownership and find where the chalk actually is and how we can leverage it. But overall, this is a week to play a little bit lower, or, if you’re going to play multiple lineups, take a Thanksgiving-style approach — lean into it and build a lineup based around every team, every game, and hope one of these games pops.

If one game does pop on a slate like this, it has a chance to really stand out. Because of that, I’m probably going to be targeting game stacks, or at least team stacks, in my builds.

Quarterbacks and Ownership

I’m looking at ownership and talking through each game with that in mind. On DraftKings, C.J. Stroud is coming in as the highest owned quarterback, but it’s not a runaway. The entire top ten are between 5 and 15 percent. Stroud is only 5k coming back from injury, but I’m going to play this game as more of a defensive battle. It certainly could turn into a shootout, but I’m treating it a little bit more like an old-school Texans–Colts game that leans defensive.

Then we get to Josh Allen. He’s the comfortable pay-up option, but against Pittsburgh and the way they’ve been playing, I’m probably going to fade him here. If I’m paying up, I prefer either Herbert or Stafford.

Herbert comes in next at around 10 percent. That game sets up a little bit more for the Chargers passing game, so Herbert and Quentin Johnston, Herbert and Gadsden, or stacking all three would be a great approach this week. You could take a shot on the other side with Tre Tucker or even Jeanty, but I’m more inclined to play it with just the Chargers and not bring it back.

Then we’ve got Tyler Shough. I want nothing to do with that play. I’ve got the Miami defense rolling in several season-long leagues. Even at 4,400, I’d much rather go to Tyrod Taylor at 4,300 with similar ownership, or just go all the way down to Cam Ward at 4,600 and less than five percent ownership.

Further down the list, Stafford is around the 10th-highest owned, followed by Brissett and Ward. All three are firmly in play. My lean is Stafford given the lack of quality options on this slate and his lower ownership. I’ll probably start with a Stafford overstack. My next preference is going down to Cam Ward. I will have some Tyrod Taylor just to get some other really cheap builds in. My other pay-up is Justin Herbert. Those are the four quarterbacks I’ll be starting with.

Running Backs and Ownership

At running back, we see big chalk. De’Von Achane and Breece Hall are both around 30 percent owned. They make a lot of sense, and there’s no strong reason to fade them other than pure ownership leverage. I’m getting to Achane, but I will play around with some builds that fade both.

Rather than Hall, I like Jaylen Warren. He’s outside the top ten at around 5 percent ownership. That’s a great pivot given Buffalo’s struggles with running backs.

Bijan Robinson and Kenneth Walker are next, and both have other players cutting into them. Bijan is a bit pricey given how much work Allgeier still gets. Kimani Vidal is in play. Christian McCaffrey is just outside the top five at around 15 percent. This is a game where I don’t expect him to return 4x salary, but on a week with really bad options and clear chalk plays, if you want to prioritize points and ceiling over value, McCaffrey could absolutely be in play.

Kyren Williams, Ashton Jeanty, and James Cook are all okay, but not my preferred plays. Travis Etienne makes sense coming back on the other side of some Cam Ward stacks.

Neal for New Orleans is a little over 10 percent. He’s priced right and will get opportunities but I’d almost rather go down and take a shot on Taysom Hill. He’s not at full strength, but at tight end, at his price, it doesn’t take much.

Jonathan Taylor is way down the list due to price and matchup. But on a slate lacking certainty and strong top-end options, I could see playing Jonathan Taylor at low ownership simply because of his ceiling.

Wide Receivers and Ownership

At wide receiver, we see chalk with Jaxon Smith-Njigba, Jaylen Waddle, Puka Nacua, and Nico Collins. Of that group, I’m most likely to play Puka. I’ll probably be starting with a Stafford stack, so Stafford–Puka, and likely Stafford–Puka–Adams. You could also go Stafford–Puka–Kyren Williams.

Tet McMillan comes in right behind Puka as a bring-back candidate, but I’m not sure I’ll bring it back. I might lean toward this being a Rams blowout and Tet not getting enough to pay off.

Jayden Higgins for the Texans is interesting. He’s performed well and is only 3,900. But we’ve seen the backup–QB-to-backup–WR chemistry thing before, and once the starter returns, that often disappears. With C.J. Stroud back, I’m more inclined to drop to Christian Kirk, who has chemistry with Stroud and is even cheaper. I have to scroll way down the ownership list under 1 percent to find Christian Kirk. You don’t have to get crazy on this slate, but he’s a good leverage play at near-zero ownership.

Some other names standing out outside the top 15:

Davante Adams — strong stacking partner.
Adonai Mitchell — getting opportunities and will hit one of these weeks; pairs well with Tyrod Taylor in a super cheap stack.
Chimere Dike — cheap, and Cam Ward has a much better matchup this week; this could be the week they put it together.
Quentin Johnston — makes no sense that Herbert is top two or three in ownership while Johnston is outside the top 50. He should absolutely be a stacking partner.
John Metchie — fine, but I’d rather go Adonai Mitchell for upside.
Tre Tucker — low-owned bring-back for Chargers stacks.
Keenan Allen — really low-owned, and Herbert–Allen–Johnston is viable.
Brian Thomas Jr. — around 1 percent owned, expected back from injury; great under-the-radar add to a full game stack.

Tight Ends and Ownership

At tight end, now we see why Quentin Johnston and Keenan Allen were so low-owned. Gadsden is projected as the top tight end. I kind of expected McBride to be there even with his elevated price. Gadsden makes a lot of sense, but with his ownership, I’d probably lean into Herbert–Johnston–Allen and go somewhere else at tight end. Although Gadsden and Johnston have the best matchups.

Pitts, Bowers, Warren, and McBride round out the top five. All are okay plays but none that I’m prioritizing. I’m more likely to go cheap this week.

Brenton Strange is another guy who could come back on the other side of that Tennessee game. Gunnar Helm is a really cheap $2,600 stacking partner. I could definitely see a Cam Ward–Dike–Helm stack with Brenton Strange going double tight end. That would be super unique and gives you a shot at taking first place alone. You could also add Brian Thomas or go full 3+2 in that game.

Taysom Hill is around the top 15. At $2,700, I prefer Helm given Hill’s health.

You could always take a shot on one of the Steelers tight ends. You’re guessing, but they’re all playable.

Final Builds

As I move into my final builds, I’m landing on a Herbert stack as number one, followed by Stafford, followed by Ward.

On the Herbert stack, I went with Achane and the Dolphins defense. That opened up some salary. The matchup sets up well for both Quentin Johnston and Gadsden, so I went Herbert–Johnston–Gadsden instead of Allen. I’ll eat a little bit of the tight end chalk because I have enough differentiation elsewhere. I’m not coming back with a Raider, so you could go with the Chargers defense instead of Dolphins if you prefer.

My secondary build is Stafford, Puka, and Adams. Again, not coming back with anyone on the Panthers side.

My third build is a Cam Ward full game stack, coming back with Brenton Strange. I played around with Brian Thomas and Etienne, but I liked the price savings going all the way down to Strange.

Across most of my builds, I’m finding myself with Achane and Jalen Warren at running back, mixing in Etienne on some game stacks, and mixing in players like Dike, Christian Kirk, and Adonai Mitchell — trying to find those low-owned, cheap players to fill out the lineup while still getting high-quality core players.