Welcome to the bar! Whether your basement bar is bustling with relatives in town for the holiday, or whether you’re using it as a refuge for the same reason, here’s hoping for a relatively stress-free and bountiful holiday for all of us. The Week 13 DFS Cocktail Hour will take effect this weekend as always, but for now, the Thanksgiving DFS Cocktail Hour is here to satisfy your thirst for DFS football strategies. We’ll be looking at useful ingredients that you can use as part of your DFS plays for the special Thanksgiving slate. Additionally, we’ll mix up my cocktail from this week’s Operation: Domination program.
A reminder that we’re looking at cash games on the DraftKings Classic mode, using only the three Thanksgiving Thursday games for purposes of this article. If you want to play a DFS lineup including Friday’s Chicago-Philadelphia game, your only choices at DraftKings are to play the Friday game alone, combine it with the Thursday night game between Cincinnati and Baltimore, or play it as part of a larger slate with Sunday and Monday included. Of course, you’re welcome to pour one out in a GPP tournament using this advice if you so choose. All player scores mentioned use DraftKings scoring as displayed by FantasyData.com.
Thanksgiving DFS Cocktail Hour: Base Spirits
It’s an interesting but reliable base spirit this week, as once again we’ll be tailing the Dallas Cowboys’ alleged “pass defense”. You’ve seen it in this space plenty this season, and there’s good reason for that. The Dallas Cowboys give up the most points to opposing fantasy quarterbacks of any team in the league. The Cowboys’ defense ranks in the top (or bottom, as it were) three in passing touchdowns, yards per attempt, and passing yards per game allowed. They’ve defended the third-fewest passes and are tied for the third-fewest interceptions. Opposing pass coordinators must salivate (and give thanks) when they see Dallas on the schedule.
This week, Patrick Mahomes ($6,500) gets to feast on the Cowboys’ secondary. Mahomes is coming off two straight games of at least 45 pass attempts. Against the Colts in Week 12, he threw for a season-high 352 yards. And, he ran four times for 30 yards- his seventh game of at least 30 yards rushing this season. Now, he only has one passing touchdown in his past three games. But those games were against some pretty tough fantasy pass defenses in Buffalo, Denver, and Indy. Before that, he had thrown at least three touchdowns in four of five games. In a game on Christmas Day last season, he threw for 320 yards and three scores against a good-not-great Pittsburgh pass defense. He’s the best value per dollar of the six Thursday passers. Fire him up with the same confidence your uncle spouts political nonsense at your college-aged cousins.
A Thanksgiving Side Dish
Thanksgiving for some is all about the main course- the turkey, or perhaps a baked ham or beef roast. For others (like Dr. Mrs. Thornton), the side dishes take center stage. Mahomes may be the marquee face of the Chiefs (and the league, for that matter), but wide receiver Rashee Rice ($7,500) is the real treat here. Rice has led the Chiefs’ wideouts in targets in every game he’s played this season. In five games, Rice has finished as a top-12 DraftKings wide receiver three times. His worst showing was a WR34 finish against the Broncos in Week 11 (he finished as WR14 in Week 9). He’s coming off his best game of the season with eight catches on 12 targets for 141 yards.
Stop me if you’ve heard this one, but Dallas also allows the most fantasy points to wide receivers. Last week, they allowed AJ Brown to break out of his much-bemoaned fantasy slump with a season-high eight catches. They’re prone to deep balls, so Xavier Worthy ($4,500) and Tyquan Thornton ($3,000) make intriguing lineup fillers (stuffing, as it were). But at any rate, be prepared for the Chiefs to serve up a healthy serving of Rice. Get some on your plate.
Souring Agent
Who doesn’t like a little cranberry sauce with their Thanksgiving meal? That tartness also works well in cocktails, as we’ll see in this weekend’s main slate DFS Cocktail Hour. But our souring agent for the Thanksgiving DFS Cocktail might surprise some, in that we’re not focusing on a Dallas pass catcher to play back against our Chiefs. Instead, we’re looking to the backfield and Javonte Williams ($6,300). Williams is the RB7 overall on the season, and the RB9 in DraftKings points per game. Williams is in the midst of his best season to date. He’s already set a career high in touchdowns and is just seven yards shy of his career season-best in rushing yards. It all adds up to an average of 16.9 DraftKings points per game, 4.4 points better than his rookie season career highwater mark.
I think Williams will make a decent tournament play as well this week. The Chiefs are tough. They’ve only given up the fourth-most running back points this season. (Although, if you ask me, some of that comes down to teams attempting the third-fewest rushes against them.) Williams hasn’t scored a touchdown since Week 8. But in that Week 8 game, he scored two touchdowns against the mighty Broncos, who’ve only given up six other rushing scores all season. Javonte is the only show in the Dallas backfield. Everyone else is a turkey, and not in a good way. In a game with a high Vegas point total but a close spread, I like Williams to find the endzone again. The only question is, will he take a celebratory dip in the giant Salvation Army pot?
Sweetener
The sweetener for the Thanksgiving DFS Cocktail will be a commonly used one, but for good reason. Mark Andrews ($3,600) is a chalky play this week against a Cincinnati defense that gives up the most points to the tight end position. He’s been a bit of a fantasy disappointment, as managers drafted him as the TE7 this summer. He currently resides as the TE16 overall, and just TE19 in points per game. But he’s still capable of a big game (see Week 3 against Detroit). He had a rough showing against the Jets in Week 12, but they actually defend the position well. Before that, Andrews had a really nice three-game run. In that stretch, he finished as TE5, TE9, and TE5, with four total touchdowns. He’s still second on the team in targets, still a RedZone threat, and the best value at the position for Thursday.
Garnishes
Everyone will be pulling from the same limited pool of stars to fill out the bulk of their Thanksgiving lineup. It’ll come down to who does the best job of filling in around those main courses from the relish tray of cheaper options. Don’t shy away from using some surprise options for your WR3, FLEX, or DST slots. I’ve already mentioned Worthy and Cousin Tyquan. I also like Andrei Iosivas ($4,300) and David Montgomery ($4,800). Just choose wisely, so you end up with more deviled eggs than sweet pickles.
Thanksgiving DFS Cocktail: The Fire Mule
It’s the busiest travel holiday of the year. Chances are, you’re either headed to see family, or they’re coming your way. And whether it’s your blood or your in-laws, even the most loving of families can sometimes be a powder keg waiting for a spark with everyone gathered in close quarters. I’m being facetious here (on some level), but perhaps you’re feeling a little over-stressed this year. Maybe you drafted Malik Nabers and Bucky Irving with your first two picks. Maybe you thought a Tee Higgins-Joe Burrow stack was your ticket to fantasy glory. Either way, your redraft season may be up in flames. Alternatively, you may be the one burning opponents to the ground and lighting it up every week.
In honor of the duality of this time of year, I’m letting you fill in the blank for the name of this week’s cocktail. If things are hunky-dory and you’re feeling fine, we’ll call this a Cozy-by-the-Fire Mule. If, however, you’re more like this guy, then you’re going with my preferred moniker for this one: the Dumpster Fire Mule. It’s a smoky, hard-hitter of a cocktail.
Ingredients:
- 1-1/2 oz. Smoky Whiskey
- 1/2 oz. Maple Vodka
- 1/2 oz. Lemon Juice
- 1/2 oz. Simple Syrup
- 4 oz. Ginger Beer
- Ice
- Toasted Marshmallows (garnish)
Directions:
Combine whiskey, maple vodka, lemon juice, and simple syrup in a rocks glass over ice. Stir until mixed and chilled. Top with ginger beer and stir again to mix. Garnish with toasted marshmallows. Happy Thanksgiving, Chasers. Slàinte mhath!
A few notes:
- You can use either a whiskey you’ve smoked yourself or a peaty, smoky Scotch. Either works for the spirit of the thing.
- If you go the Scotch route, almost anything from Islay will work. I used Ardbeg’s Uigeadail (108+ proof!) on the show. Those who’ve followed me might remember that L’aphroaig is a personal favorite of mine. Any of their offerings will do nicely.
- You can adjust the simple syrup to taste.
- Non-alcoholic ginger beer is theoretically an option…
- You can give your guests a show by toasting the marshmallows on a skewer with a culinary torch for a drink made. Or, you can toast them ahead of time (in the interest of safety and all.)