Each week of the NFL season, NFL DFS gamers must survey the landscape to find potential building blocks, which are the core plays that form the foundation of most lineups. The popular options rise to the top more often than not, but there also are overlooked plays at every position, usually only a couple of names down the rankings list. In this post, we’ll be making our best NFL DFS Week 13 picks on DraftKings and FanDuel.
Stokastic provides a variety of tools for all DFS sports that can help you sort through the large NFL feature slate player pool. These were utilized in coming up with the recommendations in this article and include, and they are far from limited to such offerings as the NFL DFS Top Stacks tool, player projections, the Boom/Bust tool and the Lineup Generator.
All tools are updated for the DraftKings and FanDuel main slates each week. Additionally, multiple tools are also at your disposal for the sub-slates as well as the primetime “island games” which have turned into one of the most popular DFS offerings on DraftKings and FanDuel. If you’re in the market for more DFS tools, Take a look at the Stokastic Discounts and Coupon Code page as well as the Subscription page to see what packages best suit your needs.
Six teams are on a bye this week: the Ravens, Bills, Bears, Raiders, Vikings and Giants. That leaves 10 teams on the main slate, which should provide ample options at every position.
NFL DFS Week 13 Picks for DraftKings & FanDuel
Best NFL DFS Week 13 Picks and Building Blocks: Quarterbacks
Brock Purdy (49ers-Eagles): DraftKings ($6,100, 8.7% ownership), FanDuel ($7,800, 7.7% ownership)
This week Brock Purdy looks like a strong option on DraftKings from a fantasy point-per-dollar perspective. Over on FanDuel, he is not getting much traction with the higher salary and because his stacking options are both expensive and plentiful. Purdy has been efficient with a league-leading 70.2% completion rate. He tops the list with 9.4 yards per attempt, which is a full yard above Tua Tagovailoa and rookie C.J. Stroud.Â
Mr. Irrelevant also has 19 passing touchdowns, which is tied for the sixth most in the league. The only knock against him is that he is averaging just over 10 rushing yards per game, so continuing to be darn near perfect on his passing opportunities is key. Philadelphia has the fourth-best rushing DVOA, but the Eagles are 21st against the pass, ceding multiple passing touchdowns in four consecutive games as well as a trio of 300-plus yard efforts from opposing field generals.
George Kittle is a strong option against the Eagles, who have not been particularly stout against tight ends. Brandon Aiyuk and Deebo Samuel will be squaring off against Darius Slay and James Bradberry, which are both matchups to target. Christian McCaffrey can contribute in all facets of the game, but his lofty salary and tougher task of facing the solid Philadelphia rushing defense means he will need to either score or get half a dozen dump-off passes. Further, his touchdowns don’t need to come from Purdy, which makes him the least synergistic of these options.
Sam Howell (Commanders-Dolphins): DraftKings ($6,200, 6.9% ownership), FanDuel ($7,500, 5.7% ownership)
Gamers are fired up for Tua Time, but why not look to the other side of the matchup with young Sam Howell? The Commanders are a mess, and with coach Ron Rivera on the hot seat, offensive coordinator Eric Bieniemy is pretty much auditioning for the job. Howell is fourth in the league with 278.3 passing yards per game and he is leading all quarterbacks with 40.5 pass attempts per tilt. He also has run for nearly 20 yards per outing, along with a trio of touchdowns.
Miami has had an easy go of things over the last month, facing the likes of Mac Jones, Aidan O’Connell and Tim Boyle. The Commanders at least are keeping things interesting on offense and they have enough skill players to put points on the board against an average Dolphins defense.
Best NFL DFS Week 13 Picks and Building Blocks: Running Backs
Rachaad White (Buccaneers-Panthers): DraftKings ($6,300, 28.1%), FanDuel ($7,500, 21.2%)
Though he has not been overly electric, Rachaad White does have a commanding lead for the Tampa Bay backfield touches. Combine that fact with his terrific matchup against the worst rushing DVOA in the league in a home game, and, well it’s the NFL DFS trifecta for running backs. White has been active in both the running and passing game and has reached paydirt four times in his last four games. Do not overthink this play.
Zack Moss (Colts-Titans): DraftKings ($4,600, 39.7%), FanDuel ($5,600, 45.2%)
Jonathan Taylor is out for a few weeks with a thumb injury that required surgery. That means Zack Moss will have the backfield to himself at a 30% salary discount. The only potential concern is that Tennessee has the second-best rushing DVOA this season. Load up on Moss in “cash games” (H2Hs, 50/50s, 3-mans, etc.) and if he makes your tournament lineups, be sure to find differentiation elsewhere.
Looking at the Stokastic Lineup Generator and running a 20-lineup set using the QB+1 and a bring back — as well as the contrarian setting — we can see that Moss is a prominent piece on both of the main DFS sites. It is important to remember that crafting “contrarian” lineups does not mean one needs to donk off a position or two with a random sub-1% option, it just means that finding a few less popular plays that still rate out in the top five at their position or salary point is crucial.
Looking at the DraftKings player pool, we can see that Moss is popping up on 13 of the 20 (65%) rosters.
Further isolating on the 13 Moss lineups, we can see that there is a nice mix of other players, including dispersed quarterback concentration with four Sam Howell lineups, three with C.J. Stroud and another four signal-callers rounding out the other six rosters.
FanDuel is a similar story with Moss coming in as a strong option and still above the field. White is also a popular player, and we are getting a glimpse of the five-figure man in Tyreek Hill.Â
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Looking at only the Moss rosters, we can see that Hill is strongly represented, Howell is the most frequently used quarterback, and, again, the remainder of the field generals are a sprinkling of various teams.
This analysis was created with the projections as of 1 p.m. ET on Saturday, so things may change. But you can easily adapt by getting a subscription to the Stokastic Lineup Generator, which covers the main slates as well as all of the prime-time games on Sunday, Monday and Thursday.
Best NFL DFS Week 13 Picks and Building Blocks: Wide Receivers
Tyreek Hill (Dolphins-Commanders): DraftKings ($9,600, 24.9%), FanDuel ($10,000, 21.3%)
This is a lofty salary for Tyreek Hill, but there are enough value plays here and there, which will enable savvy gamers to make him a large part of their player portfolios. Washington has the worst passing DVOA in the league, and the Commanders traded away two of their best defenders, plus now rookie cornerback Emmanuel Forbes Jr. and defensive lineman James Smith-Williams are out with injuries.
Hill leads the league with 120.4 receiving yards per game and 10 touchdowns. He also ranks in the top five in most other categories including targets, receptions, first downs and plays of more than 20 yards. He is a luxury play but is one we can get to this week. Hill can be employed with or without Tua Tagovailoa in all formats on Sunday. Jaylen Waddle can also be used to create a power trio, though just know that a lot of gamers going that route will also have Moss and probably Njoku, so find that differentiation!
Michael Pittman Jr. (Colts-Titans): DraftKings ($7,100, 16.6%), FanDuel ($7,900, 14.1%)
Last week Michael Pittman Jr. paid off in a big way with 10 catches and 107 yards on 13 targets. He now has 12 or more targets in four of his last six appearances, and while he has just two touchdowns in this timeframe, he has at least eight receptions in five of the matchups. Tennessee has the third-worst passing DVOA, so Pittman is a fine leverage play away from Moss in the hopes the running back is held out of the end zone and a score or two go to Pittman. This duo can be paired together in cash games but it does make some sense to not go overboard with this pair on too many tournament lineups.
Premium Members can check out all the other wide receiver options here.
Best NFL DFS Week 13 Picks and Building Blocks: Tight Ends
David Njoku (Browns-Rams): DraftKings ($4,100, 14.3%), FanDuel ($5,600, 11.9%)
Dorian Thompson-Robinson (concussion) is out for Week 13, which means veteran Joe Flacco will be under center for the Browns, a scant two weeks after joining the team. This is important to note as the rookie had peppered David Njoku with 24 targets during his two starts. We know that Flacco likes to throw the deep ball, so he could send more volume to Amari Cooper and Elijah Moore.Â
The remainder of this position is a wasteland with Travis Kelce and Evan Engram playing on prime time and T.J. Hockenson on a bye. Kittle is the only main-slate player who projects for double-digit fantasy points on FanDuel, while Sam LaPorta and a dinged-up Trey McBride (groin) surpass that threshold on DraftKings. That should make things very interesting for tournaments and also underscores why Njoku could easily be a trap for tournaments.
Best NFL DFS Week 13 Picks and Building Blocks: Defense/Special Teams
Atlanta Falcons at New York Jets: DraftKings ($3,400, 13.1%), FanDuel ($4,700, 10.5%)
This analysis is simple: Tim Boyle is the starting quarterback for the New York Jets. Miami sacked him seven times and forced him into two interceptions, even if the Falcons fall 30% short of that, they are still looking like an excellent option. Atlanta had one lonely sack last week against the Saints, ending a five-game streak of multiple quarterback takedowns.
Indianapolis Colts at Tennessee Titans: DraftKings ($3,200, 6.2%), FanDuel ($4,500, 4.3%)
Pop quiz, how many sacks have the Colts tallied in their last three games? The number shocked me as well, which is why I posed the question… the answer is 14, yes FOURTEEN! Indianapolis also has six interceptions and a fumble recovery in this stretch. To his credit, rookie Will Levis has been sacked 13 times in his five starts, which is not great, but not dreadful either. Of course, after popping off with four touchdowns in his debut, he has thrown only two since then and was blanked last week by the Carolina Panthers.
As you get your best NFL DFS Week 13 picks and lineups prepped on DraftKings and FanDuel, Stokastic can help. We have more free DFS content on the NFL DFS homepage, premium DFS software including NFL Sims and the Lineup Generator, and the best live shows and videos from your favorite analysts on our YouTube channel.
You can also talk NFL DFS picks and strategy with the team and the rest of our sharp community on the Stokastic Discord!
