“Buy or Bye”™ – Daily Fantasy Football Plays for Thanksgiving 2023 Cash Games

November 28, 2024 Leave a comment

By Ha Kung Wong

Gobble gobble everyone and hope you’re having a terrific Thanksgiving!

But what’s better than stuffing your face with gravy drenched turkey, mashed potatoes and those weird green bean casseroles which are really just Campbells cream of mushroom with canned vegetables? Winning money on your DFS cash games, of course!

As usual, before we get to winning you more bragging rights (and DFS cash), remember, the point of this article is not just to give you one or two lineups for each site, it’s to give you examples of a few POSSIBLE lineups. Getting exposure to a few different lineups is always a good idea, so don’t forget to mix and match additional lineups from my suggestions below. Trust me, it’s a lot more fun that way AND you’ll improve your chances of cashing!

Let’s get to winning you some CASH on Thanksgiving of the 2024 NFL season!

Cash Games, for those who don’t know, are essentially the lowest risk games. They include “50/50” games, in which half the entrants win about 1.8x the entry fee, and “Double Ups”, in which slightly less than half the entrants win 2x the entry fee.

Since there’s so many different sites, and I can’t cover them all, I’ve decided to cover just the most popular sites, including Fan Duel, Draft Kings and Yahoo! Daily Fantasy.

First of all, as a general rule for 50/50 Cash Games, there’s a basic target of points per salary cap spent that you’d like to look for:

For Fan Duel try to target at least 2 fantasy points per $1000 spent.
For Draft Kings, try to target at least 2.5 fantasy points per $1000 spent.
For Yahoo! Daily Fantasy, try to target at least 0.6-0.7 fantasy points per $1 spent.

Remember, this article is not focused on GPP (Tournament) Games, JUST Cash Games. Feel free to use a few of these suggested players as a base when constructing a GPP lineup, but you’ll have to take some chances on a few low cost, upside players as well.

As per usual, I’m going to provide you with a few sample lineups on each site and give you a few notes to consider. You’re welcome.

So, without further to do, here are my suggestions for the Best Daily Fantasy Football Plays for Cash Games and player props for Thanksgiving contests, along with they’re prices.

FanDuel

Draft Kings

Yahoo! DFS

Game Notes:

For those new to this column, note that I never advocate against you paying up at any particular position for DFS. We all know that the likes of Patrick Mahomes are probably going to have the most consistent upside in terms of potential fantasy points from week to week. But remember that DFS is a salary cap game. You can feel free to sprinkle high priced players into your lineups, but you can’t pay up at every position because there’s simply not enough salary to go around. I try my best each week to provide my thoughts on how you might want to balance your cash lineups in terms of points potential and salary.
My approach to DFS on Thanksgiving is to pay down up at QB since there are so few games and get at least one stud RB to anchor my team. There’s some decent values at WR.
The Chicago Bears @ Detroit Lions game is tied for the highest over/under (47.5) of the Thanksgiving games, so I’m in on both offenses. With the Lions being favored by 9.5, I like the Bears passing game which have been better with new OC Thomas Brown over the last 2 weeks and will likely have to keep throwing to keep up. That puts Caleb Williams, DJ Moore and Keenan Allen (who had his best game of the season in Week 12) squarely on my radar, not to mention they’re priced down across industry. As for the Lions, who is there not to like? The Lions have shown a propensity to keep their foot on the gas even while ahead, so I have no concerns about a potential blow out. Jahmyr Gibbs is my favorite Lion to play, particularly with David Montgomery dealing with a shoulder injury he sustained in Week 12. But I’m in on Amon-Ra St. Brown, Jameson Williams and Jared Goff, in that order.
The New York Giants @ Dallas Cowboys game has an a low over/under (37.5), but there’s still reason to be in on this donkey of a showdown. Both offenses have been struggling, but the Cowboys showed last week in a surprise upset of the Commanders that they can be effective if disciplined. That makes the Cowboys a terrific value for the Thanksgiving games with Cooper Rush, CeeDee Lamb, Rico Dowdle and Luke Schoonmaker all priced down. Schoonmaker in particular is essentially free with Jake Ferguson out again. And the Giants allow the 3rd most rush yards per game (148.0) to opposing teams this season, so Dowdle is a terrific value. As for the Giants, I’m less excited about what they’ll do with Drew Lock likely under center, but Tyrone Tracey Jr. has been a bright spot of late (absent the fumbling issues). I like playing him with his involvement in both the ground and pass game, plus the Cowboys allow the 2nd most rush yards per game (150.5) to opposing teams this season.
The Miami Dolphins @ Green Bay Packers game is the other game that’s tied for the highest over/under (47.5) of the Thanksgiving games, so I’m in on both offenses here as well. For the Dolphins, I like De’Von Achane, Jonnu Smith, Jaylen Waddle and Tyreek Hill, in that order based on opportunity and value. For the Packers, it’s a little less clear. Jordan Love and Josh Jacobs are in play, but I’m not sure I want to pay up for them.
For defense, I’ll pay down as usual, and that means I’ll take the Dallas Cowboys Defense or New York Giants Defense, which ever fits my cap space.