Every week, the first step of your DFS homework should be to examine the opening Vegas odds on all the NFL games for that week. Through some fairly simple algebra, it is easy to derive a spreadsheet that predicts team totals for every game, thereby allowing you to develop a rudimentary game script to help narrow down your decisions for the week.
Once the appealing (and unappealing) games have been highlighted, it becomes easier to focus on those games to help build your core of players for that week; the caveat, however, is that the NFL is a dynamic league, and anything is subject to change from Tuesday to Sunday...so keep that in mind as the week progresses and always monitor player injuries, weather conditions, and potential roster moves. Let's take a look.
[Red font indicates games on the Thanksgiving Day slate.]
[Blue font indicates games *not* on the DFS main slate.]
BYE WEEK: None
Three Stars
Quarterbacks
- Jared Goff (Lions)
Running Backs
- Jahmyr Gibbs/David Montgomery (Lions)
- Isiah Pacheco/Kareem Hunt (Chiefs)
Receivers
Team Defense
- Chiefs
Two Stars
Quarterbacks
- Patrick Mahomes II (Chiefs)
- Lamar Jackson (Ravens)
- Baker Mayfield (Buccaneers)
Running Backs
- Derrick Henry (Ravens)
- Rachaad White/Bucky Irving (Buccaneers)
- James White (Bills)
Receivers
- Xavier Worthy/DeAndre Hopkins/Travis Kelce (Chiefs)
- Zay Flowers/Rashod Bateman/Isaiah Likely/Mark Andrews (Ravens)
- Mike Evans/Sterling Shepard/Cade Otton (Buccaneers)
Team Defense
- Cowboys
One Star
Quarterbacks
- Matthew Stafford (Rams)
- Josh Allen (Bills)
- Jordan Love (Packers)
- Justin Herbert (Chargers)
- Jayden Daniels (Commanders)
- Joe Burrow (Bengals)
Running Backs
- Kyren Williams (Rams)
- Josh Jacobs (Packers)
- J.K. Dobbins/Gus Edwards (Chargers)
- Brian Robinson Jr (Commanders)
- Chase Brown (Bengals)
Receivers
- Cooper Kupp/Puka Nacua/Demarcus Robinson/Colby Parkinson (Rams)
- Khalil Shakir/Amari Cooper/Keon Coleman/Dalton Kincaid (Bills)
- Romeo Doubs/Christian Watson/Jayden Reed/Tucker Kraft (Packers)
- Ladd McConkey/Quentin Johnston/Joshua Palmer/Will Dissly (Chargers)
- Terry McLaurin/Noah Brown/Zach Ertz (Commanders)
- Ja'Marr Chase/Tee Higgins/Mike Gesicki (Bengals)
Team Defense
- Broncos
- Bills
