This article is part of our FanDuel Fantasy Football series.
Now that Turkey Day is in the books and those who rostered Taysom Hill are counting their money, it's time to look at this week's main slate. While it seems like there would be a smaller slate than normal, there are still 11 games to choose from and no more bye weeks.
QUARTERBACK
Normally the conversation for cash at the position starts with Lamar Jackson ($8,700) given what he's done this season. However, my preference this week will be Patrick Mahomes ($8,600) given the matchup each one is facing. Both are home except the 49ers allow the second-fewest fantasy points to quarterbacks while the Raiders give up the fifth most. A closer look at the numbers shows the Raiders are getting beat by passing and not rushing. They allow more than 284 passing yards per game (fourth most) and their 2.4 passing touchdowns per game is the second most allowed. Don't forget about Jackson in tournaments and make sure to include him in a lineup or two. Looking at GPP options this week, there are several opportunities to take advantage of. Jared Goff ($7,900) has the best matchup of the week going into Arizona, the team allowing the most fantasy points to quarterbacks. Goff's recent struggles (6.38, 6.22 and 5.72 fantasy points in his last three) should help keep his ownership down. The next attractive option is the Jaguars' Nick Foles ($7,500) who gets Tampa Bay at home. The Buccaneers have allowed the second-most fantasy points to quarterbacks but have been excellent against the run this season. That should equate to a big day for Foles, and a stack of him with D.J. Chark ($6,900) and Dede Westbrook ($5,700) makes a ton of sense.
RUNNING BACK
It's tough to ignore Christian McCaffrey ($11,000) in cash especially when he's got a juicy home matchup with the hapless Redskins, who are 24th in the league against the run. The next top option is the Raiders' Josh Jacobs ($7,700). He faces a Kansas City Chiefs that allows the most fantasy points to running backs. Jacobs has double-digit fantasy points in six of his last eight games and now gets the porous Chiefs run defense. The only concern is if the game flow goes like last week, Gruden may pull the starters or the Raiders may have to pass more in the second half. The name that sticks out the most in that similar price range is the Giants' Saquon Barkley ($7,600). The Packers allow the fourth-most fantasy points to running backs and in cash it would be logical to start with CMC, Barkley and Mahomes and then fill in from there. As far as tournament plays, Le'Veon Bell ($7,300) looks to be a good play at the Bengals, who allow the most rushing yards in the league (166.3 per game). Finally, the Eagles' Miles Sanders ($5,800) is still way too cheap, especially knowing Jordan Howard is sidelined again with his shoulder injury. The Dolphins are a great matchup giving up the fifth-most fantasy points to running backs, and with a more favorable script than last week Sanders should get more than 12 carries.
WIDE RECEIVER
It seems natural, even in cash, two pair Tyreek Hill ($8,300) with Patrick Mahomes if he's going to be your quarterback. However, that's a little more difficult to do if you have both McCaffrey and Saquon at running back. A better idea might be to go back to Odell Beckham ($7,300) who kind of feels like the Saquon of wide receivers at this price. We are used to seeing both players more expensive than $8,000 the last two seasons, so they're both at a discount. Tyler Boyd ($6,000) had a nice game last week with 16.6 fantasy points and gets back Andy Dalton this week. He should able to make value and then some at that price. Both of the Giants wide receivers — Sterling Shepard ($5,900) and Darius Slayton ($6,300) are in play now that we know both Golden Tate and Evan Engram are out. I'm not opposed to a Daniel Jones ($7,400), Shepard and Slayton stack if you're not using Barkley. Of course using Jones, Barkley and one of those wide receivers could pay off big as well. Lastly, DeVante Parker has established a nice floor for himself scoring at least 8.9 fantasy points in each of his last eight games. It's tough to find too many receivers with that type of floor over that span of games and the Eagles allow the sixth-most fantasy points to wide receivers.
TIGHT END
Like with Tyreek Hill, it makes a lot of sense to pay up for Travis Kelce ($7,100) and even if you don't use Mahomes using Kelce makes sense given his upside. There are two other intriguing plays this week at the position starting with Tyler Higbee ($5,500). Higbee hasn't scored more than 6.2 fantasy points in any of his last eight games but likely has this price based on the matchup and expectation that Gerald Everett (knee) is out. The Cardinals continue to rank last against both the tight end and quarterback positions so working out a Goff/Higbee stack with another wide receiver is a good option. The other interesting player to consider at tight end is the Colts' Jack Doyle ($5,000). He should get plenty of targets with Eric Ebron placed on IR, and the Titans are below league-average defending the position. If it comes down to a decision between Higbee and Doyle, the $500 might be the difference.
DEFENSE
The defense/special teams spot is interesting this week due to the matchups for some of the teams. Both the Ravens ($4,000) and 49ers ($3,800) are extremely cheap if you don't consider they're facing each other. My favorite high-priced team of the week is the Panthers ($4,700). They're at home against the Dwayne Haskins and the Redskins. I'd guess the floor for the Panthers here is at least one turnover and two sacks with an upside much greater than that. This is going to sound funny, but I like the cheapest option at the position, the Giants ($3,000) . While it doesn't seem smart to fade Aaron Rodgers, the price is too appealing. Even if the Giants hit their average of six fantasy points, that would be the same as one of the highest-priced teams getting 10. And none one of the 11 highest-priced teams this week averages 10 fantasy points per game, making the G-Men a good value.
