What George Kittle, Jack Doyle performances tells us about Week 13 DFS TE salaries

The tight end was actually quite exciting in Week 12! It’s been a rare feat to see more than a couple of guys go off at this position but we finally got it here. Three players scored over 20 DKFP (one of which we’ll talk about in a second) while names like Zach Ertz, Jared Cook and Ryan Griffin all reached the end zone. Let’s take a look at what Week 13 could bring with DraftKings salaries.

George Kittle ($6,100) vs. Ravens

With the 49ers playing in primetime, Kittle didn’t have a chance to have his salary adjusted due to his performance. Lucky for us, he went down $200 despite posting 27.9 DKFP against the Packers, which was the highest TE total on the slate. Playing for the first time since Week 9, Kittle caught all six of his targets for 129 yards and a touchdown. He was able to capitalize on a Packers defense that has been amongst the worst against opposing tight ends and further cemented that narrative. After getting roasted by Kittle, the Packers have now allowed the third-most fantasy points to that position, putting them up in the ranks with the likes of the Cardinals and Buccaneers.

While Kittle showing no ill signs despite dealing with a broken bone in his ankle, he should have plenty of buzz ahead of Week 13. However, we have to seriously consider this matchup he has in front of him against the Ravens. While we haven’t seen them play in Week 12 as of this writing, they currently are tied for 29th in the league in terms of fantasy production allowed. Allowing just 9 DKFP per game, we’ve only seen teams post double-digit fantasy points against them in three of the 10 games they’ve played. They’ve only been scored on twice, which came against the Browns and Bengals. With all this in mind, Kittle makes for a dicey DFS play in Week 13. When looking at some of the other positions on this slate, paying up for Kittle doesn’t make much sense in cash lineups but he certainly makes for a tournament play. If people are going to chase points, it’s best to let them do so and try to make up that production with a cheaper, better matchup.

Jack Doyle ($3,300) vs. Titans

One of the ways you could do that is with Doyle. He didn’t do anything special against the Texans in Week 12, posting only 5.8 DKFP by catching three of his four targets for 28 yards. His salary stays exactly the same in Week 13 at $3,300 but the biggest difference now was the announcement that Eric Ebron is heading to injured reserve as he needs surgery on not one but BOTH of his ankles. This now opens up Doyle to be the solidified TE1 in this offense and will take his expanded role for a test drive against a team that allows an average of 12.8 DKFP and 52 receiving yards to opposing tight ends.

When Ebron has been off the field this season, Doyle has seen his target share jump from 3.4% to 21.5%. His aDOT remains relatively the same at 5.1 but he does see a nice 12% bump in his red zone targets, going from 8% to 20%. For someone that sees his increase that dramatically and to be as priced as cheap as he is, Doyle feels like a near-lock for Week 13. On a slate that includes Christian McCaffrey ($10,500), Patrick Mahomes ($7,400) and Tyreek Hill ($8,900), we’ll certainly be looking to save somewhere and Doyle will allow that to happen.