Best lineup strategy for Saints-Falcons Showdown on Thanksgiving

It was nice of the NFL to save the best for last on Thanksgiving. We the Bears and Lions opening things up Thursday and the Bills and Cowboys getting us through dinner, the night tap is where we should see most of the offensive action — which is obviously best for fantasy football purposes.

The Falcons will welcome in the Saints for a divisional matchup with not so much implications other than we should see a decent amount of points scored. The earlier games are lackluster, but hopefully Drew Brees, Alvin Kamara, Michael Thomas and Julio Jones put on a show. In this article we’ll break down the featured Showdown contest on DraftKings and how to approach lineup construction.

Captain Obvious

Alvin Kamara ($15,300)

You could opt for Michael Thomas ($17,400) or Drew Brees ($16,200) as your captain, but I’ll take the slight savings with Kamara. Outside of maybe Thomas, Kamara has the safest floor of any player in this game and you know his ceiling is also very high. We just know Brees will funnel Kamara short passes and he’s a lock to be in your lineup anyway. The Saints managed nine points in a 26-9 loss to Atlanta a few weeks ago and Kamara still put up 15.4 fantasy points.

Captain Courageous

Jaeden Graham ($3,600)

I like the idea of going cheap in the Captain’s spot in some of these contests. It allows you to pay up for the studs in the FLEX spots, so you aren’t forced to fade one of them because of a salary crunch. If that’s the case, Graham caught a long 53-yard pass in Week 12 vs. the Bucs and should see some looks in the passing game with Austin Hooper sidelined. It also looks like Luke Stocker may not play, so Graham could be the lone TE left to soak up targets and snaps.

FLEX Men

New Orleans Saints D/ST ($4,200)

I’m a big believer in using a D/ST in Showdown if one team appears to be in a favorable spot. While NOLA is on the road, this game is way bigger for them than it is for the Falcons. The Saints need a win to hold off the Packers and Seahawks for a first-round bye in the playoffs. They didn’t show up against the Falcons a few weeks back, but have had a consistent pass rush and Atlanta may not have much of a running game to plan for this time around. The Saints D/ST should also go relatively under-owned.

Tre’Quan Smith ($3,000)

I think the stud plays are obvious, so I’m not going to waste much time there. If you don’t want to save salary in the Captain’s spot, you’ll need to do so in the FLEX. Smith caught a TD pass in Week 12 vs. the Panthers and while he isn’t seeing many targets, he’s getting snaps. I think Smith and Ted Ginn Jr. ($3,400) are the two GPP WRs I’d be looking to get in for savings. Both have HR potential and would only need to break one to return value at their salaries.