Nate Hamilton brings his best daily fantasy sports picks on DraftKings every week. Read to see his Week 12 DFS Picks for DraftKings.
The key to building a tournament-winning DraftKings DFS lineup is to find value pricing on players who are set up to succeed each week.
The purpose of this article is to help you define which players you should be adding to your DFS lineups on the cheap, which will allow you to fill your remaining lineup with some elite chalk options.
Each week, I will give you a discount player at each position (QB, RB, WR, TE, DST) to help you build your winning lineup.
Now, let’s jump into my DraftKings DFS value picks for Week 12!
Week 12 DFS Picks
QUARTERBACK
Derek Carr ($5,700), Las Vegas Raiders @ Atlanta Falcons
I’ll admit, it doesn’t feel amazing recommending Derek Carr at quarterback, but this article is all about getting value. Carr has thrown multiple touchdowns in seven games this year. He certainly has the matchup in Week 12 to not only throw multiple touchdowns, but pile the passing yards on as well.
His opponents, the Atlanta Flacons, have given up the most fantasy points to the quarterback position this year.
I expect this game to be high-scoring as the defenses on both sides have given up a lot of fantasy points to opposing offenses. If Derek Carr isn’t already leading the Raiders to a victory throughout the game, he will certainly earn his fantasy points playing catchup with Matt Ryan and the Falcons.
RUNNING BACK
Gio Bernard ($5,700), Cincinnati Bengals vs New York Giants
Gio Bernard has been quiet in the last couple of games, but his continued involvement in the passing game provides a safe floor. The Bengals will turn to their third-string quarterback, Brandon Allen this week against the New York Giants. With Joe Burrow out for the year, you can expect the Bengals to lean heavily on the run game, and without Joe Mixon, Bernard should see plenty of volume in Week 12.
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Note that Bernard has been in the concussion protocol but did get a limited practice in on Thursday. If he is unable to play, you could save even more by playing Samaje Perine, who’s priced at $4,000. Perine did have more rushing yards than Bernard last week with fewer touches.
The New York Giants rank near the bottom against running backs and have given up double-digit fantasy points to at least one running back in every game this season.
WIDE RECEIVER
Nelson Agholor ($4,900), Las Vegas Raiders vs Atlanta Falcons
Going back to the Nelson Agholor well in a beautiful Week 12 matchup. Any time we can stack a quarterback with his top wide receiver, the payoff could win big.
Nelson Agholor has had some dud weeks, but for the most part, he’s been a value fantasy play. He leads the Raiders wideouts in targets, receptions, receiving yards, and touchdowns over the last seven games.
In fact, he leads all Raiders with 6 touchdowns.
As mentioned with Derek Carr, the Falcons defense just love to give up fantasy points and they have allowed the third-most to wide receivers. If this isn’t a game where Carr heavily targets Agholor, then I vow to not recommend Nelson Agholor again this season.
TIGHT END
Hayden Hurst ($3,900), Atlanta Falcons vs. Las Vegas Raiders
The tight end position is extremely volatile and Hayden Hurst has been one of the few consistent options this season, until last week. For the first time this year, Hurst was held without a catch in Week 11. Hurst totaled 22 receptions in his previous four games.
Though he’s been hobbled with an ankle injury, Hurst returned to practice on Friday, which places him in a good position to start this weekend. Falcons wide receiver Julio Jones is dealing with a hamstring injury, which should lead to additional targets for Hurst in Week 12.
I expect this game to have a ton of passing yards, and Hayden Hurst has been a consistent target for Matt Ryan this season. He’s in a favorable spot against a middle of the road Raiders’ defense.
DEFENSE/SPECIAL TEAMS
New York Giants ($3,200) @ Cincinnati Bengals
The New York Giants’ DST will be a popular play in Week 12. They haven’t been world-beaters for fantasy, but they also haven’t killed you if you played them this year (with the exception of Week 3).
They have a great matchup against the Bengals who will be without Joe Burrow and Joe Mixon and will feature Brandon Allen at quarterback. The Giants’ DST has scored four or more fantasy points on DraftKings in all but one game this season.
They have double-digit fantasy points in three games and will likely have their fourth such performance against the injury-riddled Bengals’ offense.
Nate Hamilton brings his nearly two decades of experience as a fantasy football player to The Game Day. He provides advice & analysis on a daily basis via Twitter (@DomiNateFF) and co-hosts the Fantasy Dilemma stream every Tuesday night during the NFL season.
