The 9-2 Buffalo Bills will host the 5-6 San Francisco 49ers at Highmark Stadium.
Ahead of this Sunday Night Football showdown, who are the best players to plug in your DFS lineup? Using DraftKings’ prices, let’s build a lineup that could win big on Sunday!
Week 13 SNF DFS Picks
- CAPTAIN: Khalil Shakir, $12,000
- FLEX: James Cook, $9,600
- FLEX: George Kittle, $8,600
- FLEX: Jauan Jennings, $7,400
- FLEX: Amari Cooper, $7,200
- FLEX: Jake Moody, $5,200
DFS Strategy: Khalil Shakir Leads the Way
Shakir has emerged as an incredibly consistent option this season. He has scored in double figures on DraftKings in five straight games and nine of 10 games.
Shakir’s route-running prowess has been rewarded with an on-field target share north of 24% in five consecutive games (and he has at least six receptions in each of those contests). Tight end Dalton Kincaid is out once again, so Shakir should continue to serve as Josh Allen’s security blanket.
Shakir may not offer massive per-target upside, but one can argue that he’s the game’s most efficient receiver. And you’d probably be surprised to learn that Shakir has reeled in a 20-yard reception in seven of his past nine games, giving him access to a ceiling that other chain movers simply don’t have.
The 49ers are allowing 8.2 yards per slot pass attempt this year, ranking them below the league average and giving me a reason to be confident in Shakir as my captain.
Shakir is much cheaper as a captain than options such as Allen ($16,500), Christian McCaffrey ($15,900), James Cook ($14,400), and Brock Purdy ($13,800), which allows us to put a nice supporting cast around Shakir in our lineup.
Can James Cook Deliver Another RB1 Performance?
Cook has posted an RB1 performance in three of his past four games. This season, Cook is the RB10, averaging 16.9 fantasy points per game. Over his last four games, Cook has scored five touchdowns and is the RB7, putting up 18.9 fantasy points per game.
Now, he faces a 49ers defense that is allowing the third-most rushing touchdowns per game to running backs (1.09).
There’s no question that his biggest growth from last year to now is his ability to get in the end zone. He has 10 rushing touchdowns this season, which is six more rushing touchdowns than he scored over his first two seasons combined! After scoring just four rushing scores in his first 34 games, he matched that total by Week 5 of this season. The spiking touchdown rate has fueled a 23.8% increase in PPR points per touch for Cook.
Also, Cook has been plenty involved in the passing game, with 15 targets over his past three games. His volume, versatility, and ability to score touchdowns make him an interesting option as a captain, but he’s pretty expensive so we’ll flex him instead.
Trusting George Kittle and Jauan Jennings
Admittedly, it’s difficult to trust San Francisco’s pass-catchers since Purdy is questionable for this game due to a right shoulder injury. While 49ers head coach Kyle Shanahan has said that he expects him to play, Purdy just recently started throwing passes again so it’s tough to say how much pain he’ll be in or how much the injury will affect him.
If this was a full Sunday slate, we’d probably stay away from 49ers’ pass-catchers just to be safe, but in a single-game Showdown contest, that’s not really an option.
Surprisingly, Deebo Samuel ($9,000) is more expensive than Kittle and Jennings despite struggling mightily as of late. He scored 3.1 PPR points last week, 6.1 PPR points the week before, and has zero touchdowns since Week 6.
Meanwhile, Kittle has been on fire this season, finishing with double-digit PPR points in eight of nine games he’s appeared in. He has scored eight times in his past eight games, and with the Bills focusing on preventing big perimeter plays, he should have room to operate in the middle portion of the field.
In his last two games with Purdy under center, Jennings was targeted 22 times and averaged 20.7 PPR points. The Bills allow the fourth-highest completion rate to the slot (75%), which makes me confident that Jennings can continue to be efficient and productive.
