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Week 12 DraftKings Cash-Game Picks

Top Plays for DraftKings Head-to-Head and 50/50 Contests

Here are the guys I’m considering for DraftKings Week 12 head-to-heads and 50/50s:

Quarterback

Drake Maye, Patriots ($5,500)

Maye kept rolling last week with 20 DraftKings points. He’s now scored 18.7+ in four of his five full games.

The Patriots are 7.5-point underdogs in Miami this weekend, so Maye should drop back plenty. The Dolphins still rank second in adjusted fantasy points allowed to QBs on the season. But they’ve allowed 280+ passing yards in three of their last four games, including 282 to Gardner Minshew last week.

Miami ranks a middling 16th in pass defense DVOA. It’s a doable matchup for Maye.

Also consider:

• Geno Smith, Seahawks ($5,700)
• Tommy DeVito, Giants ($4,000)

Running Backs

Joe Mixon, Texans ($8,000)

Mixon's huge 20-109-3 rushing line last week gives him 100+ yards and at least one TD in six of eight games this season. 

He gets a solid Titans run defense this weekend that ranks eighth in DVOA and 11th in adjusted fantasy points allowed to RBs. 

But with the Texans 8-point home favorites with a 24.25-point implied total, Mixon is again an excellent volume and TD bet.

De’Von Achane, Dolphins ($7,500)

Achane produced 20.5 DraftKings points last week, giving him 20+ in five of QB Tua Tagovailoa’s six starts.

Tagovailoa missed the first meeting with the Patriots, and Achane left in the first quarter with a concussion. But RBs Raheem Mostert and Jaylen Wright combined for 166 rushing yards on 5.2 yards per attempt in that one.

New England heads into the rematch sitting 28th in run defense DVOA and 23rd in adjusted fantasy points allowed to RBs.

Tony Pollard, Titans ($5,800)

Let’s get this out of the way first: This matchup is brutal. The Texans rank second in run defense DVOA and fourth in adjusted fantasy points allowed to RBs.

But Pollard simply projects for too much volume at this price tag to avoid in cash games.

RB Tyjae Spears will miss this game with a concussion, leaving Pollard in a workhorse role. He averaged 21.3 carries and 4.3 targets across three games without Spears earlier this season, scoring 8.5, 14.7, and 21.4 DK points. 

That 14.7-pointer came against the Lions – one of the three teams that’s been a tougher RB matchup than the Texans this year.

Also consider:

• James Conner, Cardinals ($6,500)

Wide Receivers

Tyreek Hill, Dolphins ($7,200)

As I wrote in Week 12 Best Moves, this looks like a potential blowup spot for Hill.

The Patriots rank 31st in pass defense DVOA, 18th in adjusted fantasy points allowed to WRs, and have been particularly suscpetible to deep passes.

New England has also coughed up the seventh most yards per game to opposing No. 1 WRs (72.8). Just in the last four games, the Patriots have allowed:

• 113 yards to Garrett Wilson
• 73 yards to Calvin Ridley
• 123 yards to Puka Nacua
• 106 yards to Cooper Kupp

Courtland Sutton, Broncos ($5,800)

Sutton has racked up 38 targets, 28 catches, and 370 yards over his last four games. All three marks rank top-5 among WRs. 

He’s scored 14.8+ DraftKings points in all four of those games, with 19+ in three of them.

Sutton gets a Raiders defense this weekend that surprisingly ranks fifth in adjusted fantasy points allowed to WRs. But his volume projection is too strong to avoid at this price tag.

Jakobi Meyers, Raiders ($5,100)

Like Sutton, Meyers gets a negative matchup but is a volume-based cash-game play.

His six targets last week were his fewest in five games without WR Davante Adams this season. Meyers is averaging 8.6 targets, 5.8 catches, and 61 yards per game sans Adams. That sample includes a 6-72-0 line on nine targets against the Broncos in Week 5.

Meyers has run 38% of his routes from the slot this season, so he’ll avoid stud CB Pat Surtain for at least some of Sunday’s game.

Also consider:

• Calvin Ridley, Titans ($5,700)
• Rome Odunze, Bears ($4,800)

Tight Ends

Luke Schoonmaker, Cowboys ($2,500)

After TE Jake Ferguson exited in the first quarter of Monday night’s loss to the Texans, Schoonmaker stepped in to rack up six catches for 56 yards on 10 targets. He also caught all six of his targets for 43 yards when Ferguson missed Week 2 with a knee injury.

Schoonmaker ran a route on just 33% of pass plays in Week 2 and 51% last week, so the profile is far from perfect. But it’s plenty good enough for a minimum-priced TE.

Also consider:

• Trey McBride, Cardinals ($5,600)
• Hunter Henry, Patriots ($4,400)
• Theo Johnson, Giants ($2,900)

Defense/Special Teams

Bears ($2,500)

The Bears DST has sagged a bit recently, failing to reach five DraftKings points in three of their last four. But their 8.4-point average still ranks fifth among main-slate DSTs. And they’re tied for sixth lowest in Week 12 salary.

Chicago is home this weekend for the Vikings and QB Sam Darnold, who’s been generally good this season but has taken 2.8 sacks per game and thrown 1.0 INTs per game.

Also consider:

• Giants ($2,400)

Jared Smola, Lead Analyst

Jared has been with Draft Sharks since 2007. He’s now Lead Analyst, heading up the preseason and weekly projections that fuel your Draft War Room and My Team tools. He currently ranks 1st among 133 analysts in draft rankings accuracy.