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Here we go with the Single Game NFL DFS slate for Thursday Night Football of Week 6. Today’s matchup is between the Eagles and Buccaneers with Tampa Bay checking in as a seven-point road favorite. The over/under currently rests at 52.5 total points. Kickoff is scheduled for 8:20 ET.
We’ll highlight the top picks and best bargains to assemble a cash-inducing lineup. On top of that, the “additional notes” section will feature several tournament selections while adding context to the rest of this slate.
We will be producing these articles for Thursday, Sunday, and Monday Night Football matchups, so be sure to bookmark the NBC Sports EDGE DFS Page for those occasions - not to mention all the other fantastic daily fantasy content.
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TOP PICKS
Tom Brady - QB - Tampa Bay (DK: $12,400 / FD: $16,500 / Yahoo: $40)
Who else? Brady continues to drink from the fountain of youth, as his impressive 27 FPPG mark suggests. The Buccaneers’ offense runs through him, even in red-zone and goal-line situations. Tampa RBs only have two rushing scores on the year, so Brady does the heavy lifting in that portion of the field. That has boosted his fantasy success, which will continue to be the case in this road contest against Philadelphia. Target with confidence as your MVP, Captain, SuperStar.
Jalen Hurts - QB - Philadelphia (DK: $11,800 / FD: $15,500 / Yahoo: $36)
Hurts’ fantasy upside is boosted by his wheels, but this is a matchup for him to thrive. His volume should be sky-high while trying to keep pace with Tampa Bay. Also, the matchup looks great. The Bucs have allowed the 10th most fantasy points to QBs, and the only way to beat them is through the air. Go ahead and stack both QBs into your lineup. I don’t even mind taking Hurts over Brady as your top choice in tournaments.
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BEST BARGAINS
Zach Ertz - TE - Philadelphia (DK: $3,200 / FD: $6,500 / Yahoo: $14)
Dallas Goedert is doubtful for this contest, which opens up more snaps, targets, and fantasy production for Zach Ertz. That’s good news considering the matchup against Tampa, who has allowed the sixth-most fantasy points to tight ends this season. The Eagles should be throwing the ball early and often on Thursday, and Ertz stands to benefit. He’s worth the salary on all three sites.
Kenneth Gainwell - RB - Philadelphia (DK: $2,400 / FD: $8,500 / Yahoo: $14)
Philadelphia’s backfield is more of a split timeshare between Gainwell and Sanders. Despite that, Gainwell remains very cheap on DFS sites, and that especially holds true on DraftKings. Gainwell has been better in passing situations as well, hauling in 10 passes for 98 yards (15 targets) over the past three games. Philly could find themselves in “air it out” mode tonight, which may serve as a boost to Gainwell.
TOURNAMENT LOOKS
Quez Watkins - Philadelphia (DK: $4,600 / FD: $6,000 / Yahoo: $14)
DeVonta Smith is the top receiver for Philadelphia. Things get pretty murky after that. Eagles’ QB Hurts likes to spread the ball around to TEs, RBs, and maybe pepper a few targets to the other receivers. Watkins and Jalen Raegor are the next best WR options, and it appears that Watkins is ascending into a WR2 role. He out-snapped Reagor last week, and Quez has seen a red-zone target in each of the last two games. If he snags a TD pass tonight, that would do wonders for his DFS value.
ADDITIONAL NOTES
Mike Evans (WR - TB) is the best receiver on the board tonight, as he seems to be stepping up in the red-zone with Gronkowski out … Antonio Brown (WR - TB) and Chris Godwin (WR - TB) are lower priority in my opinion, but they also come as cheaper options if you are looking for a stacking extension of Brady in this salary range.
DeVonta Smith (WR - PHI) was mentioned earlier as the best stacking extension of Hurts. He’s expensive but should see plenty of targets in this game. Consider him a cash option through all formats.
Leonard Fournette (RB - TB) should benefit from game flow. Also, the Eagles have allowed the ninth-most fantasy points to running backs this season. It’s disappointing that he doesn’t usually get a goal-line carry, but finding the end-zone would put him over the top for DFS purposes.
OJ Howard (TE - TB) and Cameron Brate (TE - TB) are tournament options. We were hoping one of these guys would step up with Rob Gronkowski out. They haven’t, but that doesn’t mean all DFS optimism is lost. Howard is a dirt-cheap tournament pick who can hopefully find the end-zone in Gronk-like fashion.
Let’s dig deeper into the tournament field. Jack Stoll (TE - PHI) could see some snaps in Philadelphia’s double TE set. As mentioned earlier, Goedert is doubtful, so Stoll could see the field. The undrafted rookie from Nebraska has played 33 snaps without a target this season. That’s not great, but this could be a heightened role for him. We are essentially hoping he can find the end-zone inside the 10-yard line.
