NFL DFS Bargain Bin: Week 13 Sunday Slates

NFL DFS Bargain Bin: Week 13 Sunday Slates Tight Ends

T.J. Hockenson, DET at CHI ($5,000-DK/$6,100-FD)

The Lions may still have a chance to get both Kenny Golladay and Danny Amendola back from their respective hip injuries Sunday, but in a testament to what their 2020 season has been like, those returns are slated to happen against one of the most unfavorable matchups for wide receivers in the NFL. The Bears have been one of the best defenses at limiting wideout production this season, which has helped lead to Chicago directing plenty of passing game work to tight ends.

The Bears have funneled the fifth-most targets (88) in the league to tight ends, which has translated to a 62-635-8 line. Both the receptions and receiving yards rank Chicago in the bottom 10 in defense against the position, as does the 15.7 DK and 12.8 FD points per game allowed to TEs.  Meanwhile, Hockenson checks in with a career-best 45 receptions and 530 yards, and he’s already logged a healthy 13 red-zone targets through 11 games. Hockenson has also been the recipient of between eight and 10 looks in four of the last five contests, setting him up especially well in this matchup.

Noah Fant, DEN at KC ($4,000-DK/$5,700-FD)

Fant has been relatively quiet but still involved in recent contests, and in Week 13, he’ll find himself in a somewhat similar scenario to the just-discussed Hockenson. The Chiefs have been highly proficient at capping the production of most wideouts, but the same can’t be said for their work against tight ends. After the Buccaneers’ Rob Gronkowski exceeded the 100-yard mark against them in Week 12, KC is now allowing the 10th-most receiving yards (606) to the position, along with 11.0 yards per reception on 55 catches.

Fant is averaging a relatively modest 10.9 yards per grab this season after generating an impressive 14.1 during his rookie 2019 campaign, but he still has six grabs of greater than 20 yards and has just one fewer red-zone target (eight) over 10 games than he saw last season over a full 16 contests. Fant is also drawing an impressive 16.4 percent of the Broncos’ targets and averaging a rock-solid six per game overall, even when factoring in a Week 12 game Denver played without a legitimate quarterback. With KC funneling an average of 7.8 targets per game to TEs and the Broncos projected to have to go pass-heavy at some point in this game, Fant’s prospects are bright at his extremely affordable salaries.

ALSO CONSIDER: Robert Tonyan, GB vs. PHI ($3,700-DK/$5,900-FD)/ Trey Burton, IND at HOU ($3,500-DK/$5,500-FD)