NFL Week 13 DFS Main Slate Breakdown: My Top Plays, Cash Locks & GPP Leverage

Good morning and welcome back to the Heater Dynasty podcast! I’m your host, Eric Heater, your one-stop shop for all things fantasy football and DFS strategy. I hope you all had an awesome Thanksgiving because, honestly, those games might have been the best football we’ll see all weekend. The NFL Week 13 DFS main slate… well… it’s ugly. Really ugly.

But I love an ugly slate. Ugly slates create edge. They separate the players who blindly follow projections from the ones who understand game scripts, usage, leverage, and roster construction. And that’s exactly what we’re doing today.

Let’s dive into the full breakdown of my NFL Week 13 DFS picks, cash locks, fades, leverage plays, and my favorite GPP stacks.

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Grab it, plug in your projections, and start building sharper lineups for one of the biggest DFS weeks of the year. Enjoy the tool, and good luck this weekend!

Overview of the Week 13 Main Slate

This 10-game slate is shaping up to be a minefield:

• Highest Over/Under: 45.5 (Bills vs Steelers, Buccaneers vs Cardinals—depending on Baker’s status)
• Several strong defenses vs sputtering offenses
• No obvious shootout spots
• Heavy variance + low confidence plays across the board

But this is why I genuinely enjoy slates like this. When nothing is obvious, we gain leverage by digging deeper than the field.

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Top Game Environments to Consider

Even the “top games” this week are questionable at best:

Colts vs Texans (44.5 O/U)

• Colts offense has cooled off
• Texans defense is legit
• Jonathan Taylor is expensive at $9,800
• Daniel Jones apparently wants to play through a fractured fibula… no thanks

This one could go under. I’ll likely play light exposure here.

Rams vs Panthers (44.5 O/U, Rams -10.5)

• Rams defense has been suffocating
• Bryce Young + Panthers = terrifying to roster
• Stafford, Puka, and Davante make sense; cheap K.B.Y. Parkinson is a tournament dart
• Carolina side? Thin. Very thin.

Dolphins vs Saints (42.5 O/U, Dolphins -5.5)

• Chris Olave expected to play
• Kamara ruled out
• Devin Achane = LOCK (more on that below)

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Week 13 DFS Position-by-Position Breakdown

Quarterbacks: My Favorite QB Plays This Week

With most elite QBs off the main slate, things get messy fast.

1. Jacoby Brissett – $5,800 (My Top QB Play)

Cheap. Safe. Highest projected game total.
He’s not flashy, but everything lines up for a stable cash game performance.

2. Matt Stafford – $7,000

A statue… but a productive statue.
Great matchup and an ideal tournament play.

3. Tyrod Taylor – Solid Mid-Tier Option

Better passer than Fields, worse runner, but still offers a rushing floor.

4. Sam Darnold – $5K Range

Playing a helpless Vikings team starting a rookie QB.
Short fields → TD equity → sneaky ceiling.

Honorable Mentions

• Josh Allen – Best QB on the slate but expensive
• Trevor Lawrence – Cheap but uninspiring
• Shedeur Sanders – $4,200 (GPP only, but oh man is he tempting at that price)

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Running Backs: Cash Locks & Salary Savers

LOCKED: Devon Achane – Free Square of the Week

Projected 43% rostered
Price is too low
Usage should spike
Game environment solid

Don’t overthink it.

Breece Hall

Cheap, gets volume, not exciting… but viable.

Ken Walker

Hot-hand timeshare with Charbonnet, but he’s still the preferred option.

Kenneth Gainwell

Close to a 50/50 split and $1K cheaper than Jaylen Warren.

Tournament Leverage

• Zach Charbonnet – perfect leverage off Walker
• Christian McCaffrey – expensive but matchup-proof; elite leverage off Achane chalk

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Wide Receivers: The Good Stuff (Finally)

1. Jackson Smith-Njigba – LOCK

I’m not overthinking this. Smash spot. Great price. excellent usage. Great matchup.

2. Puka Nacua – Strong Alternative

If you need the $500 savings, fine—just know JSN is the better play.

3. Chris Olave

If he’s active, he’s too cheap for his role. Automatic.

4. Nico Collins

Game-script proof. Houston funnels targets to him no matter what.

5. Jaylen Waddle

This game is a sneaky shootout candidate. Love the upside.

6. Michael Wilson

Target hog if Marvin Harrison Jr. sits.

7. Value WRs

• DK Metcalf
• Davante Adams
• Any Chargers WR (Keenan / Lad / Quentin Johnston)
• Jaden Higgins – $3,800

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Tight Ends: Spend Down Week

This is where things get tricky.

1. Brock Bowers – $5,800 (My TE1 This Week)

Saves $3,000 off McBride
Only 3 projected points behind
Makes lineup building MUCH easier

2. Harold Fannin

Low total game, but highly targeted and a salary saver.

3. Dalton Schultz

Stable floor, affordable price.

4. Trey McBride – $7,800

Still great, but too expensive for me in cash.
Tournament only for leverage.

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Defenses: My Week 13 Rankings

1. Browns DST

Brock Purdy is banged up
Miles Garrett could break the slate

2. Jets DST

Cheap, facing a collapsing Falcons offense and a rough-looking Kirk Cousins.

3. Titans DST – $2,200

Super cheap.
Ugly slate = embrace variance.

4. Seahawks & Rams

Expensive, but elite options if you can fit them.

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Tournament Leverage Plays

Zach Charbonnet

Perfect for flipping Ken Walker chalk.

Christian McCaffrey

Best leverage play on the slate off Achane.

Justin Jefferson

Yes, Max Brozner is starting… but elite WR talent wins anyway.

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Dart Throws of the Week

1. John Metchie – $3,800

Jets slot usage has been trending his way.
Pair with Tyrod for cheap correlation.

2. Shedeur Sanders – $4,200

Could absolutely nuke every tournament if chaos breaks out.

3. Tyler Shough – $4,400

Honestly like this one even more.

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GPP Stacking Ideas

Here are a few stacks I’m experimenting with:

Shadur Sanders + Isaiah Bond + Harold Fannin

Bring back: Christian McCaffrey

Tyler Shough + Chris Olave + Juwan Johnson

Bring back: Achane + Waddle

Justin Herbert + Two Chargers WRs

Bring back: Brock Bowers

Matt Stafford + Puka + Parkinson

Bring back: Tetairoa McMillan

It’s a gross slate… which means anything is viable.

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Final Thoughts

This Week 13 main slate is one of the strangest of the season—low totals, ugly matchups, chaotic game scripts, and very few “lock” plays outside of Achane and JSN. But that’s exactly why we can win big this week.

If your Thanksgiving slate didn’t go well, this is the perfect chance to bounce back.
I hope this breakdown helps give you an edge and I appreciate you tuning in as always.

Good luck this weekend—and I’ll talk to you soon.