Happy Thanksgiving! It's objectively the best day of the year. Facts are facts.
Of course, it is indeed possible for even the best to get better, and that starts with nailing some fantasy football picks.
Fantasy Football Rankings - Thanksgiving Day Games 2024
Presenting: The Fantasy Life staff's consensus half-PPR Thanksgiving rankings (sorted by FLEX ranking, QBs to follow):
And, as promised, the eight QBs playing on Thanksgiving Day … ranked:
| Rank | Player | Team |
|---|---|---|
| QB1 | Jordan Love | GB |
| QB2 | Jared Goff | DET |
| QB3 | Tua Tagovailoa | MIA |
| QB4 | Caleb Williams | CHI |
| QB5 | Cooper Rush | DAL |
| QB6 | Drew Lock | NYG |
Now for some provocative Thanksgiving-related tidbits covering some of the key parties involved to really get the people going.
The Turkey
Dolphins RB De'Von Achane
- Overall Rank: 1
- Positional Rank: RB1
The centerpiece of any traditional Thanksgiving meal goes to Mr. 1.01 on the slate. Seriously: All De'Von Achane has done with a healthy Tua Tagovailoa under center is ball the hell out:
- Week 1: PPR RB3
- Week 2: RB2
- Week 8: RB2
- Week 9: RB2
- Week 10: RB25
- Week 11: RB6
- Week 12: RB7
Pretty, pretty, pretty good, just like the next Turkey Day staple …
The Stuffing
Lions RB Jahmyr Gibbs
- Overall Rank: 2
- Positional Rank: RB2
Gibbs has only received more than 15 touches in five games this season, but man oh man has he made the most out of his opportunities as both a rusher and receiver.
That's him up in the top right quadrant next to Saquon Barkley.
Gibbs' backfield mate Knuckles (David Montgomery) is dealing with a shoulder injury, so it'd make sense if the artist known as Sonic is leaned on more than ever against a Bears defense that ranks just 20th in EPA allowed per rush this season.
Of course, there is one thing that you could certainly argue is the best part of turkey and stuffing …
The Gravy
Packers RB Josh Jacobs
- Overall Rank: 3
- Positional Rank: RB3
Eighth in missed tackles forced (22.8%) and second yards after contact (3.6) per carry among 30 qualified RBs: Jacobs has been a physical presence as the lynchpin of this Green Bay rushing attack all season long.
It'd be reasonable to expect head coach Matt LaFleur to potentially limit Jacobs' workload just four days after handing the workhorse RB 26 carries, but that doesn't sound overly likely.
Truly a staple of any high-scoring Thanksgiving fantasy lineup. As is our next subject, even if we have to wait just a bit to get into it.
The Pumpkin Pie
Giants WR Malik Nabers
- Overall Rank: 8
- Positional Rank: WR4
First of all: This ranking is preposterous.
Second of all, I love Pumpkin Pie AND the potential for Nabers to clear his 54.5-receiving-yard prop over on DraftKings.
Why? Because the squeaky wheel gets the grease: Head coach Brian Daboll already told the media, “I've got to do a better job of getting the ball in his hands early.”
And why shouldn't he? Nabers is ESPN's No. 1 WR in Open Rating and caught 12 of 15 targets for 115 yards against this very defense back in Week 4. Production has been tougher to come by in recent weeks, but the rookie has still managed to clear this number in all but two games this season.
Of course, sometimes Ole Reliable should be appreciated too.
The Bread Rolls
Bears WR DJ Moore
- Overall Rank: 14
- Positional Rank: WR7
Don't get me wrong, I understand that DJ Moore hasn't been overly reliable this season as a whole, but things have taken a turn in the right direction over the past two weeks under new OC Thomas Brown:
- Week 11: 7 receptions-62 yards-0 TD, 5 rush yards, PPR WR29
- Week 12: 7 receptions-106 yards-1 TD, 13 rush yards, WR4
These performances snapped a four-game stretch of production as the WR47 or worse in fantasy land. One big reason why there has been a sudden influx of easy-access targets: Moore has caught all nine of his screen targets for 117 yards and a TD over the last two games–better numbers than he managed on screens (8-41-0 on 10 targets) during the first 10 weeks of the season combined.
Now it's time for arguably the best part of Thanksgiving if we're being honest with ourselves.
The Mashed Potatoes
Dolphins TE Jonnu Smith
- Overall Rank: 15
- Positional Rank: TE1
Just like fantasy managers need to be honest that Smith is a legit upside TE1 at this point. In addition to being the top-ranked TE of Turkey Day, I LOVE Smith's 40+ yard receiving prop over at DraftKings (-115):
- In his last seven games: 62, 96, 20, 46, 45, 101, and 87 yards.
- The production hasn't been overly fluky considering Smith stands as the Dolphins' No. 2 target earner on the season: He has six-plus targets in all but one of his last seven games.
- The Packers have allowed six separate TEs to clear 40 yards this season–including George Kittle (6-82-1) and Cole Kmet (3-42-0) in back-to-back weeks.
Maybe Mother Nature even causes Tua Tagovailoa to refrain from throwing downfield as much as usual, potentially setting up his low-aDOT YAC monster for more work than usual.
All good stuff so far—now it's time to get controversial.
The Cranberry Sauce
Packers WR Dontayvion Wicks
- Overall Rank: 23
- Positional Rank: WR13
The food that everyone either absolutely loves (me) or completely despises (probably you) meets one of fantasy football's most divisive young WRs.
The positive: Wicks was awesome as a rookie and has continued to earn targets at a high level during his sophomore year opportunities. Overall, Wicks has commanded a target on a team-high 26.3% of his routes, a mark which ranks 12th league-wide ahead of studs like A.J. Brown and Drake London.
The negative: Wicks hasn't made much out of those targets, averaging a fairly brutal 1.24 yards per route run–the lowest mark among qualified Packers WRs and 64th among 77 players at the position with at least 40 pass-game opportunities this season. It's tough to overly blame Jordan Love for any of this considering Wicks has racked up six drops (tied for 7th most) on just 45 targets this season. He's in horrific company when it comes to that drop rate.
Highest single-season on-target drop rates over the past 10 years (min. 40 targets)
- 2024 Dontayvion Wicks (26.1%)
- 2018 John Ross (25%)
- 2016 Sammie Coates (25%)
Of course, America loves a comeback, and Wicks is expected to draw a rare start in three WR sets with Romeo Doubs (concussion) sidelined. The Dolphins' second-ranked defense in PPR points per game allowed to the position is no joke, but maybe the second-year talent does a better job cashing in on his opportunities under the bright Thanksgiving lights.
Now for a food relation that I actively don't enjoy …
The Green Bean Casserole
Cowboys QB Cooper Rush
- Rank: QB5
This is personally my least favorite Thanksgiving dish. Too green, and not a big fan of beans. Sue me.
But yeah, our rankers also aren't the biggest fans of Cowboys QB Cooper Rush, although to be fair he's looked closer to "meh" over the last two weeks compared to "horrific" during their Week 10 loss to the Eagles.
Overall, the Cowboys' backup QB has eclipsed 200 passing yards in six of nine career starts and actually managed to post a QB11 finish last week. Note that this means Rush now only has one less top-11 fantasy finish than C.J. Stroud this season (sorry for the stray, CJ).
The Giants looked lost trying to stop Baker Mayfield and company last week; don't be surprised if CeeDee Lamb and company have a better day than expected against the league's seventh-worst defense in EPA allowed per dropback.
Probably a bad food take on my part, but this next one is a banger, trust me.
The Wine
Cowboys WR/KR KaVontae Turpin
- Overall Rank: 32
- Positional Rank: WR16
As Eleanor Roosevelt once famously said: "America is all about speed. Hot, nasty, badass speed."
And guess what: Turpin has a solid claim to being the fastest man in the NFL.
Next-Gen Stats fastest ball carrier speeds in 2024:
- KaVontae Turpin (22.36 MPH)
- Brian Thomas (22.15)
- Jahmyr Gibbs (22.03)
Overall, Turpin has three of the top-20 times on the season, and his latest qualifier was objectively the coolest of them all.
However, the Cowboys have generally refrained from using too much Turpin this season, as he's totaled just 26 offensive touches in 11 games and has never reached even a 50% snap rate. It makes sense: Turpin is listed at just 153 pounds after all.
Like with wine: Too much of a good thing can sometimes be a problem when the returns eventually start to diminish, but then again, doesn't it sound pretty fun to bring in the GOAT holiday with a LOT of a good thing? You know what I'm saying: More wine, and more KaVontae Turpin. It is a holiday after all!
