I’m back with the Week 12 DraftKings recommendations for Tight Ends and Kickers. First, a note about a great DraftKings offer. New depositors will get a free ticket into a Millionaire Grand Final qualifier.  So you can get a free game with any deposit you make.  What are you waiting for?

News and Notes

• Teams on bye for Week 12: It’s the last of the byes and we have the following teams out for this week: Buffalo Bills, Cincinnati Bengals, Philadelphia Eagles and Seattle Seahawks so we don’t lose any top tier TEs and really nothing all to talk about on the guys we lose.
• Thursday night game: New Orleans Saints at Atlanta Falcons – There goes Jimmy Graham and Tony Gonzalez unless you play the Thursday night game. And this week, I might suggest you get in an entry or two as this has all of the makings for a blowout. Love Garrett Hartley this week as a kicker if you can snag him.
• Aaron Rodgers seems to be getting healthier and has a shot at playing on Thanksgiving. For those of us starting Mike Glennon, Rodgers return would be welcome.
• Miles Austin is set to return this week for the Dallas Cowboys. And it seems that he’s going to be the guy in Dallas and that Terrance Williams will be relegated to a backup role. I just can’t see that being the case as Austin cannot stay healthy.
• Darren Sproles missed practice on Tuesday. The Saints have a short week so keep tabs on Sproles’ injury because he could miss or be less than 100% this week.
• Alfonzo Dennard is out for a couple of weeks and Aqib Talib can’t finish games without getting hurt. The Pats face the Broncos – I’d start as many Broncos’ receivers as you can find this week. The Pats could be calling in Troy Brown out of retirement to play DB.

DraftKings Tight End Recommendations

If you’ve never played on DraftKings before, you can get a deposit bonus by signing up. And there are different options to pick from at DraftKings for any skill level.

Did you know that you can qualify for a million dollar top prize starting with just a $2 investment? It’s all right here at the DraftKings Millionaire Grand Final. Wait. Did I already mention that?

Finally, a gentle reminder on the scoring for Tight Ends – this is a PPR site so remember that when selecting players.

10 Receiving Yards = +1PT (+0.1PT per yard is awarded)
Reception = +1PT
Receiving TD = +6PTs
100+ Yard Receiving Game = +3PTs
Fumble Lost = -1PT
2 Point Conversion (Pass, Run, or Catch) = +2PTs

The full DraftKings scoring system is here.

Tight Ends can also be used in the flex position at DraftKings. However, with the entire world of RBs and WRs at your disposal, it would be unlikely you’d have to head to the TEs to pick up a flex play. Jimmy Graham is always in play as a flex option.

Let’s take a look at a couple of options at each price point. I’ll mention Football Outsiders a lot – the passes per game and yards per game stats I use are from Football Outsiders. Here is the link to Football Outsiders’ 2012 stats. FO has updated their stats for 2013 and you can find them here.

The Graham Tier

Jimmy Graham is in the Thursday night game and makes for a solid option if you include that game in your plays this week as the Saints should be able to score at will. Graham’s $7,300 salary is manageable and he should be in line for a TD.  However, I’d probably lean elsewhere this week. If you want to spend money on TEs, there is probably a better option. Like….

The Jeffersons

Rob Gronkowski | Patriots | $7,900 – Gronk nearly pulled the win out of the Pats last week. The Patriots now get to face off against a Denver Broncos team that is quite friendly to TEs. Gronkowski has been a giant since returning from injury struggling only against Miami. I can see Tom Brady feeding Gronkowski play after play. He should be the highest scorer at the TE position this week.

Vernon Davis | 49ers | $6,400 –Davis comes home to the DC area to face his hometown team this week. His hometown team isn’t very good on defense. They are terrible against TEs. They are in turmoil as Santana Moss called out Robert Griffin III this week to step up and lead. The team is in shambles and Davis is the only receiver that Colin Kaepernick trusts. Washington gets no pass rush so Davis should be free to run routes all day long.

All in the Family

Coby Fleener| Colts | $5,000 – Our weekly “who is playing the Cardinals” player is Coby Fleener. He’s been double digits in points three of the last four games. He’s been targeted ten times in each of his last two games. And, he hasn’t scored a TD in three games – he’s due!

Delanie Walker | Titans | $4,500 – Where did all of this come from for Walker? He’s had back to back solid games and three out of the last four in double digits. He’s faced some friendly defenses and gets an Oakland defense that was shredded last week by the Texans. It’s probably going to be him or Fleener in most of my lineups.

Good Times

Greg Olsen | Panthers | $4,100 – Also, double digits in three of the last four games for Olsen and he gets to face the Miami Dolphins who did shut down Gronk a few weeks ago, but in general struggle against the TE.

Garrett Graham | Texans | $4,000 – Case Keenum will start this week for the Texans against the Jacksonville Jaguars. He was pulled last week for the pariah that is Matt Schaub. Graham went bonkers last week against the Raiders scoring 28.6 points.  The Jags are the second worst team against TEs and give up the third most TDs to TEs. Graham should find the end zone again this week at a reasonable price.

From Way Downtown

Brandon Bostick | Packers | $3,600 – Bostick caught a TD last week and gets a very friendly game against the Minnesota Vikings. The Vikes give up the second most TDs to TEs in the league. He’s a long shot, but could pull in another TD this week and sneak over ten points.

DraftKings Kicker Recommendations

Your weekly update on this guy is that he’s still not on a roster. Sadly.

A reminder of the DraftKings scoring is below.

There are distance-based bonuses for kickers and no penalties for misses so you can take on risk without penalty.

Extra Point = +1PT
Field Goal 0-39 Yards = +3 PTs
Field Goal 40-49 Yards = +4PTs
Field Goal 50+ Yards = +5PTs

We have the same spread as last week as the most expensive kickers are at $4,000 and the bottom sits at $3,000. A few hundred dollars may not sound like a lot, but every bit counts when assembling your roster. Again, I can’t suggest paying too much for a kicker so we’ll look at the options further down the line.

Rian Lindell | Buccaneers | $3,400 – I’m going back to the well this week with Lindell (12 points last week) as he faces the Lions. The Lions give up the most FGAs per game (2.7) and also the second most kicking points attempted per game (10.2) in the league. Lindell should be solid again this week.

Garrett Hartley is a great option this week though he’s in the Thursday game. He’s a bargain at $3,000. Mason Crosby at $3,500 against the Vikings is another viable mid-priced option and Greg Zuerlein is a deep option at only $3,000.