2016 Thanksgiving Day Rankings: Fantasy Football, Pie and Beer!

Welcome to Year 8 of the Thanksgiving Day Rankings!

For many of us, an unparalleled level of awkward conversation awaits Thursday. There is only one escape.

Here is a quick run-down of how it works.

1. Find a few of your favorite friends or relatives that you will be spending the holiday with, or your most entertaining friends on Snapchat.

2. Before the start of the Minnesota-Detroit game Thursday morning, figure out a draft order and set up a three-to-six-team fantasy league just for the three games Thursday. If you're not sure how to fairly determine a draft order, Random.org has a free list randomizer.

3. Keep it simple and map out roster requirements (1 QB, 2 RB, 2 WR, 1 TE, 1 RB/WR/TE flex, 1 K, 1 D/ST ) along with a scoring system. (**Hint: Add a second flex that allows the use of another quarterback if you have a three- or four-team league.)

Reasonable scoring system***:

20 pass yards = 1 pt
Pass TD = 4 pts
10 rush/rec yards = 1 pt
Reception = 1 pt
Rush/Rec TD = 6 pts
FG = 3 pts
PAT = 1 pt
2 pt Conv = 2 pts
Sacks = 1 pt
INT (for defense) = 2 pts
Safeties = 2 pts
All D/ST TD = 6 pts

***Pro Tip: Establish scoring settings that match one of your season-long leagues or DFS entries, and compile player scores from your league page. These leagues can be easily scored within a shared Google document, or on paper.

The entry fee can be small to get everyone involved (i.e. $10/entry, winner take all; last place drives your craziest relative(s) home, all entry fees go toward Uber/Lyft/cab fare to avoid driving that same relative home, winner gets the last beer/piece of pie), and the 10-15 minutes it takes to run the draft will be well worth the time.

Below, I have compiled the initial set of rankings for the Thanksgiving Day games.

Rankings have been adjusted to reflect Wednesday's injury report!

Happy Thanksgiving to you and yours.

*In addition to the positional rankings, there is a table below that displays fantasy points allowed by position for each of the six teams playing Thursday.

Game Schedule

Vikings at Lions -2.5 (CBS, 12:30p ET)
Redskins at Cowboys -6.5 (FOX, 4:30p ET)
Steelers -7.5 at Colts (NBC, 8:30p ET)

Based on the locations of the three games this year, weather will not be factor.

Implied Scores (Determined with point spread and over/under totals)

Cowboys – 29
Steelers – 27.75
Redskins – 22.5
Lions – 22
Colts – 20.25
Vikings – 19.5

The Rankings

Quarterbacks

1. Dak Prescott, DAL (v. WAS)
2. Ben Roethlisberger, PIT (at IND) – Does the absence of Luck chip away at Roethlisberger's attempt volume?
3. Kirk Cousins, WAS (at DAL)
4. Sam Bradford, MIN (at DET)
5. Matthew Stafford, DET (v. MIN)
6. Scott Tolzien, IND (v. PIT) – Andrew Luck (concussion) has been officially ruled out.

Running Backs

1. Le'Veon Bell, PIT (at IND) – More of a 1a and 1b scenario at the top. I am leaning Bell because of the aforementioned road concerns for Roethlisberger.
2. Ezekiel Elliott, DAL (v. WAS) – It's entirely reasonable to prefer Zeke over Bell this week.
3. Rob Kelley, WAS (at DAL) – 20+ carries in three straight games, plus his nickname is "Fat Rob" and it's Thanksgiving.
4. Frank Gore, IND (v. PIT) – Moves ahead of Riddick with expectation of a more ground-heavy attack in confirmed absence of Andrew Luck.
5. Theo Riddick, DET (v. MIN) – Yielded a lot of carries to Dwayne Washington in Week 11, but role as a pass-catcher seems safe in a matchup against strong Vikings pass rush. Limited practice this week due to an ankle injury.
6. Jerick McKinnon, MIN (at DET) – Has the carry edge right now, just isn't doing much with it behind a banged-up offensive line.
7. Chris Thompson, WAS (at DAL)
8. Matt Asiata, MIN (at DET)
9. Dwayne Washington, DET (v. MIN)
10. Alfred Morris, DAL (v. WAS)
11. Robert Turbin, IND (v. PIT)
12. Fitzgerald Toussaint, PIT (at IND)

Wide Receivers

1. Antonio Brown, PIT (at IND)
2. Dez Bryant, DAL (v. WAS)
3. Jamison Crowder, WAS (at DAL)
4. DeSean Jackson, WAS (at DAL)
5. T.Y. Hilton, IND (v. PIT) – Dropped again Tuesday w/doubt about Andrew Luck's availability.
6. Adam Thielen, MIN (at DET) – Stefon Diggs is officially out.
7. Golden Tate, DET (v. MIN)
8. Cole Beasley, DAL (v. WAS)
9. Pierre Garcon, WAS (at DAL)
10. Donte Moncrief, IND (v. PIT) Dropped one more spot Wednesday with Andrew Luck ruled out.
11. Marvin Jones, DET (v. MIN)
12.Anquan Boldin, DET (v. MIN)
13. Cordarrelle Patterson, MIN (at DET) – Starting with Stefon Diggs out.
14. Eli Rogers, PIT (at IND)
15. Charles Johnson, MIN (at DET) – Could see extra targets with Stefon Diggs out.
16. Cobi Hamilton, PIT (at IND)
17. Phillip Dorsett, IND (v. PIT)
18. Terrance Williams, DAL (v. WAS)
19. Sammie Coates, PIT (at IND)
20. Andre Roberts, DET (v. MIN)
21. Brice Butler, DAL (v. WAS)
22. Laquon Treadwell, MIN (at DET) – Treadwell added Thursday morning with Stefon Diggs inactive and the possibility of an increased role Diggs' absence.

Tight Ends

1. Jordan Reed, WAS (at DAL)
2. Kyle Rudolph, MIN (at DET)
3. Eric Ebron, DET (v. MIN)
4. Jason Witten, DAL (v. WAS)
5. Jesse James, PIT (at IND)
6. Jack Doyle, IND (v. PIT)
7. Vernon Davis, WAS (at DAL)
8. Dwayne Allen, IND (v. PIT)
9. Ladarius Green, PIT (at IND)
10. Gavin Escobar, DAL (v. WAS)

Kickers

1. Dan Bailey, DAL (v. WAS)
2. Matt Prater, DET (v. MIN)
3. Chris Boswell, PIT (at IND)
4. Dustin Hopkins, WAS (at DAL)
5. Adam Vinatieri, IND (v. PIT)
6. Kai Forbath, MIN (at DET)

Defense/Special Teams

1. Vikings (at DET)
2. Steelers (at IND) – Moved up to No. 2 spot with Scott Tolzien starting at quarterback behind a porous offensive line.
3. Lions (v. MIN)
4. Cowboys (v. WAS)
5. Redskins (at DAL)
6. Colts (v. PIT)

Fantasy Points Allowed by Position (full PPR scoring)

Current Pie Rankings

1. Apple
2. Blueberry
3. Blackberry – Move to top if "Sour Cream" precedes "Blackberry"
4. French Silk
5. Shepherd's
6. Strawberry Rhubarb
7. Cherry
8. Peach
9. Pecan – Still awaiting one that makes me understand the hype.
10. Pumpkin – Is the point to just eat an entire tub of Cool Whip?

Six Beers to Consider for Thursday and the rest of Week 12

1. Bourbon Barrel Stout, Central Waters Brewing Company (Amherst, WI)
2. PseudoSue, Toppling Goliath Brewing Company (Decorah, IA)
3. Wookey Jack, Firestone Walker Brewing Company (Paso Robles, CA)
4. Jai Alai IPA, Cigar City Brewing (Tampa, FL)
5. Old Chub, Oskar Blues Brewery (Longmont, CO)
6. Three Philosophers, Brewery Ommegang (Cooperstown, NY)