4 NFL FanDuel Tournament Pivots for Week 13

If you've played daily fantasy sports for a while, you realize by now the importance of being contrarian, especially in large-field tournaments. Being able to recognize which players are going to be owned by the majority of the field -- and to find players who you think have a similar point projection but will come at much lower ownership -- can help separate you from your opponents.

The purpose of this article will be to identify some players who will be the chalk at each position and how you can pivot off of them with high-upside options that could go overlooked.

Let's take a look at pivot options for Week 13.

Tyrod Taylor, QB, Houston Texans ($7,000)

Tyrod Taylor is a fantasy option this week.

That's a fact. Taylor is an option this week, whether you agree he's a good fantasy option is yet to be determined, but that's why I'm here. Taylor is very affordable, has a great matchup versus the Indianapolis Colts, and he won't be popular because he is on the Houston Texans -- who are bad.

The Colts come in allowing 19.8 FanDuel points per game to quarterbacks, which is the fifth-worst in the league. If this were almost any other quarterback on a better offensive team, we'd be looking at a chalky spot, but it's the Texans, so Taylor is likely going overlooked.

We see the Texans as large 10.0-point home underdogs, but that will put them in a passing game script and provide some upside for Taylor. It's also good to see that the Colts have allowed the eighth-most (237) rushing yards to quarterbacks this season, presenting an opening for Taylor to rack up more fantasy points. I'll be looking to Taylor a full contrarian option this week and stacking him with Brandin Cooks ($6,700).

Eli Mitchell, RB, San Francisco 49ers ($7,600)

Eli Mitchell is going to smash this week.

The San Francisco 49ers have a solid 24.50 implied team total this week as they take on division rivals, the Seattle Seahawks. It's somewhat poetic that the Seahawks, a team that's been known to want to establish the run, are so terrible defending it. The Seahawks are allowing the second-most (28.0) FanDuel points per game to running backs this season.

This shouldn't be a surprise, did you see what Antonio Gibson did to them last week? The only team worse than them is the New York Jets and anytime you are in the same conversation about the Jets, it's probably not a good thing.

The one note for the 49ers is that Deebo Samuel is out this week, which opens up extra touches for Mitchell. Even though Samuel is a wide receiver, he has posted 19 rushing attempts over the past three weeks. Remove him from the equation, and it should lead to a few more carries for Mitchell. With at least 27 carries and 91 rushing yards in each of the last two games for Mitchell, he is in good form considering the matchup he has waiting for him.

While many DFS players might be looking to Alexander Mattison ($8,700) or Leonard Fournette ($7,700) in the middle tier, pivot to Mitchell this week.

Josh Reynolds, WR, Detroit Lions ($5,100)

Recommending a player from the Detroit Lions...no way this ends badly!

That's right, Josh Reynolds from the Lions is an option at wide receiver you should be considering this week. This is a very straightforward option for a few reasons. He provides plenty of salary relief on a slate where you want to be spending up for the top running backs. He's up against the Minnesota Vikings, who are allowing the second-most (35.2) FanDuel points per game to wide receivers. And he's Jared Goff's new favorite receiving option.

The Lions claimed Reynolds off of waivers a couple of weeks ago, and he made his full-form debut on Thanksgiving versus the Chicago Bears. Reynolds had a 20.0% target share in that game (tied for the highest on the team).

Reynolds and Goff have a connection due to their time together on the Los Angeles Rams in prior seasons. Regardless of whether you buy into the onfield connection, 5 targets, 70 yards, and a touchdown in his first real action are worth noting.

Add in a great matchup this week, and Reynolds is a viable DFS option.

Pat Freiermuth, TE, Pittsburgh Steelers ($5,400)

With four elite options at tight end this week, it can be tough to fade them.

Mark Andrews, Rob Gronkowski, Kyle Pitts, and George Kittle are the highest-salaried options on the slate, but the options don't stop there. Pivot down to Pat Freiermuth, who's becoming a key pass-catcher for the Pittsburgh Steelers. Since Week 6, Freiermuth has a 17.2% target share, which is the third-highest on the team, and a 33.3% red zone target share, which is the highest on the team.

That should come in handy versus the Baltimore Ravens, who have allowed the second-most (7) touchdowns to tight ends this season and the third-most (774) receiving yards. His role is also fully secure with Eric Ebron hitting injured reserve last week.

This should make Freiermuth a priority option for Ben Roethlisberger, who has managed to throw him five touchdowns over the past five weeks.