DraftKings CFB DFS Lineup Picks: Daily Fantasy College Football (10/16/21 Early)

October 16, 2021

Mike Marteny's DraftKings daily fantasy college football lineup picks for the main slate on 10/16/21. His CFB DFS lineup picks and DFS sleepers will help you win big.

Our big slate on Saturday has 12 games that DraftKings picked out for us. We've got some big ones on here once again. We start off with A&M, fresh off the upset of Alabama, heading to Missouri. We have more SEC action with Auburn in Fayetteville and Florida heading to Looosiana. Cincinnati welcomes the Dillon Gabriel-less UCF team. Oklahoma State heads to Austin for a big time Big 12(10) clash. We finish off the morning with a couple of Big Ten(14) tilts with Michigan State heading to Bloomington and Nebraska heading up to the Twin Cities.

The afternoon starts with the only undefeated teams left standing in the SEC when Georgia welcomes Kentucky. Miami heads up to Chapel Hill and Pitt heads to Blacksburg for some ACC flavor. BYU heads down to Waco for some fun in the Texas sun. We close out the slate with Iowa hosting Purdue. This is going to be another great one!

In this article, I will be providing you with my daily fantasy college football lineup picks for the early DraftKings slate that locks at noon eastern on 10/16/21. I’ll be providing multiple player suggestions for players at quarterback, running back, and wide receiver, aiming to highlight one option apiece at the high, middle, and lower end of the salary scale. Good luck, RotoBallers.

DraftKings CFB DFS Quarterbacks

Sam Howell, North Carolina ($9,200)

We saw Brennan Armstrong go nuts on the Canes on the road a couple of weeks ago. Howell and Armstrong are similar, but Howell has double-digit carries in every game this year. The Tarheels are using him as a de-facto running back as well as a guy who can rack up 300 passing yards. That kind of potential makes Howell tough to fade in cash games. He has ample GPP upside as well due to Miami's defense not being what it is advertised.

Adrian Martinez, Nebraska ($7,900)

Martinez is going to make his mistakes, but he has been doing a lot right of late. He has four rushing touchdowns and four passing touchdowns over the last two weeks with only two turnovers. Those turnovers were huge in the actual game, but they don't hurt as much here. The Nebraska offense is centered around Martinez and the Minnesota defensive stats are skewed by them playing four games against offenses in the bottom half of FBS (Colorado, Purdue, Miami-Ohio, and Bowling Green). Ohio State tore them up pretty good and the Gophers don't have the offense to keep their defense off the field. Nebraska is going to have their way in this one.

Zach Calzada, Texas A&M ($6,300)

Anyone against Missouri has been fantasy gold lately. Calzada racked up 285 passing yards on Alabama, so nothing Missouri has scares me. The Aggies may have to go to the air a little more than usual if Spiller is still banged up. Rush defense is really Missouri's sore spot, but that defense can be beaten any way possible. A&M's offense is in for a really good game here.

Also consider: Kenny Pickett, Pittsburgh ($8,400); Emory Jones, Florida ($8,300); Gerry Bohanon, Baylor ($6,300); Bo Nix, Auburn ($6,000)

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DraftKings CFB DFS Running Backs

Jaylen Warren, Oklahoma State ($7,100)

All you need to do is take a look at what Kennedy Brooks did to Texas last weekend. He's not the first and he wont be the last. Warren is a better back than Brooks. That Texas offense is good, but the defense is still an adventure at times. Both Arkansas and Oklahoma ran for more than three Benjamins on the Longhorns. Oklahoma State is another run-first team that can carve them up on the ground.

Isaiah Spiller, Texas A&M ($6,600)

Want to know how this is going to turn out for Spiller and Devon Achane? I really like both of them and here's why. Central Michigan ran for 174 on Missouri in the opener. That is the least amount of rushing yards in a game that the Tigers have allowed all season. Even Southeast Missouri State ran for 294 yards! Boston College went for 275. North Texas, a team that would rather pass than run, ran for 188. Kentucky carved them up for 341 yards on the ground and four touchdowns. Tennessee did them dirty with a staggering 458 rushing yards (on only 59 carries!) and five rushing touchdowns. You need at least one Aggies back here.

Rahmir Johnson, Nebraska ($5,500)

It appears as though the Cornhuskers finally have their back that can handle a bunch of snaps. Michigan held Johnson to 67 rushing yards, but he had 105 receiving and scored a touchdown for the second straight game. Nebraska is going to find ways to get Johnson the ball and he is proving to be a solid receiver as well. That only helps his fantasy outlook.

Johnny Richardson, Central Florida ($3,900)

Early reports make it look like Northwestern transfer Isaiah Bowser will still be out. That would mean another start for Richardson. This is going to be the toughest matchup for the Knights, but Richardson's price is so low that he's still worth considering. He has six receptions over the last three games and has topped the century mark in two of those. I would expect something like his output against Navy in Week 5. He still hit double digit DraftKings points in that one. That's a great return for the price.

Also consider: Tyler Badie, Missouri ($8,000); Kenneth Walker III, Michigan State ($6,700); Devon Achane, Texas A&M ($5,100); Jaylan Knighton, Miami ($4,600); Connor Heyward, Michigan State ($3,500)

DraftKings CFB DFS Wide Receivers

Josh Downs, North Carolina ($8,700)

Downs has at least eight receptions and at least one touchdown in every game this season. He's going to get his numbers whether the Tarheels win or lose. When I pay up for a receiver, I want consistency like this and I want a large portion of the target share. Downs has 49 receptions this season. The rest of the team only has 65 receptions combined between 11 players. He has 33 more receptions than the next closest receiver. He's a lock for good production with the ceiling for great.

Tay Martin, Oklahoma State ($7,700)

The Washington State transfer has at least 100 receiving yards in all three games that he has played in this year. Spencer Sanders may have some inconsistency issues, but those don't show through in Martin's stat lines. He's the man when he's in there. He has at least 20 DraftKings points in every game this season. He seems to be a lock for another one against Texas.

Jalen Nailor, Michigan State ($6,200)

Nailor's world-class speed is going to be a huge problem for the Indiana secondary. Payton Thorne has proven that he can hit Nailor in stride on routes. It seems a certainty that Nailor hits at least one long touchdown in this game.

Tyquan Thornton, Baylor ($5,200)

The progression of Gerry Bohanan has been impressive this season and Thornton has probably enjoyed it more than most. Thornton hauled in a career-best eight passes for 187 yards and a pair of touchdowns against a good West Virginia defense. We saw Boise get behind the Cougars once or twice last week and the Bears are a far more athletic team. This is a prove-it game for Baylor. I think Thornton comes up big in this one again.

Peyton Hendershot, Indiana ($4,300)

Indiana isn't as bad as the record seems. They have faced a murderer's row of defenses so far. The Hoosiers have played three teams currently in the top seven of the nation in Iowa, Cincinnati, and Penn State. It doesn't get any easier against a strong Michigan State defense. Teams have been going after Michael Penix and the Spartans will likely do the same. That makes Hendershot his best friend. Hendershot has 17 receptions over the last three games. That's great volume for the price.

Also consider: Jordan Addison, Pittsburgh ($8,000); Xavier Worthy, Texas ($7,400); Charleston Rambo, Miami ($6,100); Ryan O'Keefe, Central Florida ($4,800); Ainias Smith, Texas A&M ($4,400)

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