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Kevin Luchansky looks at Week 1 College Football DFS sleepers, value picks and lineups for DraftKings and Fanduel on September 1st These players are great picks in CFB DFS tournaments and cash games.
I couldn’t believe my eyes when I saw the announcement just a week or so ago – college football daily fantasy is back! Thank you, DraftKings. Thank you for making my dreams come true.
DraftKings welcomed us college football addicts back last Saturday with a 3-game slate, and they have a smaller slate Thursday to help us wet our collective beaks. The first big-time slate is this Saturday, September 1st and it’s a beautiful 16 game Main slate, with the contest beginning at Noon Eastern time. This write-up will be entirely focused on helping you navigate the Main slate on Saturday, and hopefully fatten our pockets a bit.
Before we jump into player selections, let’s talk lineup format, as there have been a few changes since we last played. The lineup format is as follows: QB-RB-RB-WR-WR-WR-Flex-S.Flex. The first six slots are pretty explanatory, and the Flex and Super Flex options are new additions. The Flex spot allows you to roster any running back or wide receiver, while the Super Flex opens up the entire pool – meaning you can stick an extra quarterback in your lineup using the Super Flex spot, if you so choose. This certainly adds a wrinkle to lineup construction thoughts, and essentially allows you to stack two offenses by using your Super Flex spot on a quarterback.
In this article, I will be providing you with my daily fantasy college football lineup picks for DraftKings on 9/1/18. The lineup picks will range from some of the elite players to mid-priced options and value plays. You can also read more DFS advice and lineup picks for sites like FanDuel, and other sports too. If you have any questions or comments, feel free to hit me up on Twitter @kpLuch.
DraftKings DFS Quarterbacks
Will Grier – QB, at TENN ($10,500)
The Week One waters can be pretty tough to navigate overall, as there is so much uncertainty as it pertains to workloads, projections, depth charts, and defensive metrics. Looking at 2017 offensive and defensive ranks can be useful, but there’s also so much roster turnover (and coaching changes) to consider that it’s hard to put a ton of stock into them. That said, Grier is one of the plays I feel more confident in on Saturday, in both cash game and tournament formats. He is one of the most talented players in all of football, and there’s no question the Mountaineers offense will run through him and go as he goes. It’s not surprising he’s listed as one of the Heisman favorites. This game features an attractive Vegas total of 61.5 points with a 10 point spread (West Virginia favored). In addition to the aforementioned, Grier is an attractive play thanks to his experience and the talented group of wide receivers he has around him, as well as the fact that this Tennessee team had a lot of trouble defending the pass last season.
Jordan Ta’amu – QB, at Texas Tech ($9,900)
There are quite a few things to love about Ta’amu and the Rebels on Saturday. For starters, the game features an incredibly high Vegas total (currently at 68), with an attractively low spread of just two points (Ole Miss being the underdog). Ta’amu stepped in for Shea Patterson for the latter half of 2018 and the offense didn’t miss a beat. The dual-threat quarterback can pick up a few yards here and there when needed via his own two legs, but one of the most attractive things about playing him in this spot is that he has a very talented, veteran group of receivers that he worked with last year and has had a chance to mesh with this summer in pre-season camp. Consider the fact that the Rebels have a below average running back group, we should expect them to air it out quite a bit in this matchup, especially as they’re facing a porous pass defense.
DraftKings DFS Running Backs
Devin Singletary – RB, at OU ($7,100)
Devin Singletary is the real deal and I’m all in on him in this week one matchup against the Sooners. Last season, Singletary was amazing in the run game, amassing over 1,900 yards and finding the end zone a total of 32 times! He has eclipsed 100 yards on the ground in 12 straight games and in 15 of his last 18. He’s also a bit of a threat in the passing game, as the dynamic, jump-cut back hauled in 19 passes for 198 yards. Sure, Oklahoma will be a tougher matchup than many of his opponents last season, but in 2017 the Sooners were pretty weak at stopping the run, allowing an average of 150 yards a game on the ground. The high total of this game is also attractive (68.5) and the spread (21 points) is a little less scary when you’re attaching yourself to the underdog side of the game.
Nico Evans – RB, vs WSU ($4,500)
We are getting super value here with this incredibly low price tag on Wyoming’s starting running back, Nico Evans. As Wyoming partook in “Week Zero” last Saturday, we got a chance to see how Evans was used in the Cowboys’ offense, and boy was he impressive. Even if he isn’t fed as often as he was last week, coming off a start where he was handed the ball 25 times en route to 205 yards and two scores is really positive to see. Wyoming happens to be a run-heavy offense, too (they ran the ball 57 times last week, compared to just 21 pass attempts), and as such, I think it’s fair to say Evans will have a chance to be a major producer again in Week One.
DraftKings DFS Wide Receivers
DaMarkus Lodge – WR, at Texas Tech ($5,900)
I love the idea of pairing Jordan Ta’amu with Ole Miss’ number one option at wideout, A.J. Brown. The only problem there is that essentially breaks your bank, as Brown comes in with a five-figure price tag. Lodge is an excellent consolation target, as the experienced senior enters #2 on the depth chart this season with 18 games played and 10 stars under his belt. Lodge has been pretty productive in that time as well. Last season, he was targeted 61 times in nine games, coming down with 33 catches and six touchdowns. With extra time to work with Ta’amu in the off-season, the outlook is bright for Lodge. And, seeing as the game features a really high total and that the Rebels are expected to air it out, I think there is great value in this modest price tag.
Bryan Edwards - WR, vs Coastal Carolina ($5,900)
Edwards leads an experienced group of receivers - perhaps the best and deepest in the SEC - against a pretty soft opponent in Coastal Carolina. With South Carolina's high implied total and Edwards consistent production last season, he really appears as a steal at this price point. It's always a little dicey taking receivers in games that have a blowout risk, but Edwards brings upside (big deep threat) and targets consistency to the table at a low cost for you and me. He finished the 2017 season 64 catches and just shy of 800 yards and five touchdowns. He also closed out the season with no less than five catches and no less than 70 yards receiving in the final three games of the year and find the end zone in each of those games.
