Daily Fantasy College Football Picks for DraftKings - Week 1 - 9/1/18

Holy cow, has it even set in yet that college football is just back on DraftKings? I honestly never thought we'd see the day where Saturdays in the fall were back to sweating out our favorite NCAA plays on the gridiron. But here we are. We are back handing out plays for the biggest slates on Saturday and wading through a sometimes enormous player pool. We've got you covered for CFB on DraftKings for Week 1.

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Quarterback

Will Grier
West Virginia
DK 10,500 Opponent - Tenn
Grier comes into the season as an experienced redshirt senior who is currently in the discussion for the nation's best quarterback.  That’s the kind of certainty I like entering Week 1 of an extremely fluid college landscape.  In addition to Grier being an NFL-quality quarterback, he has a plethora of talent around him in returning starting receivers Sills V, Jennings, and Simms. Coming off a season where he threw for almost 3500 yards and 34 TD's, I fully expect him to pick up where he left off. The Vols weren’t very good at defending the pass last year and at times downright dreadful.  New Tennessee head coach Jeremy Pruitt, who earned his stripes a Defensive Coordinator for GA, Bama, and FSU, has devoted much of his time this fall to coaching up the defense and specifically the secondary.  Pruitt deploys an aggressive press coverage and has vowed he won't change now that he's in Tennessee. That sounds good and all, but they won't be ready Week 1 for arguably the best passing offense in the land. The game is being played in Charlotte, NC. with WVU as a 10 point favorite and a total hovering around 61.  I think Tennessee's offense will surprise a bit here and push the game flow ultimately leading to more offense for both teams.  Grier could have been the highest priced QB on the slate so I'm happy to spend roster him at a slight discount.  WG is dollars well spent!

Jordan Ta'amu
Ole Miss
DK 9,900 Opponent - Texas Tech
Almost everything I said above is basically true here as well, but for a few bucks less.  Ta'amu has quite a ways to match the sheer talent of Grier, but he checks just about every other box.  His core group of receivers return from last year with Brown, Metcalf, and Lodge all set to wreak havoc on opposing defenses. It's certainly debatable which group of receivers is more talented, but it's clear the cream of the crop is A.J. Brown.  Ta'amu was a little up and down last year with three games over 35pts and three games under 18pts, but to be fair he didn’t take over until Week 7.  With a full offseason to get more comfortable with the offense plus the existing chemistry with his receivers, he is in a good spot to come out of gates firing.  Ole Miss is on the road as two-point underdogs against Texas Tech with a total pushing 68.  Ole Miss has a suspect run game and will lean on their quarterback play to keep up with the fast pace offense of Texas Tech.

Trace McSorley
Penn State
DK 9,800 Opponent - Appalachian State
Some would say this is a homer pick and some would say it's purely data driven.  Cant it be both?  I've never hid my love for Penn State and in most cases it likely causes me to view their players through a more critical eye just to ensure my bias is not leaking through.  As we all know PSU lost all-world back Saquon Barkley, a guy who can make life easier for his quarterback, but Trace had a bit of sizzle of his own accord.  That sizzle is what puts him squarely in play for Week 1 against a notoriously tough Appalachian State.  I actually think the loss of Barkley will benefit McSorley from a pure fantasy perspective.  Simply put, he will need to do more.  Programs like PSU are seemingly deep for days so no doubt Sanders will replace Barkley adequately at the college level, but make no mistake about it, this is McSorley's team.  He's dangerous with his legs and its that’s ground game that is very appealing to me for cash purposes.  Penn State is a hefty 23pt favorite with a total in the mid 50's.  Even if Trace doesn’t get his full run much of the production will likely go through him.

Running Back

Patrick Laird
Cal
DK 8,900 Opponent - UNC
Figuring out the skill positioned player can be a slippery slope in the early going.  With so many teams opting to play glorified Junior College programs to open the season and the constant depth chart jostling, it can sometimes be anyone's guess what kind of volume to expect. I'm pegging Laird as one of the few guys I don’t mind dropping a large chunk of salary on at running back.  Cal opens as 7.5 point home favorites against North Carolina and Laird is the crystal clear RB1.  He really broke out last year for the Bears, eclipsing 1100 rushing yards with 9 TD's to go along with 45 receptions.  Now that Tre Watson and Vic Enwere have moved on it seems as though Laird will get the ball as often as he can handle.  Keep this in mind: Patrick Laird was a walk-on four years ago and now finds himself the starter entering Week 1.  He's earned every snap and I think he carries Cal to a Week 1 win.

Nico Evans
Wyoming
DK 4,500 Opponent - WSU
What's not love here? Fresh off a dominating performance against New Mexico State where Evans carried the load to the tune of 25 carries for 204 yards and two scores, Nico looks to keep things going against a much stiffer foe in Washington State.  Vegas currently has Wyoming as 2.5 point dogs playing at home and while Washington State is an uptick in competition I still think Evans is the best overall value at running back.  Wyoming does two things very well: run the ball and play defense.  Last week against New Mexico State, the Cowboys ran the ball an eye-popping 57 times compared to just 21 pass attempts.  How do you slow down a fast-paced passing attack? Run the ball and control the clock.  I think Wyoming's defense is very much up to the task of slowing down Washington State's passing game and will look to pound the ball.  30+ carries isn’t out of the question for Mr. Evans.

Kennedy McKoy
West Virginia
DK 5,700 Opponent - Tenn
Kennedy McKoy is expected to be the starter and handle a majority of the work, but WVU consistently uses multiple backs in its offense so the other backs should see some snaps as well.  However, McKoy is priced as such and is in pretty good shape to return value at just $5700 for a starting running back.  Tennessee, as mentioned above, will really have to focus on Grier and the Mountaineers passing attack, which should create running room for the WVU backs.  As 10 point favorites, the game script should favor the WVU running backs.  Keep an eye on the news as there are some rumors that Alec Sinkfield could open as RB2 which would be a sneaky GPP play at just $3700.  All in all, I think McKoy is a middling priced RB with a high floor and generally low ceiling, but if he runs hot with TD's could easily help your lineup climb the leaderboard.

Stephen Carr
USC
DK 9,100 Opponent - UNLV
Ronald Jones now plays on Sundays for the Tampa Bay Bucs and the next man up for the Trojans is Stephen Carr.  The Trojans are heavy favorites at -25.5 which gives me some concern in regards to the volume Carr receives in a potential blowout.  That said, USC also lost Sam Darnold and Deontay Burnett and has yet to name a starting quarterback.  Even with the return of starting receivers Tyler Vaughns and Michael Pittman I think USC will rely on its ground game to generate its offense.  Carr should dominate the early touches and be given every opportunity to find pay dirt.  I prefer Laird at this price point, but Carr should have a nice day if the volume is there.

Tyson Williams
South Carolina
DK 4,300 Opponent - C-C
Williams is a bit of a speculation play for me.  He's cheap at just $4300 and early depth chart projections have him listed as Co-Starter with Rico Dowdle.  The Gamecocks are heavy 30pt favorites against Coastal Carolina so all their backs should see snaps and all could be productive.  In terms of, cash games I would much rather play Nico Evans at just $200 more, but I will have a little GPP exposure to Williams.

Wide Receiver

Deebo Samuel
South Carolina
DK 8,000 Opponent - C-C
Wide receiver is a really a position I'd rather not spend my salary on this weekend.  Week 1 is probably the most difficult to project for receivers and the expected volumes.  Running back is more of a plug and play position and we can rely on systems to getter a better feel for expected volume/production.  Receive, on the other hand, relies on timing and chemistry along with a good sense of the playbook.  The elite receivers are simply out of consideration for me based on price as I'd rather play two expensive QB's, but if I had to spend up Deebo would be my guy.  There is serious blowout potential here which can be dicey with receivers, but he's a couple thousand below the elite price tags and could deliver elite returns.  Prior to his season-ending injury Deebo was the Gamecocks most electric offensive weapon.  He's healthy now and will assuredly be the best athlete on the field this Saturday.  In just 3 games last year Samuel scored 4 total TD's (3rec/1rush)averaging roughly  27 fantasy pts/game.  Despite the blowout risk it's hard to image Deebo being left out of the party.

Anthony Ratliff-Williams
North Carolina
DK 6,700 Opponent - Cal

I like this game in general and will certainly run some stack variations, but ARW stands out as a decent middling receiver option.  He really came on halfway through the season finishing with five straight games of double-digit fantasy pts averaging 25pts over the last three games.  Part of the reason could be related to the fact North Carolina wasn’t really settled at QB, playing both Elliot and Surratt during the season.  Elliot didn’t even play until Week 8 and was the starter for weeks 11-13 which are the same 3 games ARW produced his best.  The connection became apparent at the end of last season and the two should hook up early and often in what should be a fairly evenly matched game with the Tar Heels at a 7.5 dog.

Kanawai Noa/Vic Wharton
Cal
DK 5,400, 5,800 Opponent - UNC
Opposite Anthony Ratliff Williams is the Cal duo of Noa & Wharton who return as the team's top two receivers from last year.  Assuming Bowers is under center, and all signs point toward that happening, Noa and Wharton should both improve upon last year's statistical totals.  These two teams faced off week 1 last year in what was a wild 35-30 win for the Bears.  I expect similar offensive output from both teams and would consider rostering either Noa or Wharton or both as a cash or GPP play.  Noa is more of the big play threat while Wharton figures as more of a possession receiver.  Either way, both falls at a decent salary for a receiver you can feel confident will play the entire game short of an injury.

Marquez Calloway
Tennessee
DK 4.900 Opponent - WVU
Callaway makes for nice sub $5k salaried receiver.  Callaway played well at times last season including his week 1 performance against GT where he ripped off a 4/115/2 stat line.  One could only hope for a Week 1 repeat, but regardless Marquez fits the mold for what I'm looking for in my receivers.  Tennessee's offense should be improved and more consistent from a year ago.  After losing John Kelly to the NFL the Vols will need their passing game in order to keep up with the potent Mountaineer offense.  He's not a must play, but I do like his upside vs price.

Jerrod Heard
Texas
DK 3,900 Opponent - UMD
Texas opens the season on the road at Maryland as 13pt favorites.  Jerrod Heard, once a dual-threat QB prospect, is tabbed as a starting WR for the Longhorns and at just $3900 is likely priced below his expected opportunity.  Heard saw limited action last season but was still used in 11 games and figures to be much more involved in 2018.  With nice size at 6'2" he can go up and get the deep ball and figures to be a red zone threat as well.  If you're looking to get out of the position cheap Heard is the guy for you.

DJ Turner
Maryland
DK 3,900 Opponent - UT
Like Ty'Son mentioned above, Turner is more of a speculation play.  He is the starting slot receiver for the Terps and under new OC, Matt Canada, the slot receiver can expect an uptick in volume.  Canada is now the Interim Head Coach and nothing can stop him from running 47 Jet Sweeps now.  Teams like Maryland have a way of surprising teams like Texas opening weekend when playing at home.  If the theory holds true Canada will look to get his speedy slot receiver involved a bit more than we're used to seeing out of the position. – GPP only