DK Top Plays
QBs: Hoover, McCoy, Mendoza, Leonard, Brosmer, Mensah,J. Brown, Milroe
RBs: Hughes, Wisner, Taylor, Carroll, Harvey, Brooks, Battle, Blue, J. Ellison
WRs: D. Jackson, T. Johnson, S. Williams, Carnes, Helm, Walker, Lassiter, Kelly, Stewart, Endries, Felton, R. Williams
FD Top Plays
QBs: J. Brown, Milroe, Hoover, Ward, Leonard, T. Jackson, Gabriel
RBs: Giddens, Wisner, Harvey, Brooks, James, J. Blue, J. Love, Carroll,
WRs: T. Johnson, S Williams, C. Loveland, J. Kelly, D. Lassiter, T. Harris, E. Stewart, G. Helm
Gevani McCoy is projected as one of the top values at the QB position. He has thrown for 1,300 yards, but only 3 TDs. McCoy gets a huge boost with his legs, rushing for 377-5 this season. Being underdogs Saturday, McCoy will have his work cut out for him, and one thing seems safe — The volume will be there. This script is perfect for him to air it out. In the loss last weekend he threw the ball 38 times, and 42 times in the loss the week prior. We like McCoy as an excellent value option here, but hard to consider him the stone optimal value when we have 3-4 good, cheap options. However, we have no issue with McCoy in any contest this weekend.
Fernanda Mendoza is projecting very well, yet again. He has one of the juiciest matchups on the slate against the porous Oregon State defense. He has thrown for 272+ in each of his past 4 games, and had 37+ attempts in 3 of those contests. Mendoza has the best floor of the 5k value group, and projects to score the most points. Mendoza is projecting right near McCoy in ownership. Mendoza can be used in most any format this weekend.
Max Brosmer also projects well in the PT/$ category. He is a measly 5k here, in a solid matchup against Maryland. Brosmer is serviceable passing, with at least 1 passing TD in all but 2 games this season. He is fine with his legs, but his rushing stats are boosted because of a huge game against USC .We view Brosmer as a leverage value play with ownership trending toward McCoy and Mendoza.
Darian Mensah is popping as one of the top PT/$ plays, but is holding much less ownership than the other value QBs. He’s thrown at least 1 TD in every game, and hasn’t run too much either. He gets a super juicy matchup here, and a nice game script. His volume is meh, hovering right at 20 passing attempts per game. His aDoT gets splashy, with a 10+ depth in all but 3 games. He’s an upside GPP option we’d like to stack, and prefer Mario Williams as the WR with him.
Josh Hoover is priced pretty high this week, but we believe it is warranted. He gets a matchup with the super soft TTU defense. Hoover has thrown for 233+ in each of his past 5 games, with 2+ TD in 4 of those contests. He is projected to be one of the top scorers at the QB position, as well as one of the best PT/$ values. He’s an optimal option solo as his top WR targets a bit price restrictive. However, his volume passing does make him stackable as well, making him an exciting option in GPPs (depending on which or how many WR you use)
Riley Leonard just keeps running. He projects well among QBs, and it is absolutely warranted. He is second on ND with 75 Carries, and first on the team with 10 rushing TD. He has at least 1 rushing TD in each of his 5 games. Leonard is an optimal option at the QB position.
Jalen Milroe is the top priced QB, but has more upside than any QB on the slate. He projects extremely well, yet again this weekend. Mikroe’s ceiling is close to 50, which we can’t say about many other QBs. Feel free to use him as a leverage play in GPPs this weekend.
Jaccuri Brown is one of the top PT/$ plays at the QB position, Brown is poised to produce here yet again. In a brutal matchup last weekend he ran 13-154-2. His passing isn’t ideal, but he really can produce with his legs. Gets a much softer matchup here, and we believe he is a very good mid-tier option at the QB position.
RB
Quintrevion Wisner has been repping more and more for Texas. He’s won the starter role now, and he’s certainly getting starter touches. He’s the top PT/$ play here against Vandy, and is flat out too cheap. 13+ carries each of his past 3 games, two runs of 38+ yards. He’s exactly what we’re looking for as our optimal RB option. Jaydon Blue will be excellent leverage, as he could be in store for 8+ touches here, and near 0 ownership. Wisner is the better option as the starter, with a path to 20+ touches and multiple TDs, but Blue is basically where Wisner was a few weeks ago, except with a higher priced will be virtually unowned. Blue had 9 targets last game, Wisner had 8… Spicy.
Mahki Hughes is one of the best volume backs in CFB. He has a TD in all but 1 game this season, and is averaging over 20 touches per game. He projects near the top in every category this weekend, and we believe he is an optimal option at the RB position.
Darius Taylor is projecting chalky, but his volume really isn’t there for a chalky 8k option. If we’re paying 8k, we want a usage hog, with a great floor and monster upside. With Taylor, we have the upside, but not the floor. Outside of a monster 25 carry game, Taylor has hovered in the 10-16 carry range. He does have 4+ targets in every game, which is keeping him afloat even when the carries aren’t there. Taylor’s targets give him upside, and the potential for a 25 carry game is intriguing, as he has shown huge breakaway upside. If his ownership starts trending down, Taylor will be a very good leverage GPP option. As it stands, he’s one of the chalkier RB plays, with a mediocre floor, and a monster ceiling.
RJ Harvey projects near the top in RB scoring this weekend. TDs in all but 1 game, and he has one of the best upsides on the slate. He had 25 carries last game, and could be in line for another huge workload here with Brown still under center. Harvey is an excellent pay up option at the RB positon here.
Tahj Brooks is $800 more than Darius Taylor, which is deflating his ownership tremendously. He has 17+ carries in every game, and 21+ carries in all but 1 game. He has run for 100+ yards in every game, and scored in all but 1 game. Brooks is an excellent GPP pivot off of Taylor as the ownership projections stand now.
Marcus Carroll gets a backfield to himself for sure this weekend, as Nate Noel has already been ruled out. Carroll projects as one of the top PT/$ RBs this weekend, He will be in line for a healthy workload this weekend, likely 15+ carries, and a handful of targets. The matchup is tough, but we believe Carroll is a rock solid mid-tier RB this weekend, and pretty close to an optimal option.
Trent Battle could be the beneficiary of an absolutely lost TCU rushing attack .The coaching staff was very vocal this week about needing someone to take the RB1 role. Battle has been getting steam in practice, and could get the nod for the Horned Frogs, and is only 4k. He is trending upward in PT/$ projections, and we love his potential here if he gets the start. Battle is an excellent GPP value for us this weekend.
Justice Ellison has a nose for the end zone, and with a QB change this weekend could be leaned on a bit more. He’s priced reasonably, and projects well. We like his upside in GPPs.
WR
Daniel Jackson is the top PT/$ WR, and we believe it is warranted. 3 games of 10+ targets, and he’s even gone over the century mark in a game. He’s far too cheap for this volume. Jackson is an optimal WR option.
Dalton Carnes saw 12 targets last game. He is up near the top in PT/$, and it seems legit. His 12 targets last week came with DT Sheffield — who can absolutely be used in GPPs or stacked with Chandler Morris — also getting 14. We probably can’t expect double-digit targets each week, but he seems locked into a very solid role here. Carnes can be used as a value in any lineup this weekend.
Gunner Helm is just too cheap. He grades out as a high-level PT/$ play here. He;s only 3.3k, but had 7 targets last game. He’s become a key role in the Texas passing attack. With Bond out this weekend, it could pave the way for Helm to be even more involved. We believe he can be used in any lineup here.
Must be all the value because Tez Johnson is coming in with a very high ownership projection.He has 8+ targets in each of his past 5 games, with TDs in 4 of those. We like Tez a lot, but understand the fade in GPPs with Oregon favored by 22 points, his ceiling is likely limited. However, he’s shown a sturdy floor, and is one of the safest WR options on the slate. Johnson has 19+ DK points in all but 1 game this season. We do believe he’ll be closer to 20 than 30, but still see him as an optimal option– with the understanding that using someone like Tai Felton or Ryan Williams has much better leverage in GPPs.
Sticking with Oregon for a second, Evan Stewart is too cheap again. He projects as a decent value, and we love his upside given his route tree. His aDoT is massive, and he’s in line for 4-7 targets most games. Stewart is a rock solid GPP value this weekend, could be a pivot off of Carnes or Helm.
Savion Williams saw 7 carries last weekend and is kinda popping on projections, likely due to that. But the coaching staff is making it clear they do not think those carries are sustainable. We do like Williams as a stack with Hoover here, however. Williams had 10 targets last game, leading TCU. Jack Bech still ran the most routes by a wide margin with 42, and JP Richardson was second with 35. Still, Williams had those 10 targets on just 29 routes. And if the carries go down, the routes likely would bump up. At only 5.1k, we like Williams this weekend as an optimal option, while Bech is GPP and Richardson is a solid value.
Trent Walker is an alpha here, his volume is insane. It’s no surprise he projects as a very good value this weekend. He has 10+ targets in each of the past 3 games. He has a 35% target share for Oregon State. He’s been trending upward with his routes, consistently holding a 10+ aDoT. We like Walker’s potential this weekend, and believe he makes for an excellent stack with McCoy.
Darius Lassiter and Josh Kelly are 2 mid-price target hogs we want to touch on. Both average double-digit targets over the past 3 weeks, and have massive upside. Ownership is trending toward Johnson-Jackson-Williams being chalky, so a pivot to Kelly, or Lassiter could be an easy pivot off a virtually optimal build to make it more GPP.
Jack Endries is your GPP stack with Mendoza. He’s too cheap, and has a solid volume trend lately. 8 and 12 targets across his past 2 games. He has 100+ yards in both, and 1 TD. He’s benefited from the absence of Corey Dyches in both of those contests. If Dyches does play, he takes a knock, but is still a viable large-field play because of suppressed ownership and the upside he’s displayed.
Conclusion:
We like starting with a value option at quarterback. It makes sense to be smart with it. You can absolutely use 2 of the value QB options, just make sure you know that will make your lineup lean a bit more GPP. For optimal builds we prefer going with one of the value signal callers like Gevani McCoy or Fernando Mendoza, and pairing with Josh Hoover. We believe this start gives you a nice platform to build off of salary wise, while also allowing for easy pivots to GPPs if you choose to stack. At RB we like using Wisner and Hughes. These 2 project at the top of the PT/$ projections, and their volume and matchup are rock solid. Good chak here. The optimal WRs for us are Tez Johnson and Daniel Jackson. Tez has been the epitome of consistency this season, and projects very well. Jackson is an underpriced volume king in a good matchup. Dalton Carnes, or Gunnar Helm can be used at WR in any contest if you need their value. Both are getting excellent workloads at their price, and project well.
Couple notes
- There are a lot of value QBs that project similarly. While we listed our favorites above, we do not view them as necessary pieces in optimal lineups.
- RB is the position we’re really set on. Those 2 project so well, and have so many factors in their favor.
- Using Trent Walker with McCoy is a nice GPP leverage option
- Double stacking TCU is in play for GPPs, but you’d likely want at least a piece of TTU on the other side playing for a (very possible) shootout
- There are a lot of high-upside studs not carrying ownership this weekend. Use the projections, and be smart. They can pop off on any given Saturday, and with all the value could give you a nice GPP edge.
FD
Jaccuri Brown has the same writeup as above, except now his PT/$ is way better. He;s your optimal QB on this site.
Not sure how much we can trust Tayven Jackson yet, but he’s too cheap over here. His 6.6k is hard to swallow with 5 viable 5k options on DK, but over here he makes for one of the best PT/$ values at the QB position.
Milroe, Hoover, Gabriel, Ward could be the decision that makes or breaks lineups. Milroe has the upside with legs, but also the price to boot. He’s restrictive at this price tag, but trending as chalk. He doesn’t project that much better than Gabriel despite being 1.1k more. Ward is in the same boat, being 12.8(!!!)k. Hoover has a solid price yet again here, and his WR stacks aren’t breaking the bank. You can obviously use any of the big dogs, just a couple thoughts to chew on as you go through them. Gabriel we like the least solo, but stacking he’s very exciting. Milroe and Ward can be used solo, though we prefer to stack Ward. Hoover we like with Williams (can use Bech/Richardson as well)
RB
DJ Giddens is the top PT/$ RB despite being 10.1k. His workload is elite, and the matchup is juicy. Wisner is optimal again here. 7.7k is a joke. Jaydon Blue is still a great GPP pivot, just like on DK.
Jordan James is a fun leverage play off of Giddens at nearly the exact same price. Should be able to get him at low ownership, and tons of upside. Same can be said of Tahj Brooks.
WR
Savion Williams is even better here at a ridiculously low price.
Michigan TE Colston Loveland has 11+ targets in each of the past 2 games, making him a PT/$ star at 5.8k. He’s an optimal option.
Much of the same with Tez Johnson. Evan Stewart priced up a bit, probably unowned and excellent leverage.