We have a Friday Main Slate to discuss for Week One of Draftkings DFS. Once again we’ll jump into Tiering Up the Competition! Here you’ll find players we want to call out for good/bad reasons at each of the different pricing levels, helping you build your very best lineups for DraftKings Main and Night slates! Let’s digest the Friday Main Slate and look at our options….
Quarterbacks
High-Priced
On any condensed slate with fewer options, it’s important to take inventory of QB options. For this slate, we get half of our possible QBs priced above $8,000. That’s a pretty aggressive slant on pricing and likely will force some punting elsewhere in many lineups. Jackson Arnold ($9,100) is easily the best QB on the slate from a talent perspective. While he’s had a rocky camp, Arnold’s pedigree is elite and his talent/presence forced Dillon Gabriel out of town. Against a rebuilding Temple defense, Oklahoma should be able to do just about whatever it wants to on Friday night.
Tyler Van Dyke ($8,600), Josh Hoover ($8,500), and Ashton Daniels ($8,300) are the other high-priced options. Of the three, I like Hoover the best as he’s shown what he can do with a high volume of passes last season. He also brings meaningful upside with his legs as well. Daniels also has mobility and both he and Hoover could go off if this Stanford/TCU game enters into a shootout. Van Dyke isn’t a total zero with his legs but has less upside there than the others in this range. He does, however, have the benefit of weaker competition as Wisconsin takes on Western Michigan.
Middle of the Pack
Aidan Chiles ($7,700) is the only starter who falls into this price point. He is probably too cheap but Michigan State is very much devoid of weapons on paper. Until someone proves reliable, Chiles may stumble a bit. On the flip side, he may be forced to play a bit of hero ball and put this offense on his back. He’s easily in play for this slate against Florida Atlantic.
Bare Minimum
Outside of the five most expensive QB options on this slate, Cam Fancher ($6,000) is really the only one that I have any interest in. Fancher transfers to FAU from Marshall and provides rushing upside at a low price. They Owls face tough competition in a Big Ten defense but Tom Herman isn’t afraid to sling the ball around at will. Fancher is the prototypical GPP play as he offers high risk with decent reward. Expect decent ownership for Fancher as he opens things up to pay up at other positions.
Running Backs
High-Priced
For a slate that offers some enticing RB options, not very many of them will cost you a ton. Chez Mellusi ($6,900) is the most expensive option and while he offers a strong game script and a history of production, there’s a chance we see a bit more of a committee approach as the staff has been said to like Tawee Walker as well (more on him below).
Gavin Sawchuk ($6,600) has a similar profile for this slate—while the Sooners should be able to run the ball at will, Jovantae Barnes has impressed the coaching staff enough to get run with the first team. Paying up here isn’t essential, as there are other high-upside plays that are cheaper. However, both Mellusi and Sawchuk project some of the slate’s most secure floors.
Middle of the Pack
Nathan Carter ($6,300) has some competition in the backfield with Kay’Ron Lynch-Adams ($4,900) but both of them have the ability to produce against a step down in competition. As mentioned above both Tawee Walker ($5,600) and Jovantae Barnes ($5,100) are cheaper 1B options in their respective backfields. Either (and both) have the potential to be on the right side of touchdown variance and outproduce their counterparts.
Sedrick Irvin ($5,300) is a versatile RB that can catch the ball out of the backfield (which is always a plus with Draftkings’ PPR scoring). Cam Cook ($5,200) is likely my favorite value at the position for this slate. He’s earned a ton of praise all camp, though he does enter the week with a probable tag as he suffered “a bit of a hamstring issue” two weeks ago. If he’s more banged up than most expect, pivoting to Trey Sanders ($5,000) could have some benefit, though it’s not a move I’d recommend.
The last player at this price point worth considering is Jalen Buckley ($5,000). He had four games last year over 29 fantasy points. However, his last trip to a Big Ten opponent was Iowa last year, where he saw only 30 yards on 14 carries. It’s a big swing, but Buckley’s volume share should be one of the highest on the slate.
Bare Minimum
While you might be tempted to play Temple starting RB Joquez Smith ($4,100) at his bargain bin price, I’d advise against it. The game script will be rough for Temple, and there are way better options just a bit more expensive.
Wide Receivers
High-Priced
At the top of the WR pricing we see each starting Oklahoma WR. Deion Burks ($6,900), Jalil Farooq ($6,500), and Nic Anderson ($6,200) are 75% of the four priciest WRs. With Arnold slinging the rock, all of these guys can go off. The Sooners’ implied team total of 51.25 is more than 30 points higher than the next highest team on this slate. Loading your team with Sooners is a viable option but I’d likely keep it to four at most – five if you’re driving the Sooner bandwagon. Anderson is nursing an undisclosed injury, listed as “day-to-day,” so keep a close eye on his status and limit your exposure if you’re risk-averse.
Elic Ayomanor ($6,500) is one of the few non-Sooners on this slate that comes into the year as a presumed alpha on their team. He’s priced accordingly and is a fun option if you think Stanford can take that next step this season.
Middle of the Pack
Tiger Bachmeier ($6,100) is the other target that should garner decent volume for the Cardinal offense. He and Ayomanor could end this game with the highest percentage of team targets on the slate. Savion Williams ($6,100) enters the fall as the expected WR1 for TCU, though this team has routinely rotated numerous WRs on the field, so there’s a chance his usage is lower than a traditional WR1.
My favorite WR value on this slate is Will Pauling ($5,200). While he was hyped all offseason, cold water was thrown on his projected usage by Head Coach Luke Fickell. I’m less concerned about his volume in this matchup as the talent differential between he and Western Michigan’s defense should be ample. As the slot option in Phil Longo’s offense, Pauling should remain a primary weapon in their aerial attack.
Bare Minimum
As mentioned above, Nic Anderson is dealing with injury issues this week and as a result he was partnered with an “OR” on the depth chart, signaling that Brenen Thompson ($4,500) should see an increased involvement should he be unable to shoulder his full workload. That poses a massive value as Thompson would see high usage in the top offense on this slate at the low, low price of $4,500.
Kenneth Womack ($4,800) is a good option if you want to target positive game scripts. He’s the unquestioned WR1 for the Broncos. With a similar thought, Florida Atlantic WRs provide similar upside with game script. While we haven’t seen a depth chart for the Owls, Milan Tucker ($4,500), E.J. Horton ($3,800), and Omari Hayes ($3,000) were all mentioned in the Owls’ Game Notes as “Offensive Players to Watch.” It’s a whack-a-mole and an uphill battle in competition, but I wouldn’t be surprised if one of them pops.
Jack Velling ($4,100), Drake Dabney ($3,900), and Sam Roush ($3,600) are all TEs that provide high touchdown equity in offenses that have produced strong TE options over the past few years. Don’t be afraid to sprinkle them into your builds this week.
