At long last, we have a sizable 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 pricing level, helping you build your very best lineups for DraftKings Main and Night slates! We’ll look at the Thursday Main Slate to kick off Week One. Let’s take a look at our options….
Quarterbacks
High-Priced
This slate has so many great options at QB playing against subpar competition that you’ll likely want to spend up for at least one of the $8,500+ passers. K.J. Jefferson ($9,300) is probably my favorite, as he provides high rushing touchdown equity and has an offense that should have no issue moving the football against New Hampshire.
Jalon Daniels ($9,500) and Cam Rising ($9,000) both provide similar upside but are returning to their teams after missing significant time with injury last year. That fact makes me question how much they’ll play if/when games get out of hand and how much running their coaches will let them do.
Shedeur Sanders ($10,000) is someone I’m willing to fade. He doesn’t have much rushing upside and is facing a North Dakota State team that prides itself on toughness. That’s not to say he’s a bad option; it’s simply that he carries a higher risk and has a few more obstacles between him and a slate-breaking night.
Brady Cook ($8,500) has legs (both in real life and) on this slate, but I’d think they may lean more on the ground game and try to determine which of their two RBs they want to roll with as the starter as the season marches forward. He’s another outstanding QB in a lesser matchup that could smash but seems a bit riskier than other options.
Middle of the Pack
Grayson McCall ($7,100) is my favorite QB on the slate. North Carolina State players across the board seem to be discounted quite well, considering they should be able to roll against Western Carolina. McCall has a rushing upside and just as high of a ceiling as the guys mentioned above but at a much more palatable price point.
Ethan Vasko ($6,800) and Logan Smothers ($6,500) come into the slate as strong rushers but will need their respective offenses to out-produce the Vegas Implied Team Total to really go off. Jacksonville State will likely want to grind this game out, which may limit the number of possessions for each team. However, if the defenses falter here, there’s a strong case to be made for each of these QBs.
Bare Minimum
There’s not much here, but if you want to get gross at QB or Superflex, C.J. Ogbonna ($5,800) and Dean DeNobile ($5,500) are at least guys to glance at. They’re in the game that I was shocked to see on this slate, Lafayette vs. Buffalo. Lafayette returns the staples of their offense from last season (one that was able to keep up in shootouts against Holy Cross and Delaware. This game could be garbage, but it also has semi-intriguing cheap options.
Running Backs
High-Priced
R.J. Harvey ($8,200) and Devin Neal ($7,900) are my favorites of the expensive guys this week. Both have house-call potential each time they touch the ball, and they get vastly inferior opponents on a talent level.
Omarion Hampton ($8,500) is an interesting name, as he’s a lock for volume. However, in a matchup against Minnesota, there’s undoubtedly more risk of a dud than the other top-shelf RBs on this slate. I don’t think you need to pay his high price tag to land a winning lineup, but there is no doubt that his volume puts him in consideration.
Middle of the Pack
The RB position is fairly stars and scrubs this week, but there are a few mid-range options. Darius Taylor ($6,700) has seen some limitations in practice, which gives me some pause, but all news out of Minneapolis suggests he’ll be good to go this week. If given a full workload, he can clean up and pay huge dividends.
Missouri RBs Nate Noel ($5,400) and Marcus Carroll ($5,900) are both in play. Noel appears to be the leader of this backfield, but this staff very likely wants to give both backs a chance to make their case during an actual game. I could see a path where both of these guys end up being viable if you’re looking to save salary at RB (which I’m not sure I’d condone for this slate, but to each their own).
As mentioned above, I love the pricing on N.C. State players this week, and Jordan Waters ($5,200) is no different. While some see him in more of a committee role, I think there’s a decent chance he’s the workhorse for this offense. Most weeks, they’ll be slinging the rock, but in a game where they should have a positive game script all night, I think Waters is one of the best plays on the slate.
Bare Minimum
With the news this week that Ron Wiggins is out with an injury for an extended period, Jacksonville State’s backfield becomes a bit clearer and, thus, quite appealing. Anwar Lewis ($5,300) and Georgia transfer Andrew Paul ($4,900) are both backs who could show up in Rich Rod’s offense. Lewis is slightly more dependable here, but if Paul can live up to his blue-chip background, he could explode.
FCS options TK Marshall ($4,500) and Jamar Curtis ($4,700) have some serious potential here and shouldn’t be avoided. Marshall leads a Bison backfield that should rotate backs but have enough volume to provide for most of them. Facing a Colorado defense that has some major question marks is a plus. Curtis is Lafayette’s returning rushing leader and has a serious burst for explosive plays. Buffalo isn’t a huge talent jump for Lafayette, and I think they’ll be able to find some success on the ground against a Buffalo team that allowed 10+ yards on nearly 18% of rushes faced last year.
Bariuka Kpeenu ($5,000) and CharMar Brown ($4,000) are some contrarian options in this North Dakota State committee that could pay off if touchdown equity falls their way. Mike Mitchell ($4,700) is probably the only Utah back I’d consider, as you don’t get much of a discount on Jaylon Glover or Micah Bernard, but it sounds like all three of them will be used in rotation this week.
Wide Receivers
High-Priced
Luther Burden ($9,000) and Travis Hunter ($9,200) are clearly the two most dependable options when it comes to the receivers on this slate. If pressed to decide which WR has the best shot at a touchdown this week, I’d say Hunter quite easily (Deion loves to showcase him). That said, it is hard to load up on either of these guys without downgrading at RB or QB. They both demand careful consideration, though, as they can easily ruin your night if you’re significantly under what the field has in terms of ownership.
K.C. Concepcion ($7,700) is right on the edge of the upper and middle tier, but he has significant appeal when you factor in the PPR that Draftkings uses in their scoring. He was a target hog last year, and while they have new weapons in this offense, he should also see good usage this week. He is, however, probably the only Wolfpack player that is accurately priced.
Middle of the Pack
There are a ton of fun options here. My favorites are LaJohntay Wester ($6,000) and Kobe Hudson ($7,400). Both of these guys were alphas last year, and while Wester may take a backseat when Hunter is on the field, he has an advantage in likely seeing far greater snaps than Hunter. Wester is too cheap if you expect him to be even WR2 for Colorado. Hudson, while more expensive, is one of two primary receiving options. He and Xavier Townsend ($7,000) are big play machines and should look to establish a connection with K.J. Jefferson in this one.
Lawrence Arnold ($6,500) and Luke Grimm ($5,400) are strong options for Kansas, but it’s like playing whack-a-mole with their receivers. Brant Kuithe ($5,800) is one of two TEs that I like for Thursday Night. Jameson Tucker ($5,000) is a very cheap potential WR1 here – Vasko can sling the ball, and camp buzz has Tucker locked into a leading role. The concern here is a slow start for the offense and limited possessions if Jacksonville State can run the ball at will.
Bare Minimum
Once again, we’ll talk N.C. State options: Noah Rogers ($4,200) and Justin Joly ($3,700) are two transfer additions to this offense that should have an immediate role and impact. I assume these prices are calculated assuming Concepcion’s role is the same as last season as a massive volume hog. I believe we’ll see a flatter distribution here, and Rogers and Joly both have huge potential. I’d price each about $1,500 higher, personally.
Eli Steward ($4,600) is Lafayette’s leading WR from last year. If Buffalo can put up points, there’s a sneaky shootout potential here that lands Steward in somewhat valuable territory. If Daniel Jackson is limited or unable to go on Thursday night, Elijah Spencer ($4,900) suddenly sees viable usage. Steward and Spencer would each be sprinkles at best if playing multiple lineups.
