RADIO
College football is finally here! After the debacle that was 2020, it will be nice to hopefully have a nice, full college football season. Of course, DraftKings starts it off by chopping up a perfectly nice five-game Week 0 opener. Instead, we have a three-game main slate at noon eastern that features a conference game(!) and two interesting games, each one featuring an entire team that opted out of the 2020 season. The two-game nightcap features two of the worst FBS teams known to man and the only FCS vs. FBS matchup in Week 0. That's easy. Stack San Jose State and the UTEP backfield.
This will concentrate on the very interesting three-game main slate. Nebraska and Illinois face off in a conference game. Hawaii comes to the mainland in August, which they almost never do. UConn will take the field for the first time since 2019 against a Fresno team that might mess around and win the Mountain West.
In this article, I will be providing you with my daily fantasy college football lineup picks for DraftKings on 8/28/21. I’ll be providing multiple player suggestions for players at guard and forward, aiming to highlight one option apiece at the high, middle, and lower end of the salary scale. Good luck, RotoBallers.
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DraftKings CFB DFS Quarterbacks
Dorian Thompson-Robinson, UCLA ($8,500)
If it feels like DTR has been around forever, well, you're not entirely wrong. He looked good in nine games as a true freshman in 2018 before an injury. He had a solid but unspectacular 2019 campaign before getting just five games last year due to the late start of the Pac 12. Jake Haener is going to put up some big numbers on UConn. Their defense was terrible in 2019, but I also feel like Fresno is going to be up multiple touchdowns by halftime. I'm riding the legs and arm of DTR. DTR had 306 rushing yards in just five games last year. That's along with his nice passing numbers. Those rushing yards add up quickly, and so do the touchdowns on the ground (three in five games in 2020).
Adrian Martinez, Nebraska ($6,800)
Okay, so Martinez was damned awful against Illinois last year in a game Nebraska lost by 18 points, but it wasn't all his fault. He left the game after throwing only four passes. This is not last year's Illinois team on either side of the ball. Lovie Smith and his schemes are gone. The learning curve that the Illini face and a full offseason of practice together for the Cornhuskers is going to make a huge difference. Martinez has some wheels on him too. He racked up 253 rushing yards in final two games of 2020 and scored six touchdowns on the ground in the final four games. Whatever kind of passing stats he puts up is just a bonus. I'm after Martinez for the big rushing totals to go with the passing stats. He's essentially a running back that touches the ball every down for $6,800 bucks.
Also consider: Jake Haener, Fresno State ($9,700); Chevan Cordeiro, Hawaii ($7,500)
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DraftKings CFB DFS Running Backs
Ronnie Rivers, Fresno State ($7,800)
Fresno isn't a run-heavy attack, but Rivers is a superb receiver out of the backfield. He caught 27 passes in five games last year. That's 27 free points on DraftKings. He also topped 100 yards rushing twice and narrowly missed that bonus one other time. Rivers is a dynamic playmaker that will get a lot of work in this offense. My fear with him is the same as Haener, but Rivers is by far the back with the most secure role in his team's offense on this slate. He's worth the money, especially in cash games.
Brittain Brown, UCLA ($5,600)
Brown closed out 2020 with a monster against Stanford. He put up 219 rushing yards, but still failed to score on 29 carries. The arrival of Michigan transfer Zach Charbonnet could muddle the backfield situation a bit and having a quarterback like DTR that frequently runs as well caps Brown's upside. However, Brown is the only other back on this slate that we don't expect to be in some sort of timeshare, at least not initially. There will be plenty to go around in this game though. Hawaii returns 10 starters from a defense that allowed 211 rushing yards per game last season. Brown's explosiveness gives him top billing for me.
Dae Dae Hunter, Hawaii ($4,400)
Hunter is listed as the starting running back for the Warriors, but Calvin Turner is listed as the starting RB/WR, whatever the hell that means. Turner is a much better receiver out of the backfield, and Hawaii is known for interesting offensive wrinkles. They don't have the talent that UCLA does, so my guess is that the Warriors may run two backs in the backfield and frequently use misdirection and the off back as an extra blocker. I also expect them to motion out of that formation and move Turner to the slot to further exploit matchups against a better defense. That wouldn't be the worst thing in the world for fantasy purposes, and if that scheme comes to fruition, it means a lot more snaps for Hunter. At this price, he's worth the flier.
Gabe Ervin, Nebraska ($4,100)
Nebraska wants a workhorse back, much like Dedrick Mills was, and they have apparently decided on a starter. They just wont tell us who it is. It's gamesmanship on the part of the Nebraska coaching staff, but few things piss off us DFS players more. USC transfer Markese Stepp is finally over the foot injury and is at 100%, further complicating an already complicated situation. Ervin, the true freshman, looked to have the upper hand on Sevion Morrison in the spring, but we don't know what having Stepp around does to this. Morrison has supposedly made big steps over the summer as well. If you aren't busy on Saturday and can watch this unfold in real time, we should have a starter about 45 seconds before slate lock (and I do mean seconds, not minutes. College football is notorious for this). Otherwise, any Nebraska (or Illinois back for that matter, though both ran for triple digits on Nebraska last year) back is an enormous risk and could get you 20 carries or none at all.
Also consider: Calvin Turner, Hawaii ($6,400); Chase Brown, Illinois ($5,000); Mike Epstein, Illinois ($4,800); Sevion Morrison, Nebraska ($3,000)
DraftKings CFB DFS Wide Receivers
Jalen Cropper, Fresno State ($7,300)
Cropper emerged as the leading receiver for the Bulldogs last year, capping off 2020 with 443 receiving yards over the last three games with four touchdowns. 2019 top dog Zane Pope missed much of last year, but is still probably the most talented receiver in Fresno's corps. There is room enough for both to have big seasons in the offense (and this game), but for now, I would lean towards Cropper. I have no issues playing both if you have the money though. Keric Wheatfall is a nice sleeper option to play with Cropper instead of Pope. He will likely still see field time longer than many of the starters.
Isaiah Williams, Illinois ($5,000)
Bret Bielema came in and moved Williams from quarterback to receiver. It makes sense. Josh Imatorbhebhe is now in the NFL and the Illini didn't really have a receiver that stepped up last year. However, I wont place a lot of the blame on the receivers. The quarterback play was awful (Williams himself is partially to blame) and likely isn't much better. The reason why I'm willing to take a flier on a guy like Williams is his speed and experience being a running quarterback. He's the top option on sweeps and reverse-type plays, which Nebraska has been vulnerable to for....oh....the last 20 years or so. A touchdown from Williams pays off this price, and he's the most likely Illinois receiver to do so. Most of their scores should come on the ground.
Samori Toure, Nebraska ($4,900)
Toure racked up nearly 1,500 yards at Montana last year and comes in as the most experienced Nebraska receiver this year. Many within the team feel that Toure is most likely to lead Nebraska in receiving this season. This is a very reasonable price to pay for this kind of talent. It's easy to get down on this offense after how discombobulated they looked in 2020, but this team was trying to incorporate a lot of freshmen and transfers last year and lost almost all offseason workouts. This will be a much better unit than last year just because they have been able to practice together. I'm believing the hype on Toure being the best receiver on the team right now. The tape looks good.
Nick Mardner, Hawaii ($4,700)
Rico Bussey is gone and Turner is going to be the running back and/or slot receiver. This will likely help Jared Smart, but I think it helps Mardner just as much, if not more. And he's $1,500 cheaper than Smart. Mardner was huge against New Mexico last year, but only tallied catches in two other games. He should be much more of a factor this year and is a candidate for check-down routes against an aggressive UCLA defense.
Also consider: Jared Smart, Hawaii ($6,200); Chase Cota, UCLA ($4,600); Zavier Betts, Nebraska ($3,700); Kam Brown, UCLA ($3,400)
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