CFB DFS Top Plays: Week 1 – Sunday

Editor’s Note: We may not write up every player we consider to be a top play. Be sure to consult the chart at the bottom of the page. This page will be updated as necessary.

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Understanding optimal lineups for cash games is extremely important, even if you only play tournaments. Players in our cash pool are the ones we believe are the most underpriced, have the best floor/ceiling combo, and typically feature a relatively tight range of outcomes. These are the best plays on the board when considering price, context, and positional scarcity. These are usually pretty good options for GPPs as well.

The optimal GPP lineup will typically mix some of these cash-type plays with higher-variance options, often in correlated lineups. In cash games (where roughly 50% of the field gets paid out), we don’t worry about ownership, game stacks, or correlation. In large-field tournaments, we should be much more mindful of ownership. For more tournament content, check out our projections, and Friday’s live show, Establish The Show: The College Years, with Alex Hardin and Sean Newsham.

With all that said, these are our Top Plays considering the following factors: mean projection, matchup, upside, and value. Ownership is NOT considered here. Generally speaking, these players are what we consider to be “head-to-head and 50/50 considerations”.

They are listed in price descending order (NOT ranked by “best play”). At the bottom, you’ll find suggested rankings by site once salary is accounted for.

Quarterback

Jayden Daniels (LSU – DK $9,000, FD $11,000) – After a somewhat turbulent start to his college career at Arizona State, Daniels has found a home with Brian Kelly and the Tigers in Baton Rouge. The most favorable trait of Daniels for fantasy purposes is his legs, as he ran for nearly 900 yards and 11 touchdowns last season. Rushing upside provides a massive floor/ceiling combo at QB, so on a three-game slate with one really gross matchup, he is a very easy click. GPP Recommendation on this short three-game slate: 0-2 pass catchers.

Jordan Travis (FSU – DK $8,400, FD $10,400 ) – DJU at Oregon State is a perfectly fine QB on this slate as well, but our lean is to double up at QB in the late game as FSU vs. LSU should be a back-and-forth affair that has some shootout potential. The Oregon State game could turn into a run-heavy commanding win for the Beavers, so we will focus on getting that covered at running back. Much like Daniels, Travis is quite mobile, however, he did not run as much last season as in years past, but 417 rushing yards and seven rushing TDs is not too shabby for a QB that can also throw it around a bit to some talented WR options. GPP Recommendation on this short three-game slate: 1-2 pass catchers.

Running Back