CFB DFS Top Plays: Week 3 – Saturday Main

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, Ben Pritchett, and Sean Newsham.

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

John Mateer (WSU – DK $8,900, FD $10,800) – Mateer barely won the Washington State quarterback job in camp. After his ridiculous performance against Texas Tech, there’s no doubt who the leader of the offense is going to be this season. Mateer ran the ball 21 times for 197 yards and a TD, leading the Cougars to a blowout of Texas Tech 37-16 at home. He’s put up 36 and 48 DK points in his first two games of the season. For some reason, he’s priced below pocket passers like Garrett Nussmeier and Will Rogers. The Cougars’ rivalry game with Washington is one of the best game environments on Saturday. The points floor is there for Mateer, and if he has another rushing outburst, he could be the highest-scoring player of the slate. GPP Recommendation: 0 to 1 pass catchers in stack.