CFB DFS DraftKings Main Slate Breakdown: Week 1

by Jordan Vanek (vanekjordan)

Created Sep 3, 2026

Last Updated 2026-09-03 18:37:59 Premium Content Part of the product CFB Premium

Using his experience as a former scout and staff member at Central Florida under Josh Heupel, Jordan Vanek takes an in-depth look at the upcoming CFB DFS main slate on DraftKings for Week 1. Winner of the Fantasy Sports Writers Association’s 2025 College Sports Writer of the Year award, Jordan’s deep dive into the best stacks, running backs, and wide receivers is a must-read before you start building your lineups.

The preseason week of college football is out the door, and now we have a slate loaded with stars playing overmatched opponents. The challenge isn’t identifying the best players – it’s figuring out which teams will actually lean on their stars long enough to pay off their salaries. With massive implied team totals across the slate, we have to determine not only who scores the points but how they get there and how quickly the starters are no longer needed.

Depth charts will help us identify who is in the rotation, but they won’t always tell us how teams plan to distribute touches once games get out of hand. Blowout risk matters more on a slate like this, especially when several teams have much bigger games waiting for them next weekend.

For example, Texas plays Ohio State next. If Texas is comfortably ahead, are they really going to keep running QB power with Arch Manning just to add another touchdown? Or do those opportunities start going elsewhere? Those are the situations we have to consider when building lineups. On this slate, finding the players who benefit when the stars are protected could be just as important as identifying the stars themselves.

For those who are new, our CFB DFS projections will be updated throughout Saturday’s slate with any news that comes out. Our projections team will also be posting real-time updates in the RotoGrinders Discord, letting you know what news came in and how it impacted the projections.

CFB DFS DraftKings Picks: Top Stacks, RBs, & WRs for Week 1

To start, the teams this data will matter most for are Alabama, Auburn, Ball State, Baylor, Boise State, Duke, Houston, Indiana, Marshall, Ohio State, Oregon, and West Virginia. For Boston College, Cincinnati, Coastal Carolina, ECU, Nebraska, North Texas, Ohio, Oregon State, Penn State, Texas State, and Tulane, this chart is essentially meaningless.

That doesn’t mean those teams can’t play similar coverages, but coaching changes make last season’s tendencies much less predictive. Nebraska, for example, should move away from playing man coverage at such a high rate after bringing in San Diego State’s defensive coordinator, whose defenses leaned much more heavily on zone. ECU’s new defensive coordinator comes from James Madison, where they played a ton of man coverage. I’d love to see ECU carry that philosophy over against Alabama’s WR corps.

Oregon is a team to watch on this chart. Dan Lanning is still leading the program, but they have a new defensive coordinator who I think could be a bit more aggressive. Ohio is a team that loves to give you Cover 3, and when they go to two-high looks, it’s typically more Quarters/Cover 6 rather than the Cover 2 or 2-Man looks Oregon will run.

One thing that stands out with Marshall is how often they bring the house. They played Cover 0 on a ton of dropbacks last season, and Penn State better be ready to handle that blitz package with a new coaching staff and offensive line in place.

Game Stacks

Byrum Brown ($7,800, QB, Auburn)

Jeremiah Koger ($4,800, WR, Auburn)

DJ Lagway ($6,500, QB, Baylor)

Gavin Freeman ($4,500, WR, Baylor) and/or Louis Brown IV ($4,800, WR, Baylor)

Brown is in a smash spot against a Baylor defense that has struggled against running QBs. He can be played by himself, but Koger is my preferred pairing. He was awesome as a freshman at USF and immediately made plays when he got on the field. To end last season, he and Keshaun Singleton ($6,100, WR, Auburn) dominated the targets and air yards. Singleton is a little too expensive for me, but he’s still viable.

Lagway struggled at Florida, but a new situation closer to home and a better offensive system could bring out the best in him. I like buying into this entire game environment, with Brown and Freeman generating the most buzz from Baylor camp. Freeman is my preferred option for the quick passing game, while Brown provides the downfield upside. I don’t mind playing both, but I’d lean toward choosing one and hoping Lagway also gets involved with his legs.

Team Stacks

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