Free this Week! CFB DFS DraftKings Expert Survey: Week 2
Our panel of experts is here to give you their CFB DFS advice for this week’s main slate by answering a handful of questions to help you make crucial lineup-building decisions. Want to know headChopper’s favorite player for tournaments? Or Jordan Vanek’s favorite correlation? Find out below!
CFB DFS Picks: DraftKings Expert Survey for Week 2
Who is your favorite player to spend up for in cash games?
headChopper: Ollie Gordon II
MrTuttle05: Ollie Gordon II
stlcardinals84: Ollie Gordon II
Jordan Vanek: Ollie Gordon II
Who is your favorite player to spend up for in large-field tournaments?
headChopper: Taylen Green
MrTuttle05: Jamal Haynes
stlcardinals84: Cameron Rising
Jordan Vanek: Jamal Haynes
Who is your favorite salary relief play for cash games?
headChopper: Desmond Reid
MrTuttle05: De’Zhaun Stribling
stlcardinals84: Desmond Reid
Jordan Vanek: Desmond Reid
Who is your favorite salary relief play for large-field tournaments?
headChopper: Eric Singleton
MrTuttle05: Jack Velling
stlcardinals84: Dane Key
Jordan Vanek: Jayce Brown
Which player are you afraid of being underweight on compared to the field?
headChopper: LeQuint Allen
MrTuttle05: Ollie Gordon II
stlcardinals84: DJ Giddens
Jordan Vanek: DJ Giddens
Which team are you targeting players from the most compared to the field?
headChopper: OKST
MrTuttle05: OKST
stlcardinals84: OKST
Jordan Vanek: AUB
Which team are you looking to avoid the most compared to the field?
headChopper: NIU
MrTuttle05: MICH
stlcardinals84: NIU
Jordan Vanek: SYR
What’s the best position to spend up on?
headChopper: QB
MrTuttle05: QB
stlcardinals84: QB
Jordan Vanek: QB
What’s the best position to save salary on?
headChopper: WR
MrTuttle05: WR
stlcardinals84: RB
Jordan Vanek: RB
Which game has sneaky shootout potential?
headChopper: GT/SYR
MrTuttle05: CAL/AUB
stlcardinals84: PITT/CINCY
Jordan Vanek: CAL/AUB
What is your preferred tournament format (e.g. large-field, single-entry) to play this week? How do you plan to beat that field of opponents? What tactic or strategy will set you apart?
headChopper: I’ll enter a few lineups in the high dollar GPP (probably $444) and then 150 in the mass entry GPPs until the prizes settle down a bit. After that, I’ll get into a routine for entering games. I hate that it keeps happening, and I alluded to it last week in the survey, but the college football chalk just smashes so much more than in any other sport. It’s a combination of bad pricing and the steadiness in production from the top players in the sport. We’ll have heavy chalk again, and I’ll play it over the field. When the chalk is like this due to pricing, there’s much less urgency to game stack.
MrTuttle05: Large field. Early week ownership projections expect there to be heavy concentration on the top four players (Ollie Gordon, DJ Giddens, LeQuint Allen, and Desmond Reid). As a result, all other RB options should see low ownership despite there being some very good options. Jamal Haynes is my favorite non-chalk RB on the slate, but I also like Nicholas Singleton and Demie Sumo-Karngbaye quite a bit.
stlcardinals84: I will put about 20 entries into the large field GPP contests on DK, and I think this is a really intriguing slate. There is enough wiggle room with the salary cap that you can afford to spend up for your top plays on the board. I am going to make sure that I take an overweight stance on Cam Rising at QB, Ollie Gordon at RB, and Brennan Presley at WR as my favorite spend up options. I am going to play the chalky value options, as those have hit year over year in the early weeks of CFB. The key is to get one or two difference makers you like above the field, and my favorite spot to do that is at WR, with Dane Key and Brant Kuithe as a couple of my favorites.
Jordan Vanek: I’m gearing up for large-field tournaments this weekend, and with all the uncertainty in college football right now, there’s a real opportunity to capitalize, especially at the wide receiver position where I think the field might be off. This makes it an exciting time to get creative with lineups, and I’m particularly keen on stacking Auburn’s passing game. The Auburn group has the potential to perform like Washington’s offense did against California last season, where they thrived in a high-paced environment and put up huge numbers. What makes the Auburn stack even more appealing is the abundance of solid chalk options at running back this week. With so many reliable RB choices that are likely to hit, locking in a safe floor with those chalk backs allows for some calculated risks with a high upside, low ownership Auburn stack.
What is your favorite correlation and why?
headChopper: Ollie Gordon vs. Taylen Green stacks – Ollie is in a world of his own with his volume, not just rushing but also being heavily involved in the passing game when needed. He’s so safe and has massive upside. For him to reach that upside, Arkansas has to keep it close, and their most explosive player is their running QB, Green. He also has high upside as a dual threat, and I like the player vs. player stacks this week slightly better than the QB/WR stacks.
MrTuttle05: Georgia Tech + Syracuse game stacks – I don’t think this game will go overlooked, but it’s possible that the field doesn’t fully adjust to Syracuse being a pass heavier on offense after years of barely being able to complete a forward pass. The Syracuse big three in Gadsden, Allen, and Pena will pull ownership, but there are still some lower-owned players you can roster to get exposure to this game. Jamal Haynes is my favorite piece, but he could see his ownership climb into the 20s. Haynes King is a strong tournament option, and you could pair him with Eric Singleton, who has had a slow start to the season. I also like Zeed Haynes from Syracuse. He’s a talented freshman who was on the field a lot in Week 1.
stlcardinals84: Arkansas + Oklahoma State stacks – This game has the greatest combination we could ask for this weekend. We have a high total, we have defined roles for the skill players on both teams, and we have a nice mix of spend up options and value plays. Taylen Green, Ollie Gordon, and Brennan Presley are the clear top plays, and you can sprinkle in some value at wide receiver on both sides. This should be a competitive game too, which means we shouldn’t have to worry about blowout risk in the second half.
Jordan Vanek: Payton Thorne + Two Auburn Pass Catchers – Hugh Freeze has all the pieces in place for an explosive passing game, and I expect it to be on full display early in this matchup. While I’m a big fan of Jarquez Hunter, I believe Cal will focus heavily on stopping the run, which could open things up for Auburn’s pass catchers to have a big day. KeAndre Lambert-Smith and Cam Coleman offer the potential to set your lineup apart in tournaments, providing high upside at the wide receiver position, which is currently filled with uncertainty. This combination could deliver the type of ceiling performance needed to win in large field tournaments.
Who is your favorite overall play when considering price, matchup, projected ownership, etc. and why?
headChopper: Ollie Gordon II – What an absolutely difficult question to answer this week. With the prices being way off on several good players, it will create a chalky logjam in lineups. Gordon is, in a vacuum, the best DFS play out there, but his expensive salary has him projected as only the third highest owned RB on the slate, and that could drop even further closer to kickoff. No one has a safer workload in a competitive game than OG2, and this game looks like one that won’t be separated by much until late, if ever.
MrTuttle05: Jamal Haynes – I think it’s possibly going a bit overlooked how great Jamal Haynes’ role is, especially with Trey Cooley sidelined for an unknown amount of time. Haynes has handled 64% of the teams’ running back carries through two games this season, and it wouldn’t be surprising if that number got even bigger in close games. Georgia Tech will take on a Syracuse squad that seems to be much more capable of scoring this year, which could lead to some shootouts. Syracuse allowed a massive 203 rushing yards to Ohio’s Anthony Tyus last season, and they appear to be a team you want to attack with opposing RBs this season.
stlcardinals84: Ollie Gordon II – Yes, he’s expensive, but this will be a tougher decision to make in future weeks when the pricing gets tighter. This week, there is still plenty of value available to make Gordon easily fit into builds. Gordon put any doubts about his tumultuous offseason to rest with a huge opener, as he had a 28/126/3 line on the ground while also logging some targets in the passing game. He is going to push for 30+ touches each and every week, and he is basically impossible to fade in DFS. He is by far the top running back on the board yet again in Week 2, especially in a potential shootout against Arkansas in a game that has a total north of 60 points.
Jordan Vanek: Jamal Haynes – He’s been on the wrong side of touchdown variance so far this season, but this Syracuse run defense is dreadful. Georgia Tech boasts a strong offensive line and an effective running scheme, and Haynes has the big play ability to replicate what Tyus did with over 200 yards rushing. If things break his way, he could have a monster game against this porous defense. I also don’t believe ownership is going his way much here.
How much do you factor in Week 1 results vs. your preseason projections going into Week 2?
headChopper: There’s a balance and a dance that needs to be done with new information (like in Week 1). But there’s also the issue of sample size, and we can’t get carried away. If I’m firm in my beliefs before the season started — like Eric Singleton being one of the best statistical WRs in the ACC this season — I won’t be swayed by two subpar games. However, if I didn’t have strong conviction in a stance that now seems inaccurate after one game — like Matthew Golden being a non-factor for Texas this season— then I’m willing to quickly adjust my thoughts on the situation.
MrTuttle05: I think the most important information to pull from Week 1 is actual field time. It can give us a better grasp on who is actually going to play, and we can’t always decipher that from depth charts where there are a bunch of ORs listed. It’s important to not overreact to Week 1 production that could be an outlier, but at the same time, it’s also important to be able to recognize and adapt when a player’s role is vastly different than originally projected.
stlcardinals84: I am always going to be cautious about not overreacting to one week of results. Sometimes, teams just have an off week or certain players may catch a bad break. Variance is certainly a thing in football. After two or three weeks, we will have a much clearer picture. Just look at Florida State as an example now that they have played two games. For this week, it will be a balancing act for me. Elevate players that are getting high snap counts and particularly high rush shares for running backs, but be careful not to completely avoid a player simply because he may have had one poor game in the opener. For me, the clear “winner” of Week 1 is the Pittsburgh offense, namely new QB Eli Holstein and value-priced RB Desmond Reid, both of whom will be staples for my builds this week.
Jordan Vanek: I adapt my strategy based on what I’ve seen on the field, how these players performed, and the adjustments teams are making. Auburn is a team I’m excited about because it’s clear what Hugh Freeze is aiming to do on offense, and this pass catching group is loaded with talent. KeAndre Lambert-Smith, for example, posted 80 yards and 2 touchdowns on just 7 routes, showing his efficiency and big play potential. Another key observation is the impact of Bobby Petrino on Taylen Green as a passer. While it wasn’t flawless, Green looked more comfortable in the new scheme and improved as the game went on. I really liked his progression and poise throughout the game, which bodes well for his future performances.
What’s your hot take of the slate?
headChopper: Jarquez Hunter runs for 150+ yards, including a long TD run.
MrTuttle05: Jamal Haynes tops 30 DraftKings points.
stlcardinals84: The Oklahoma State / Arkansas game goes to overtime and finishes with 80+ total points.
Jordan Vanek: KeAndre Lambert-Smith and Cam Coleman both score over 20 DK points.
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