Welcome to week seven! DraftKings decided to keep with the trend of picking 10 games for the Main slate on Saturday that are power-5 focused, with one lovely exception (UCF at Memphis). At first look, I thought the slate looked pretty ugly - but there are a few hidden gems and, overall, the spreads in these games are closer than what we've had to work with for the past two-to-three weeks - and there are just two teams favored by more than three scores (Ohio State over Minnesota, and Notre Dame favored over Pittsburgh.)
Through the Vegas lens, let's talk the most attractive games before we dive into the player selections. The UCF at Memphis matchup is absolutely the belle of the ball - and it ain't even close. The total for that game is a massive 81 line (up from 78 at opening) and the spread is just four points (UCF a road favorite), which makes for an incredibly juicy matchup. In a distant second place (but not bad relative to past few weeks), the Oklahoma State at Kansas State matchup has a solid 61 point total with the visiting Cowboys as a seven point favorite. After that, the third most attractive game from this view is the Washington at Oregon matchup, with a total of 57.5 and a spread of just three.
In this article, I will be providing you with my daily fantasy college football lineup picks for DraftKings on 10/13/18. The lineup picks will range from some of the elite players to mid-priced options and value plays. You can also read more DFS advice and lineup picks for sites like FanDuel, and other sports too. If you have any questions or comments, feel free to hit me up on Twitter @kpLuch.
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DraftKings DFS Quarterbacks
McKenzie Milton - QB, at Memphis ($10,400)
Milton threw for nearly 300 yards and two scores last week - and by all accounts, it was probably his least productive game of the season. The talented signal caller has set a really high bar when that's the weakest notch on your belt. I'm actually hoping that keeps his ownership lower this week, but I imagine the attractiveness of this game through the Vegas lens - the total is sitting at a massive 81 with just a four point spread - will likely increase his ownership. That said, even if he becomes the chalk play, this is chalk I am happy to eat. His UCF squad is committed to the passing game, and you certainly can't blame them, given how talented and experienced Milton is. He's thrown for over 1,500 yards this season, and has 15 touchdown passes compared to just four interceptions. In three of his six matchups this season, he's eclipsed 40 DraftKings points and he's fleet of foot enough to grab some yardage on the ground too (three games with 50+ rushing yards). I think he has a big game here, and the fact that this Memphis squad has a strong offense should dictate a high-scoring, fast-paced affair. He's a strong play in both cash games and tournaments.
Justin Herbert - QB, vs Washington ($8,100)
Cash game players - this is your cue to look away. I like Justin Herbert as a contrarian play this weekend in GPP tournaments. I imagine most will shy away from this one due to the tougher matchup, but getting a future first round NFL draft pick at a reduced price and reduced ownership has me very interested. Herbert has been incredibly efficient this year at a high volume, and he's accounted for 15 touchdowns through the air compared to just five interceptions. The Oregon staff knows this game is winnable and will likely trust Herbert to take a few shots downfield with his big-time arm. The Washington defense is tough, they aren't invinceable.
Also Consider: Ian Book - QB, vs Pitt ($8,700)
DraftKings DFS Running Backs
Keaontay Ingram - RB, vs Baylor ($5,500)
Ingram is a running back on the rise and he is an excellent value this week at this price point. He's seen his carries increase in each of the past three weeks and has essentially emerged as "the guy" in the Longhorns backfield as some of the other backs have struggled. The volume of carries isn't huge, but the efficiency is there and he's averaged more than 6.5 yards per carry these past two weeks. This game has one of the higher projected score totals of the week and the Baylor defense is one we want to target with running backs - they've allowed an average of 193 rushing yards on the ground through six weeks this season.
Justice Hill - RB, at Kansas State ($6,900)
We get Justice at a massive price discount this week after he put together a dissapointing total last Saturday against Iowa State - 66 yards on the ground (one score) on 24 carries. Despite the low output, his workload screams value (and high floor) and the matchup is much better this week. There is no doubt the Cowboys staff is a big believer in Hill - he's carried the ball 55 times over the past two weeks and outside of the Iowa State matchup, he's gained good chunks of yardage with his 6.3 yards per carry average to date this season. Kansas State has one of the softest front-sevens in the Big12 and they've been dominated at the line of scrimmage and by opposing running backs - ranking 212th in the nation with a 180 yards per game given up. The high projected total and Cowboys being the favorite make this play even more enticing.
Also Consider: Darrell Henderson - RB, vs UCF ($9,500)
DraftKings DFS Wide Receivers
Denzel Mims - WR, at Texas ($5,700)
Despite this matchup being one of the most attractive daily fantasy games of the weekend, there are some really great values to be found on Baylor and Texas. Denzel Mims and Keaontay Ingram happen to be my favorites of that group. Mims is a big-play receiver that has posted really attractive numbers in three of the past four weeks (his only low total makes sense - his team was blowing the doors off the Jayhawks and didn't need to air it out), and this matchup is built for a receiver like him. This Longhorns squad is improved this season, but many of those improvements are on the offensive side of the ball - their defense still has quite a few question marks, namely in the secondary. They rank 188th in the country in receiving yards per game allowed. Mims should comfortably see five targets on the low end, and a 10+ catch game is certainly not out of the question as the game script sets him up well.
Dillon Mitchell - WR, vs Washington ($6,100)
Mitchell has emerged as a primary Justin Herbert target over the past two weeks, following up on a slow start out of the game. He's caught 21 passes in the Ducks past two games and is expected to see that trend of high targets continue. I wouldn't consider him "cash game safe", but the price is appealing enough where he could be considered there. Namely, I like him as a mini-stack for tournaments, paired with Herbert.
Also Consider: Jalen Hurd - WR, at Texas ($6,500)