Yep, that time of year is finally upon us! That crisp chill in the morning air tells our brains that we now must pursue this year’s strategy for alienating our families to consume as much football as possible. And, to build the ultimate DFS lineup in the process. The ladder is what I’m looking to assist you with on Saturdays this season.
As always, the purpose of every post I make here is to attempt to identify value for any particular slate. I will never offer the most expensive, obvious, and essentially best players as my “suggestions” or “picks” for a slate. I’m trying to point out options that could help you afford those players and/or options that I believe could provide similar results at a cheaper price based on logic and statistical evidence. That said, let’s talk about some of my favorite plays for the first slate of the 2023 season!
Texas Offense
The Longhorns have a ton of proven fire power returning from last season that have a fantastic position to secure their September Heisman trophy with a cream puff opener against Rice. Specifically quarterback Quinn Ewers, wideout Xavier Worthy, and tight end Ja’Tavion Sanders are all potential day 1 NFL draft picks. And, all have comparable upside to their positional counterparts priced above them in this slate. Outside of Ohio State’s Marvin Harrison Jr., Worthy will have as good of upside as any receiver in the country week to week. And, Getting Sanders at a mere $3,700 as a building block candidate is about as ideal as you could ask for. We likely won’t see a “6” or “3” as the first digit next to their names again in DK contests.
Similar to Worthy at the running back position, Ole Miss’s Quinshon Judkins has just as high of a ceiling as the eight tailbacks priced above him.
Bru McCoy | WR | Tennessee $4,800
McCoy returns to the Vols as the projected top target in the Josh Heupel offense that catapulted quarterback Hendon Hooker, and his top two receivers (Jalin Hyatt and Cedric Tillman) into the top 75 players drafted into the NFL. It remains to be seen whether or not new QB1 Joe Milton can match Hooker’s command and production of this up tempo scheme against SEC competition. But, in these early season softer matchups I’m more than comfortable with the former U of M product’s ability to beat up on bad teams while padding those stat lines. He and McCoy should have plenty of fun establishing chemistry in their first live game action of 2023.
Jeremiyah Love | RB | Notre Dame $3,200
As it goes in the early weeks of the CFB DFS season, blowout speculation plays can serve as very nice low risk/potentially high reward selections. In the case of Love, this true freshman 4-star recruit has generated lots of buzz around the program prior to the start of the season. In last week’s dismantling of Navy, he received his first opportunity in garbage time and right away showed his explosiveness with 4-40 rush line, including a 21 yard gash. The former high school track star profiles as a home run hitter so 8-10 touches alone could be enough for him to find day light just once paying YUGE dividends at this price. If you’re willing to bet on meaningless late game production, Love would be one of my top candidates to fit that mold in this slate.
Chandler Morris | QB | TCU $6,900
Looking for cheap quarterbacks in any given slate is on of my favorite weekly endeavors. And, Morris is definitely my choice over at least 70% of the 24 QBs priced above him. The new TCU starter comes in with plenty of experience in the offense, and was already good enough to be the starter ahead of Max Duggan last year before getting hurt. Their matchup at home against Colorado has them projected to score 40 plus points and features one of the highest over/unders on the board. This one just feels like a classic DK misprice. Not even Coach Prime’s cowboy hat would argue with me on that. Deploy Morris with confidence at quarterback and spend up elsewhere. You’re welcome!
Good luck in Week 1! Follow me on X @realBobbyAdcock compliments and insults are always appreciated.
