This article is part of our DraftKings College Football series.
Championship Week is upon us, so we've got a slightly smaller player pool with nine games in DraftKings' Saturday all-day contest. Scoring shouldn't be decreased, however, as three games have a point total of at least 68, led by Southern Miss-Western Kentucky at 74. It's a game many will exploit, which will make selections from the other games of paramount importance to taking home some winnings.
Last week, DraftKings gave managers a price break on wide receivers, with good reason as most of the choices still weren't worth their discounted prices. This week, the pricing remained low for receivers, relatively speaking, but the talent pool seems to have increased considerably. It made it hard not to spend freely there. My current entry in the $5K Lateral ($5,000 guaranteed, $2 entry) looks like this:
QUARTERBACK
Deshaun Watson, Clemson (vs. North Carolina) - $8,600
Watson is the highest priced quarterback in this slate, but his running ability of late has justified spending up and piecing the rest of your lineup together. He has topped 100 yards rushing in three of his last four games, scoring five times while adding seven touchdowns through the air. The Tigers spread the ball around so much on offense when it's not in Watson's hands that buying into their attack elsewhere is a risky proposition.
Nick Mullens, Southern Miss (at Western Kentucky) - $7,300
Mullens has been white hot down the stretch, scoring 14 touchdowns in his last four games while topping 302 yards in his last three. His price and high-ceiling combo made him a relatively easy choice as a second quarterback.
Also considered: Kevin Hogan, Stanford (vs. Southern Cal) -$6,400; Joe Hubener, Kansas State (vs. West Virginia) - $5,700
RUNNING BACK
Gerald Holmes, Michigan State (vs. Iowa) - $4,500
I was surprised to see this game had a total of 51, as I expected it to be much lower. Holmes isn't likely to wow anyone with his yardage output Saturday night, but he's a lock for at least 10 carries (and probably more) and has scored in every game since Week 8. That gives me a guy with a reasonably safe floor at a very fair price.
Wendell Smallwood, West Virginia (at Kansas State) - $5,900
Smallwood is coming off his lowest rushing output (72 yards) of the year last week against Iowa State, but I'm banking on a bounce back outing. Though Kansas State ranks 56th against the run nationally, they've given up over 200 yards to five of the eight Big 12 opponents they've faced. Baylor's Shock Linwood warrants serious consideration should he be assured of a full workload, but his ankle injury worries me enough to look at Smallwood instead.
Also considered: Shock Linwood, Baylor (vs. Texas) - $5,800; Justin Davis, Southern Cal (at Stanford) - $5,100; Chris Warren, Texas (at Baylor) - $5,300; Ito Smith, Southern Miss (at Western Kentucky) - $5,300; Timothy McVey, Air Force (at San Diego State) - $4,800; Charles Jones, Kansas State (vs. West Virginia) - $3,800
WIDE RECEIVER
Taywan Taylor, Western Kentucky (vs. Southern Miss) - $5,900
Nicholas Norris, Western Kentucky (vs. Southern Miss) - $3,300
Taylor has seen his price as high as $7,100 this year, and he was just too good to pass up. I thought about going against the grain, as Taylor will certainly be a popular pick, and I could switch back or enter a second lineup with Demarcus Ayers to give my lineup some variety. But there really isn't a need to do so. Taylor has 1,198 yards and 15 touchdowns on the year, with four scores and 241 yards coming in his last three games. He had a down day last Saturday, so I'm expecting Doughty to look his way a bit more frequently.
Norris is simply too cheap to ignore. He's scored in three of his last four and is averaging 18.87 fantasy points per game in that span. Norris also didn't suffer from the return of Tyler Higbee last week. He's going to be on nearly every roster, but there is little risk involved and with no other clear option in this price range, fading him seems frivolous.
Mike Thomas, Southern Miss (at Western Kentucky) - $5,700
Thomas falls into the same category as Taylor. It's as simple as why wouldn't you include him? He's averaging 101 yards per game, has scored 11 times and hasn't been held below 84 yards since Week 3.
Also considered: Demarcus Ayers, Houston (vs. Temple) - $5,900; Robby Anderson, Temple (vs. Houston) - $4,500; K.D. Cannon, Baylor (vs. Texas) - $5,200
FLEX:
WR – Tyler Higbee, Western Kentucky (vs. Southern Miss) - $4,700
WR – D.J. Thompson, Southern Miss (at Western Kentucky) - $4,100
I initially had a lineup of Doughty with K.D. Cannon and Charles Jones as my flex options, but I changed my tune just before submitting this column. I'll be honest, I think I've overdone the Southern Miss-WKU stack, as it makes up 67 percent of my lineup. But in choosing to go with Watson over Doughty, as long as Jared Dangerfield and Antwane Grant ($4,800 each) don't explode, I've covered my bases in the WKU offense. I'm also banking on this game getting completely out of control offensively, with both teams somewhat abandoning their rushing attacks. If you're to fade the popular choices in these offenses, Anthony Wales ($6,800), Ito Smith ($5,300) and Jalen Richard ($5,500) make a lot of sense.
I'm really not in love with Thompson, but he was the best option I saw given the funds I had remaining. I don't have enough faith in Jones to reach the end zone against WVU, or I'd consider going that route. Thompson has six touchdowns on the year, but hasn't scored in two weeks. Here's hoping that changes Saturday.
