Early DraftKings college football picks September 21

Early DraftKings college football running back picks September 21

Top Tier:

I get it. Michigan’s defense is strong. However, they haven’t held Jonathan Taylor under 100 yards in the two games he’s played against them. Add in Taylor’s improved receiving skills this year and you have a valid reason to pay up for Taylor. This is probably Michigan’s weakest defense of the past three years so I could see Taylor having a strong game here. However, his ceiling is limited.

Cam Akers has been an absolute horse for Florida State. Louisville’s run defense is a strength, but Akers already has ten receptions in three games. The price on Akers is down because of the matchup, but this is all the more reason to try to exploit it.

Not only is JaTarvious Whitlow getting most of the carries for Auburn, he is running early and often trying to keep the pressure off of a true freshman quarterback. Whitlow is going to carry a huge load against A&M here. While the Aggies have a solid defense, there’s no reason to believe that Whitlow wont extend his streak of 100+ yards and at least one touchdown to start the season.

Middle Tier:

With Kadarius Toney listed as out, Lamical Perine should see more snaps than usual. Tennessee’s run defense is a little weaker. With a new QB under center, expect Florida to run more than usual. With Toney out, Perine could see at least 20 carries in this one. If he does, he’s a massive bargain.

LSU, Alabama, and UCF all have crowded backfields so I find it a bit difficult to rely on any one piece of those attacks. However, with LSU and UCF having strong matchups, I can see using either of the top two backs from those backfields. Alabama is going to win big again, so I see no reason to play roulette with that backfield.

South Carolina transfer Ty’Son Williams has done well as the starting running back for BYU. Washington’s run defense has been a sore spot early in the season. That should continue here. BYU is still a run first team. Williams is a nice bargain for the price.

Bargain Shoppers:

This is a really tough matchup for Isaiah Spiller, but his price is too low not to consider him. Spiller is the unquestioned lead back for A&M and is a dangerous part of the offense. Don’t expect a huge game, but Spiller is going to get enough carries to be worth $5,000.

Richard Newton has been the more explosive back for Washington so far. Ahmed will get a bulk of the carries, but I’m not sure I want to pay his price. Newton is going to get double digit touches against one of the worst run defenses in FBS for under $5,000. That’s a hell of a deal!

This is another tough test for Elijah Collins, but he is still too cheap. Collins still picked up 14.4 DraftKings points last week in a game where Michigan State had almost no offense. I still love Collins at this price.

You can live in the lower tier of running back on this slate. Javian Hawkins is stupid cheap against a less than stellar Florida State defense. Hawkins has at least 15 DraftKings points in all three games this year. One of those was against Notre Dame, so yeah, FSU doesn’t scare me.