Early DraftKings college football picks October 12: Make money in Dallas

DALLAS, TX - OCTOBER 06: Scoreboard during the Big 12 Conference Red River Rivalry game showing a tie game with just over 2 minutes left between the Texas Longhorns and the Oklahoma Soonerson October 6, 2018 at Cotton Bowl Stadium in Dallas, Texas. (Photo by William Purnell/Icon Sportswire via Getty Images) /

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TEMPE, AZ – FEBRUARY 28: Arizona State Sun Devils running back Eno Benjamin (3) runs the ball during the Arizona State Sun Devils spring football game on February 28, 2019 at Sun Devil Stadium in Tempe, Arizona. (Photo by Kevin Abele/Icon Sportswire via Getty Images) /

Early DraftKings college football running back picks October 12

Top Tier:

Considering that Jonathan Taylor ran for 203 yards on Michigan, I think he can run on anyone. He may not eclipse 200 yards here, but Taylor is still going to get plenty of touches. Despite the success of Coan, the Badgers still need Taylor to win.

The rest of the top tier is abundant with risk. Cam Akers is the heart of the Florida State offense, but I’m not running him against Clemson. Georgia isn’t overworking Swift. The Mississippi State quarterbacks aren’t effective enough for Hill to get any room. I do like Eno Benjamin and Max Borghi though. Borghi’s value is mostly tied to his receptions. Benjamin is just a beast who is going to get a ton of carries. He’s worth fading Taylor for if it helps you get another stud.

Middle Tier:

DraftKings also lowered the price of Travis Etienne to an almost laughable level. Again, this Florida State defense still isn’t all that good. Etienne is the best back at the top of the middle tier. Keaontay Ingram and Trey Sermon are worth looks in the Red River Shootout as well.

Duke has gotten Deon Jackson more involved in the offense lately with seven receptions out of the backfield. Even though Harris gets most of the attention, Jackson for the price against a questionable Georgia Tech run defense is a solid play.

Bargain Shoppers:

I’m a big fan of Roschon Johnson here. Texas turned Johnson loose a little bit against West Virginia. Weird things happen in rivalry games. The whole world knows that Johnson was recruited as a quarterback and is still the heir apparent to Ehlinger’s throne. Expect at least one trick play involving Johnson throwing the ball here. That makes him a perfect GPP play.

Once again, SaRodorick Thompson led the Red Raiders in rushing, even though he didn’t put up big numbers. Thompson is still a really good value play for the price.

This is a superb matchup for the Maryland offense, but the Maryland backfield has really been in flux lately. McFarland is listed as the starter, but Javon Leake is the guy I think I want. Leake does have a low floor, but he flashed his upside with 25.8 DraftKings points last week against a similarly bad Rutgers defense.