DraftKings college football picks December 28: Is the Heisman cursed?

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J.K. Dobbins #2 of the Ohio State Buckeyes runs with the ball against the Wisconsin Badgers (Photo by Joe Robbins/Getty Images) /

DraftKings college football running back picks December 28:

Top Tier:

The one constant this year is that whenever Ohio State needed to crack a tough defense, they rode J.K. Dobbins. Every time he didn’t just come up big, he came up huge. I expect the same out of Dobbins here. Every team in action on this slate has a strong run defense. At that point you go with the most talented guy. Without question, that’s Dobbins.

I wouldn’t have used Edwards-Hilaire against Oklahoma anyway. Oklahoma’s run defense has held tough all year, and LSU has four backs behind him that they’ll throw out there to try and gain traction. I would rather use Travis Etienne. Clemson rested him through the ACC schedule by not giving him more than 20 touches in any game this year. They were saving him for the playoff, so we could see a nice game out of a fresh Etienne.

Middle Tier:

I don’t really have any interest in the Memphis backs. They are plentiful and are basically going to be running into a brick wall. The split carries hurt the value of all of them as does the strength of the Penn State defense being against the run.

I would much rather use Breece Hall against the Irish. He is Iowa State’s horse. This offense really took off once he became the starter. I don’t expect a huge game from Hall, but he is the best pass catcher out of the backfield in action today unless Edwards-Hilaire plays. That’s a few free points from receptions, which could make a big difference on a slate like this.

Bargain Shoppers:

I like what I have seen from Kennedy Brooks with Sermon out. He’s getting the carries and he’s getting touchdowns. I don’t expect a game in the triple digits here, but I do expect Brooks to find the end zone. That could be big with his price this low.

Much like Memphis, Penn State has a whole stable of running backs. Unlike Memphis, they are all cheap. Having Noah Cain back in the fold is going to hurt Journey Brown, but how much? This game is going to be played in the rain and the QB is not 100%. Penn State could run more than usual, so Brown should still have a healthy workload. I’m not opposed to using both him and Cain if you need the salary relief.

If Edwards-Hilaire is out, Tyrion Davis-Price is the way to go in the LSU backfield and he is super cheap. Keep an eye on this.