Early college football DFS picks September 12: By the Book

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MORGANTOWN, WV – OCTOBER 12: Iowa State Cyclones running back Breece Hall (28) runs the football during the first quarter of the college football game between the Iowa State Cyclones and the West Virginia Mountaineers on October 12, 2019, at Mountaineer Field at Milan Puskar Stadium in Morgantown, WV. (Photo by Frank Jansky/Icon Sportswire via Getty Images) /

College football DFS running back picks September 12:

Top Tier:

Breece Hall is the clear number one running back on this slate. West Virginia is going to use the game against Eastern Kentucky as an open audition. Leddie Brown could have a big game, but I still think Hall outdoes him. Considering DraftKings is PPR, Hall is even more valuable.

There are a lot of unknowns among the high priced running backs which makes Hall all the more important. It’s also going to result in high ownership. An interesting pivot will be Texas A&M transfer Jashaun Corbin. He won the job with the Aggies before going down with a hamstring injury. Yes, he’s listed as a co-starter, but Corbin will have a great chance to separate himself in this one.

Middle Tier:

The Cajuns will run the ball a lot with Elijah Mitchell and Trey Ragas. This is a tough Iowa State defense, but Mitchell is an interesting pick because of his usage in the offense. Unless you think the Cajuns are going to get shut out. If they score though, my bet is that Mitchell does it.

I don’t know why Javonte Williams is that much cheaper than Michael Carter, but I’m not complaining. Williams will see plenty of field time and has a higher ceiling as a pass-catching back. He hauled in six passes in the Heels final two games of 2019.

Bargain Shoppers:

Tony Mathis is an absolute steal for the price here since he is basically a co-starter against the worst team on the slate. Mathis is my free space. I will have a ton of exposure to him.

Tyrell Robinson showed more explosiveness than the rest of the Army backs in the opener. At the very least he should still see a solid number of carries. I expect some garbage time here as well. For $3,400 it’s worth finding out if Robinson gets a larger role in the offense.

La’Damian Webb is also a co-starter and is almost $3,000 cheaper than the actual starter. He and Mathis are elite punts, though they do carry some risk.