Daily Fantasy CFB Week 12: DraftKings Optimum Lineup, Matchup Advice
Amid all the rankings and noise surrounding the college football season, daily fantasy college football owners have a tough task ahead with Week 12 on the horizon.
Crafting the optimum DraftKings lineup is never an easy feat given the wealth of games each slate presents. The incredible amount of information available to owners through various mediums can act as a double-edged sword, too, because it could send some into overthinking decisions and costing themselves value.
Below, let's cut through the noise with one example of an optimum Week 12 lineup based on past performance, projections for both players and teams and much more.
.jpg?w=256 "Ohio State Team Doctor")
DraftKings Optimum Week 12 Lineup
| QB | Paxton Lynch (MEM) | TEM | 27.4 | $8,100 |
| QB | Cody Kessler (USC) | ORE | 20.3 | $7,200 |
| RB | Demario Richard (ASU) | ARI | 22.7 | $7,000 |
| RB | Markell Jones (PUR) | IOWA | 17.4 | $4,200 |
| WR | J. Smith-Schu...(USC) | ORE | 25.6 | $7,000 |
| WR | Levern Jacobs (MD) | IU | 10.0 | $3,300 |
| WR | D.J. Foster (ASU) | AZ | 14.2 | $5,200 |
| FLEX | Michael Thomas (OSU) | MSU | 16.4 | $5,000 |
| FLEX | Clinton Taylor (FIU) | WKU | 8.5 | $3,000 |
Only Saturday games (noon ET to 3:30 p.m. ET) listed.
QB
Paxton Lynch, Memphis ($8,100)
It's impossible to ignore Memphis quarterback Paxton Lynch this week against Temple in a game Las Vegas has at an over/under of 62.
There's going to be a lot of scoring in what should be a close encounter, with Lynch surely doing most of it for the Tigers. Outside of a dud of a season-opening performance, he has at least 20.6 points in every game this season.
Not only is Lynch attempting more than 30 passes in most contests, he's carried the ball six or more times in eight games this season as a dual-threat player who can get owners much in the way of production.
Cody Kessler, USC ($7,200)
USC quarterback Cody Kessler might end up the highest scorer at quarterback by the time he's done with Oregon's 125th-ranked pass defense this weekend.
Kessler has struggled in recent weeks, but if there's a way to get him back to 36.6-point form from Week 4, it's against the Ducks in a game with a ridiculous over/under of 71.5 points.
Great matchup or not, Kessler still averages 20.3 fantasy points per game in a high-profile offense surrounded by plenty of weapons. It certainly helps, though, that the Trojans control their own destiny in the conference and have everything to play for this weekend.
An incredible matchup is just icing on the proverbial cake.
RB
Demario Richard, Arizona State ($7,000)
Now would not be the time to go away from Arizona State running back Demario Richard.
Yes, Richard just posted 4.5 points in a dud of a performance last weekend, but he's still averaging 22.7 on the year.
Why? He's eclipsed more than 100 rushing yards five times with nine touchdowns and has four or more catches in four contests this year.
Now Richard, who gets it done in all phases, gets a rebound performance in an incredible matchup against Arizona, a defense ranked 85th against the run. Tripling his salary looks like the floor.
Markell Jones, Purdue ($4,200)
Owners who keep awaiting a price hike on Purdue running back Markell Jones don't get it this weekend, which is nothing short of a good thing.
Jones has outbursts of 31.3, 14.7 and 23.6 points over his last three games and his team's official Twitter account added some interesting details:
An encounter with Iowa isn't the best situation in the world for the freshman, but opportunities equal production, something he's proved all year.
At worst, Jones hits value, which is exactly what owners want when building an optimum lineup.
WR
JuJu Smith-Schuster, USC ($7,000)
The old quarterback-wideout stack works wonders when value-hunting, so pair Kessler with top wideout JuJu Smith-Schuster this weekend.
JSS has six or more catches in six games this year and averages a smooth 25.6 points, nothing but outstanding blurbs given the aforementioned details around the USC-Oregon shootout.
Scott Wolf of the Los Angeles Daily News provided notable insight from JSS' quarterback:
In other words, JSS will see a boatload of targets in a scoring system in which catches on their lonesome give owners points.
What's not to like?
Levern Jacobs, Maryland ($3,300)
When it comes to a punt play this weekend, owners could do much worse than Maryland wideout Levern Jacobs.
Jacobs is the No. 1 receiver on an offense that struggles with quarterback play. It's enough to shy some owners away, but Jacobs averages 10 points per game and has 11.2 or more points four times this year.
Keep in mind, too, that Jacobs gets to go against the worst-ranked pass defense in the nation this weekend in a contest against Indiana, which Las Vegas has at a total of 64 points. This one's all about ceiling for Jacobs.
D.J. Foster, Arizona State ($5,200)
Speaking of upside, look at Arizona State's D.J. Foster.
The explosive weapon has 60 or more receiving yards in four games this season and last week rushed the ball six times, the second such total in two of his past three outings.
Overall, Foster averages 14.2 points and has 12.9 or more in each of his last three. Perhaps most notable? Foster hasn't scored any sort of touchdown since Week 6.
Foster is due, as silly as that notion can be at times, especially going into a contest against an Arizona defense sporting a rank of 121 against the pass.
Flex
Michael Thomas, Ohio State ($5,000)
Consistency is key for owners who need value at the flex spot and grabbing a No. 1 wideout on an offense such as Ohio State's for $5,000 defines the word value.
Michael Thomas leads the Buckeyes in targets by a mile with 58 and averages 16.4 points per game. He's recorded four or more catches in seven games this year with eight total touchdowns.
Thomas will see the same workload against the Michigan State Spartans in a contest with 53 total points up for grabs. He figures to do some of the scoring considering the Spartans rank 86th in terms of passing yards allowed.
Clinton Taylor, Florida International ($3,000)
Florida International's Clinton Taylor would be the minimum-priced option to target this week.
Taylor only averages 8.5 points per game, but that's nearly a triple and the upside? Look at his 36.6-point outburst in Week 10 on nine grabs for 126 yards and two scores.
Over the course of the past few weeks Taylor has broken out and it's a trend sure to continue against Western Kentucky, owners of a defense ranked 96th against the pass.
Best of all, Taylor's team rests as 16.5 dogs in a game with a total of 66.5 points. They're going to need to throw all day Saturday, meaning huge output for Taylor.
Enter the DraftKings $1.25 M Play-Action contest this weekend. Use promo code BLEACHER REPORT when you sign up.
Pricing information and scoring data obtained from DraftKings.com. Odds via Odds Shark.
.jpg?w=480 "Ohio State Team Doctor")
