FanDuel’s Week 15 Championship Week Main Slate features 9 games and will kickoff at Noon ET. The slate is a fun mix of big-name teams with star players we know well (Jalen Hurts, Joe Burrow, Jonathan Taylor, etc.) and some non-Power 5 championship teams we have yet to see on the main slate.
This slate breakdown will go position-by-position, highlighting the top options and giving an overview of the toughest choices we face this week. The top options are broken down into two categories. Players listed as Core Plays are those who you can play with high confidence in both cash games and tournaments. Players listed as Worth Considering are viable as cost-saving options in your main lineup or high-upside options for tournaments
Quarterback
Positional Overview
The smaller slate limits our options at the position. The player pool is further limited by the fact we have some run-heavy offenses featuring quarterbacks with limited upside. There are also some decent quarterbacks who are facing extremely difficult matchups, which limits their appeal. We should see ownership heavily concentrated on the top 6-8 quarterbacks on the slate.
Jalen Hurts ($11,800) is expensive but projects for approximately 10 more points than any other player on the slate. He is a cash-game must and should be a tournament staple. Joe Burrow ($10,200), Justin Fields ($10,000), Trevor Lawrence ($9,700), and Charlie Brewer ($9.600) are proven options in decent spots. Jaylon Henderson ($9,200) of Boise State is also in very much in play with a great matchup against Hawaii.
Core Plays
Jalen Hurts, Oklahoma ($11,800)
Hurts had his worst fantasy performance of the season last week…and still scored 29.5 fantasy points. The best reason to pay up for Hurts is his insanely high fantasy floor due to his rushing prowess. In his prior matchup against Baylor, everything went wrong for Hurts in the first half but he came out and had a Heisman-worthy second half performance. In the comeback, Hurts threw for 297 yards and 4 touchdowns. He also rushed for 114 yards. Baylor does have a top-15 defense (SP+), but we’ve already seen Hurts carve them up so it is not a matchup that should scare us off too much. Oklahoma has switched to a more run-heavy approach since the loss to Kansas State and if the Sooners jump out to an early lead, we could see Hurts throw 21 or fewer times (like he has each of the last two weeks). This is where Hurts’ unique usage makes him game-script proof, however. Over the last four weeks, he is averaging 24 carries per game. The smaller slate actually makes it a little bit easier to fit Hurts in under the cap. Only one running back is priced over $10K and only two wide receivers are 9K+, so there are fewer players at other positions who could make us regret allocating a big chunk of our cap to Hurts.
Trevor Lawrence, Clemson ($9,700)
Lawrence hasn’t shown quite the ceiling we have seen from Joe Burrow and some of the other top quarterbacks on the slate but his floor has proven to be high and the consistency of his production has been impressive. In the last six games, he has thrown for at least three touchdowns in every single game. He has also been fairly productive as a runner, rushing for at least 40 yards in all but one game. Clemson has the highest implied team total on the slate (42 points) and the talent gap between the Tigers and Virginia is also probably the biggest of the day. If it was a mid-season game, there would be more blowout concern considering Clemson is favored by four touchdowns and Lawrence could get an early hook. However, Clemson has a month to rest up after this game and it has looked in recent weeks like the Tigers have been trying to make a statement by blowing teams out. Expect Clemson and Lawrence to try to pour it on against an overmatched Virginia defense in their final tune-up before facing better competition.
Others to Consider
Joe Burrow, LSU ($10,200)
Burrow will have his stiffest test of the season against Georgia’s defense, which is ranked as the best in the nation according to SP+. While it is the worst possible matchup, we have seen Burrow put up 24.9 fantasy points against Auburn’s 4th-ranked defense and 32.1 against Alabama’s 7th-ranked defense. He should have success even against this loaded defense but his upside may be a bit limited in this spot. Georgia has a slower-paced, ground and pound offense and this isn’t a game that is likely to turn into a shootout. Still, we have seen Ja’Marr Chase catch a short pass over the middle and take it for a long touchdown on seemingly a weekly basis. Those big chunk plays allow Burrow to rack up fantasy points quickly, making him a worthwhile GPP play.
Justin Fields, Ohio State ($10,000)
Fields makes for an interesting contrarian option in tournaments. He shredded a good Michigan defense last week for 302 passing yards and 4 touchdowns on just 25 attempts. One factor weighing in Fields’ favor is that the Big Ten Championship will be indoors on a fast track in Indianapolis. The Buckeyes have played five straight games in inclement weather, which has been one of the reasons the offense has been so run-heavy. The speed advantage for the Buckeyes on the perimeter could be more noticeable in the ideal condidtions. As with Burrow, the big-play ability of Fields’ wide receivers gives him real upside. We have seen Fields connect on deep balls to Chris Olave and Garrett Wilson with some regularity. Fields also has obvious upside as a runner, with 10 rushing touchdowns on the season. Fields will be wearing a bulky knee brace due to a sprained MCL and we aren’t likely to see many designed run calls. That being said, Fields will still put up some rushing yards on scrambles and may get his number called in a few high-leverage spots, like down around the goal line. Fields has topped 30 fantasy points in half of his games this season. 30 points could be a slate-winning quarterback performance given the smaller number of legitimate options this week.
Running Back
Positional Overview
Despite the smaller slate, we have a bevy of strong options at running back this week. Travis Etienne ($9,500), J.K. Dobbins ($10,300), Kennedy Brooks ($8,000), and George Holani ($8,200) are lead backs playing as heavy favorites in solid matchups. Darrynton Evans ($9,300), Clyde Edwards-Helaire ($9,100), and Jonathan Ward ($9,000) are other more expensive option in great spots as more narrow favorites. The smaller slate does limit the salary-cap saving options. Louisiana and UAB are underdogs that employ RBBC backfields but they do have some talented backs with strong PPD upside. Each of these backs are in play if you are multi-entering but Trey Ragas ($6,300) of Louisiana and Spencer Brown ($6,600) of UAB are probably the best tournaments considering the prices.
Core Plays
Travis Etienne, Clemson ($9,500)
Etienne has arguably the highest floor of any running back on this slate. Since the close call back in September, Etienne and the Clemson offense have been on fire. He has scored at least one touchdown and scored 20+ fantasy points in every game since the September wakeup call. Clemson is a heavy favorite with the highest implied-team total on the slate (42 points), so everything sets up well for Etienne to have another big game. Virginia has a middling defense that ranks 36th overall (SP+). Virginia hasn’t faced a team of Clemson’s caliber this season. However, in their toughest game to date they allowed Notre Dame’s Tony Jones to run for 131 yards and 3 touchdowns.
George Holani, Boise State ($8,200)
As far as matchups go, Holani easily has the best on the slate. Hawaii’s defense ranks 115th overall (SP+). The Rainbow Warriors are giving up 206 yards and 2.4 touchdowns per game on the ground. When these two teams matched up early in the season, Holani was serving as a backup to Robert Mahone. Even in a reserve role, he put up 102 total yards and 3 touchdowns. Holani, a true freshman, has emerged in the second half of the season as the go-to player in the Broncos offense and the next in a long line of star Boise State lead backs. He touched the ball at least 16 times in all but one of Boise State’s games over the second half of the season. Holani is coming off of a poor performance last week in what looked like a great spot. He managed just 59 yards against Colorado State on 21 touches. The failure last week may help keeps Holani’s ownership from rising too high this week (though he will still be chalky). If he gets 20+ touches again against Hawaii, he could have a monster fantasy game.
Others to Consider
J.K. Dobbins, Ohio State ($10,300)
Dobbins has been dominant this season. He has racked up 1,857 total yards and 21 touchdowns. Running behind arguably the nation’s best offensive line, Dobbins has been matchup proof. The Badgers have the 14th-ranked defense overall (SP+) and have given up just 98.3 rushing yards per game this season. It would be a matchup that might scare us off of Dobbins at this price if we hadn’t already seen these two teams face off. In the late October matchup, Dobbins ran the ball 20 times for 163 yards and 2 touchdowns. He also caught 3 passes for 58 yards. Dobbins has actually been at his best against the toughest run defenses the Buckeyes have faced. In addition to the 35.6 fantasy points he produced against Wisconsin, he put up 27.3 points against Penn State and 51 last week against Michigan. Dobbins has scored at least 20 fantasy points in seven straight, which puts him firmly in cash-game consideration. He is the second-highest priced player on the slate and is gong to be heavily owned but as we saw last week, the upside is sufficient to justify paying up for him in tournaments.
Darrynton Evans, Appalachian State ($9,300)
Evans has been on fire the last few weeks. He has put up at least 109 total yards four straight weeks and has scored eight touchdowns over the last three weeks. The matchup looks favorable on paper. Louisiana is giving up 172.3 rushing yards per game and Appalachian State’s implied team total of 31 points is tied with LSU for 6th-highest on the slate. However, Louisiana did hold Evans in check in their early-season matchup. Evans ran 22 times for just 69 yards and was held out of the end zone and without a catch. It is hard to imagine Louisiana holding Evans in check twice in one season. The Sun Belt’s offensive player of the season has put up 1,380 yards and 19 touchdowns this season. Plus, unlike the prior matchup, this game will be played on Appalachian State’s home field. He makes for a solid contrarian option priced right in between bigger-named back like Travis Etienne and Clyde Edwards-Helaire.
Kennedy Brooks, Oklahoma ($8,000)
Brooks has been a favorite play of late. His pricing reflects his season-long averages but his usage changed drastically after the Kansas State loss in late October. Prior to the loss, he hadn’t topped 10 carries all season. His total touches since have been 16, 22, 25, and 22. We should expect 20 touches for the fourth-straight game in this weekend’s matchup against Baylor. He has been as productive on a per-carry basis as any back in the country, so he should do a lot of damage with that kind of workload. Brooks is averaging a ridiculous 8.0 yards per carry over his career. Given his new role, Brooks should be priced at least $1,000 higher. Despite the bargain price, the other strong running back options and the fact that Hurts will be the chalk at quarterback should combine to keep his ownership relatively low, making him a strong contrarian option for GPPs.
Wide Receiver
Positional Overview
Given the smaller number of teams and a lot of run-heavy offenses, the pool of top options at wide receiver is limited. Ja’Marr Chase ($9,700) and Justin Jefferson ($8,600) of LSU, Tee Higgins ($8,600) and Justyn Ross ($7,900) of Clemson, Denzel Mims ($8,600) of Baylor, and CeeDee Lamb ($9,000) of Oklahoma stand out as the top high-priced targets.
We can also look to some of the smaller school championships for bargain options. Boise State and Hawaii could put up big numbers through the air. While these offenses spread the ball around, the prices on guys like Khalil Shakir ($7,600) and Jared Smart ($7,400) make it worth rolling the dice and hoping to hit on the right pass catcher.
Core Plays
Justyn Ross, Clemson ($7,900)
Ross and Tee Higgins are equally strong options this week but the nod goes to Ross due to his being priced $700 cheaper than Higgins. Ross is fresh off of his best game of the season, a 9 catch, 111 yard, 1 touchdown performance against rival South Carolina. He could have another big day against an overmatched Virginia defense in a game Clemson projects to score 40+ points. The Tigers seemed to be running on cruise control for most of the regular season, given the lack of challenges on their schedule. They are starting to ramp things up and we are seeing them start to rely more heavily on their stars as they gear up for the College Football Playoff. Ross is one of those stars who they are going to lean on heavily and we should see him have success against a Virginia defense that has given up 300+ yards to Virginia Tech and Liberty the last two weeks. Before that, Virginia allowed 353 passing yards and 4 touchdowns to North Carolina. Clemson projects to pass for nearly 300 yards and 2.5 touchdowns. Ross should have a decent chunk of that pie, making him the best point per dollar receiver on the slate.
Ja’Marr Chase, LSU ($9,700)
The matchup is awful against Georgia’s top-ranked defense but how can you fade Chase at this point? He has been on an absolute tear of late. He has at least 6 catches, 140+ receiving yards, and a score in four straight games. The fact this game should be competitive may actually weigh in Chase’s favor. Aside from blowouts against Georgia Southern, Utah State, and Mississippi State, Chase has had at least 123 receiving yards in every other game. He has scored seven times in the last three weeks, making highlight plays after the catch on a weekly basis. There are only a few wide receivers on this smaller slate with 40-point upside and Chase tops the list. Given his combination of floor and ceiling, he is worth paying up for as the top pass catcher on the slate.
Jared Smart, Hawaii ($7,400)
There are a lot of different directions we can go when looking for cap-saving options at wide receiver. Smart is one that stands out. He has emerged in November as the top target in the high-flying Hawaii offense. Over the last three weeks, he has averaged 8 catches for 103.7 yards per game. There is some risk here given how Hawaii can feature different receivers depending on the matchup but it is one worth taking given the price tag. While Boise State is a solid passing defense, allowing 238 passing yards per game, we know this is a matchup that is winnable for Hawaii. The Golden Warriors passed for 325 yards and 4 touchdowns in their previous meeting this season. Smart is an inexpensive option to get some exposure to the slate’s most likely shootout and the highest game total of the day.
Others to Consider
Quintez Cephus, Wisconsin ($7,000)
On first blush, targeting a pass catcher on Wisconsin’s unproductive passing offense against Ohio State’s elite pass defense doesn’t seem wise. Cephus has some real appeal as a contrarian tournament option, however. If this game plays out as expected, Wisconsin will be playing from behind as 16.5-point underdogs. Ohio State also has not been bashful about making clear their intention to stack the box against Jonathan Taylor and trying to force Jack Coan and the Badgers passing offense to beat them. The Buckeyes will regularly leave their talented corners on an island and dare Wisconsin to beat them. Cephus is the Badgers best bet to do so. One of the most underrated deep threats in college football, Cephus has been able to get behind defenses for big plays when his number has been called. He caught a 47-yard bomb last week against Minnesota and put Wisconsin out to an insurmountable lead against Iowa with a 27-yard touchdown catch. It will only take one long touchdown for Cephus to pay off this price and he should have a handful of opportunities on deep shots in this matchup.
Denzel Mims, Baylor ($8,700)
Mims is Baylor’s go-to offensive weapon and has proven to be a player the Bears can trust to make big plays in big spots. He has shown up in big games all season. He took on a starring role in a big win against Iowa State with 6 catches for 106 yards and 2 touchdowns. He also had 5-99-1 and 6-57-2 in very narrow wins over West Virginia and TCU, respectively. Then in back-to-back November games against Oklahoma and Texas, he totaled 13 receptions for 217 yards and 3 touchdowns. He made a pair of highlight-reel catches to stake Baylor to an early lead against Oklahoma in their previous meeting. In a game with the slate’s second-highest total, Mims should have another big day.
