I hope everyone had a great Thanksgiving, and just want to take one second to thank everyone for all their support this year. I’ve had a blast and hope I’ve been able to help you all win some money this year. With that being said, let’s go win some more with this Saturday Night Slate.
Against the Spread Picks
Georgia Tech (+24) vs Georgia
South Carolina (+7.5) vs Clemson
Total Wagers
Kansas vs Cincinnati (Under 58)
Kansas State vs Iowa State (Over 45.5)
Quarterbacks
Brennan Armstrong, NC State vs North Carolina (DK: $6.1K | FD: $8.3K | O/U: 55 | Implied: 26.35)
Brennan Armstrong is back! Since taking back over the starting job he has thrown for 314 yards and 3 touchdowns in two games while rushing for 185 yards and three touchdowns. He has a top 35 and top 6 finish in those weeks.
While this isn’t the juiciest matchup for a QB on the slate, quarterbacks have seen some success against this defense. Dual-threat quarterbacks have given them the most trouble when it comes to fantasy — dual-threat QBs are scoring 7 points more than their average on the season. Feels like Armstrong could keep it going this week.
Sam Hartman, Notre Dame vs Stanford (DK: $7.5K | FD: $9.4K | O/U: 51.5 | Implied: 38.75)
Sam Hartman has not put up numbers like we saw last year at Wake Forest, but the positive here is he has four 3+ passing touchdown games, and all have come against teams that aren’t great against the pass. He is a bit more risky play, but this Stanford defense is giving up 28 a game to quarterbacks, so it feels like one of those games where Hartman booms instead of busts.
Drake Maye, North Carolina vs NC State (DK: $9.5K | FD: $11.0K | O/U: 55 | Implied: 28.75)
Drake Maye has the highest ceiling and floor on this slate, making him one of the better plays, but he is expensive. Clemson did slow him down last week, but before that game, he had eight straight weeks as a top 27 QB. He’s averaging over 300 yards a game and has thrown 22 touchdowns. He also has a little upside in the run game. He averages 31 rush yards a game and has scored a rushing touchdown in six games.
Man oh man pic.twitter.com/vJlbzFqOvx
— Nico (@elitetakes_) November 18, 2023
Alternatives
Carson Beck, Georgia vs Georgia Tech (DK: $9.1K | FD: $9.7K | O/U: 60 | Implied: 42)
Emory Jones, Cincinnati vs Kansas (DK: $8.0K | FD: $9.4K | O/U: 58 | Implied: 26)
Running Backs
Devin Neal, Kansas vs Cincinnati (DK: $7.0K | FD: $9.9K | O/U: 58 | Implied: 32)
Devin Neal is coming off a three-touchdown performance against Kansas State last week, in which he also ran for 138 yards. Over the last four contests he is averaging 20 rush attempts a game. He has seven touchdowns and 444 rushing yards.
Combine that with a Cincinnati run defense that allows 18 points a game to RB1s this season, and this could be another big game for Neal. In fact, Cincinnati has given up three top 2 performances on the year, and they are allowing RB1s to score 3 points more than their average. With all that taken into account Neal actually has the highest ceiling on the slate and one of the highest floors.
Devin Neal shows off the elusiveness with the stutter step, then pairs it with the lateral movement and explosive speed on this beautiful TD run😮💨 🔥🔥 pic.twitter.com/isOxpono6b
— Jeremy (@PopesFFH) November 19, 2023
Omarion Hampton, North Carolina vs NC State (DK: $7.5K | FD: $11.0K | O/U: 55 | Implied: 28.75)
You’re going to have to pay up a little bit for Omarion Hampton, but he has been on a roll lately. He has seven rushing touchdowns in the last four weeks. He’s run for over 100 yards in each of the last 7 weeks. Last week against a solid Clemson defense, he had 19 attempts for 178 and two touchdowns.
NC State has been solid against running backs this year, but a good defense has yet to slow Hampton down lately. He has been a top-16 running back six times this year — five of those in the last seven games. Nobody has really been able to stop Hampton once they started feeding him the ball.
Kendall Milton, Georgia vs Georgia Tech (DK: $5.6K | FD: $7.3K | O/U: 60 | Implied: 42)
Kendall Milton’s touches have been limited this year but he does have a rushing touchdown in each of the last six games. He has also seen double-digit carries in two of the last four games and had more rush attempts than Daijun Edwards.
He is a bit of a riskier play because of his lack of touches and a low floor, but he does project well this week based on an uptick in rush attempts and the Georgia Tech run defense against running backs. They are one of the worst in the nation in points given up to all running backs, giving up 32 a game. If you are looking for a little bit cheaper running back, Milton could be a guy to look to in those lineups.
Corey Kiner, Cincinnati vs Kansas (DK: $5.4K | FD: $7.1K | O/U: 58 | Implied: 26)
Corey Kiner really only has a few weeks that you can look at this year, where he was a solid play. The theme in those weeks though was that the rush D was not very good, specifically to RB1s. In those games against lower-rated defenses, he averaged 20 points a game and had over 100 rushing yards in each.
Guess whose rush defense is giving up 20 points a game to RB1s this year? Kansas. So this could be one of those games where Kiner hits over 100 yards and gets a touchdown or two. He’s a lower-priced option at running back this week but shows good value.
Alternatives
Will Shipley, Clemson vs South Carolina (DK: $6.0K | FD: $8.2K | O/U: 51.5 | Implied: 29.5)
Audric Estime, Notre Dame vs Stanford (DK: $8.2K | FD: $10.0K | O/U: 51.5 | Implied: 38.75)
Trey Benson, Florida State vs Florida (DK: $6.9K | FD: $8.7K | O/U: 49 | Implied: 27.75)
Receivers
Kevin Concepcion, NC State vs North Carolina (DK: $6.5K | FD: $8.6K | O/U: 55 | Implied: 26.35)
I don’t know if there will be a lineup I have without Kevin Concepcion this week. His target share has actually come down a little bit from where it was mid-season, but he still sees around 8 targets a game. In that same span, he is averaging 5 rush attempts a game. So even though his target share has come down he is still seeing 10+ opportunities a game.
Last week he was my WR1, but partially due to him throwing a touchdown pass. You can’t count on that for points, but I think the thing to look at is that NC State wants him involved heavily in their offense. They are going to find ways to get the ball in his hands and let him make plays. Add in that North Carolina is currently giving up 22 points a game to WR1s on the season. This is a good matchup for him.
Xavier Legette, South Carolina vs Clemson (DK: $6.6K | FD: $8.4K | O/U: 51.5 | Implied: 22)
Xavier Legette has a tough matchup against Clemson this week, but it’s hard to ignore how South Carolina has been trying to get Legette the ball over the last few weeks. He is averaging 10 targets a game. He also has six 100-yard receiving performances this year and has 7 total touchdowns.
Despite the tough matchup, Legette still has one of the higher ceilings on the slate and one of the higher floors. And while the defense overall has been solid against wide receivers they have given up four top 30 performances.
Xavier Legette shook the CB and is wide open for a TD 🐓 pic.twitter.com/UdWbVbAgzI
— RanDynasty (@ran_dynasty) November 19, 2023
Devontez Walker, North Carolina vs NC State (DK: $7.8K | FD: $9.1K | O/U: 55 | Implied: 28.75)
Much like the first two guys I mentioned, Devontez Walker has both one of the highest ceilings and floors on this slate. But just like Legette, he has a tough matchup this week. NC State has been the 38th-best defense against WR1s this year.
Last week vs Clemson, Walker was pretty much held in check. He had only 4 receptions for 70 yards and no touchdowns, but he was targeted 12 times. The week prior, he had 11 targets against Duke that he turned into 7 receptions for 162 yards. The potential is there for Walker, and he is going to have some of the most opportunities out of all the receivers on this slate.
Ben Sinnott, Kansas State vs Iowa State (DK: $4.9K | FD: $6.5K | O/U: 46 | Implied: 28)
With a lack of much firepower coming from the receivers on this slate and some pretty tough matchups, it might make sense for a tight end play. Ben Sinnott has three straight 12+ games and has scored in double digits in eight total games this year. With Will Howard in the lineup, Sinnott is targeted 7 times a game.
While he has gone over 100 yards only once this year, he’s been pretty consistent, sitting at 15 points a game with Howard at QB. At $4.9K, this could be a nice cheap option in your lineup, allowing you to go a little more expensive on a running back.
Alternatives
Brock Bowers, Georgia vs Georgia Tech (DK: $7.9K | FD: $8.6K | O/U: 60 | Implied: 42)
Xzavier Henderson, Cincinnati vs Kansas (DK: $6.5K | FD: $7.1K | O/U: 58 | Implied: 26)
Keon Coleman, Florida State vs Florida (DK: $6.6K | FD: $8.0K | O/U: 49 | Implied: 27.75)
$4.5K-or-less options
Braden Smith, Cincinnati vs Kansas (DK: $4.2K | FD: $6.1K | O/U: 58 | Implied: 26)
Lawrence Arnold, Kansas vs Cincinnati (DK: $4.4K | FD: $7.0K | O/U: 58 | Implied: 32)