NCAAF

College Football Market Share Report: Week 7

Tyler Goodson carried Iowa to a season-defining win over Penn State last Saturday. Which other players have workloads that stands out heading into Week 7?

Since many of the 2018 law changes that marked the return of college football daily fantasy, it has been quickly growing. After all, more individuals watched the 2020 National Championship Game than any other non-NFL sporting event.

With so many eyeballs on the games, and some monster statistics put up by the elite players in the sport, it is natural for many to gravitate to playing daily fantasy instead of traditional betting. FanDuel offers college football contests each weekend, which can include Thursday, Friday, and Saturday main slates -- depending on game volume.

College football is a unique challenge for DFS, as a lot of necessary information is not easily found. Often, injury news is reported through the schools themselves and newspaper beat reporters. It can also be particularly difficult to find accurate information on which players are on the field, who has the best usage, and where inefficiencies in the salary cap model may reside.

The latter point is the premise for this piece, which in addition to numberFire's betting guides and daily fantasy helpers, is designed to help you find out which college football players are on the field and seeing work.

With that in mind, let's examine the market shares for players on Saturday's main slate on FanDuel.

Note: Players with fewer than 10 pass attempts, 10 rushing attempts, and 5 targets in the previous week will not be featured but may still be viable in daily fantasy formats. For players returning from off weeks, previous reports will contain their most recent sample. All stats are from PFF.com.

Quarterbacks

Player Team
Name
Week
6
ATT
2021
ATT
Per
Game
2021
YPA
Rush/G
Rush
Yards/G
Bryce Young ALA 48 33.0 8.75 0.3 8.5
Max Johnson LSU 39 36.5 7.87 2.3 9.2
Bo Nix AUB 39 31.3 6.36 3.2 27.2
Jaren Hall BYU 37 30.5 7.06 4.3 45.5
KJ Jefferson ARK 35 20.8 9.85 7.8 63.2
Mikey Keene UCF 35 22.0 5.98 0.0 3.0
Casey Thompson TEX 35 18.5 9.86 2.0 24.3
Connor Bazelak MIZZ 34 39.0 7.24 0.8 7.3
Sam Howell UNC 32 31.0 9.12 3.8 88.2
Spencer Petras IOWA 31 27.7 6.82 2.5 6.0
Zach Calzada TXAM 31 26.7 6.43 1.5 15.5
Desmond Ridder CIN 30 29.0 8.98 5.6 34.4
Gerry Bohanon BAY 29 23.8 9.39 5.7 25.3
Caleb Williams OU 25 12.0 8.72 2.7 47.3
Hendon Hooker TENN 23 18.8 9.43 6.0 56.2
Emory Jones UF 22 26.8 7.11 9.2 81.3
Stetson Bennett UGA 21 12.4 12.06 2.4 26.4
Matt Corral MISS 21 30.0 9.99 6.2 63.0
Will Levis UK 17 22.5 8.40 4.3 34.2
Spencer Rattler OU 15 29.5 7.72 3.2 20.3
Max Duggan TCU 10 23.4 8.58 8.4 46.0


Matt Corral ($12,000) has a hefty salary coming off a game in which he was wildly productive, yet only attempted 21 passes. A shift toward the running game -- without a featured back -- really hurts the potential of his Mississippi offense. His game is solid with an 82.5-point total and tight spread against Tennessee, but Ole Miss may continue to shift toward the running game to help their awful defense that is surrendering 5.57 yards per play.

It is not often that Alabama has to throw the ball from behind, so perhaps there is less value in Bryce Young ($10,400) throwing 48 times against Texas A&M than another passer. Young continues to add virtually nothing on the ground (0.3 rushes per game), which makes it tough to find his lofty salary in a lineup as 16.5-point favorites against Mississippi State.

This slate is heavy on SEC matchups with great defenses at play, but Brigham Young's Jarren Hall ($8,000) faces no such concerns against Baylor. Their 32nd-ranked defense is inflated by starting the year with two FCS teams and Kansas, but the defensive woes that plagued them in 2020 likely still exist; they surrendered 20 or more points to their last three conference opponents. Hall's workload is amongst the best dual-threat ones on the slate, as he is flinging it over 30 times a game and has added 45.5 yards per game on the ground.

Running Backs

Player Team
Name
WEEK
6
RUSH
ATT
2021
RUSH/G
2021
RUSH
SHARE
WEEK
6
TGT
2021
TGT
SHARE
Tyler Goodson IOWA 25 20.7 57.9% 2 11.0%
Kennedy Brooks OU 25 13.0 43.6% 2 1.0%
Brian Robinson Jr. ALA 23 19.2 49.5% 4 4.8%
Tyrion Davis-Price LSU 22 11.2 47.9% 0 2.3%
Bijan Robinson TEX 20 20.8 56.1% 3 10.0%
Tyler Allgeier BYU 19 20.2 62.7% 5 7.7%
Henry Parrish Jr. MISS 18 10.8 27.0% 1 7.4%
Zamir White UGA 18 11.8 29.3% 0 0.7%
Raheim Sanders ARK 17 9.0 21.4% 3 3.1%
Tyler Badie MIZZ 17 17.5 60.3% 2 12.9%
Zach Evans TCU 17 14.8 38.5% 0 7.6%
Isaiah Spiller TXAM 17 14.0 51.9% 4 11.0%
Johnny Richardson UCF 16 8.6 27.2% 3 4.3%
Chris Rodriguez Jr. UK 16 20.0 58.3% 1 5.9%
Tiyon Evans TENN 16 14.6 29.6% 0 4.5%
Jerome Ford CIN 15 16.4 55.8% 2 4.2%
Ty Chandler UNC 14 14.7 51.8% 0 2.8%
BJ Harris MIZZ 14 6.7 11.5% 0 0.4%
Snoop Conner MISS 12 7.6 19.0% 1 4.0%
Kavosiey Smoke UK 12 7.3 21.4% 0 3.7%
Kendre Miller TCU 12 6.8 17.7% 0 3.4%
Trelon Smith ARK 11 12.2 29.0% 1 2.3%
Abram Smith BAY 11 13.0 35.6% 1 4.2%
D.J. Jones UNC 11 6.5 15.3% 3 4.5%
Tank Bigsby AUB 10 14.0 46.2% 3 5.5%
Len'Neth Whitehead TENN 10 8.3 10.1% 0 0.6%


It is no secret that surprise playoff contender Iowa works behind Tyler Goodson ($8,700). Goodson posted the highest Week 6 carry total (25) of any running back on the slate, and surprisingly, he added two targets as well -- good enough for an 11% target share in the run-happy Hawkeye offense. That workload is elite for his salary, and he draws a Purdue team that is ranked 46th against the rush in FBS, but that may be skewed by weaker opponents, as they ceded 7.58 yards per carry to Notre Dame's Kyren Williams.

James Conner is not the only "Conner" stealing red-zone touches at the moment in American football. Snoop Conner ($8,300) saw a huge salary increase off a monstrous, three-tuddie game against Arkansas. However, Conner still just saw 12 carries compared to Henry Parrish Jr. ($6,900) and his 18-carry total. It is worth noting that Conner -- a bigger back -- is likely Mississippi's goal-line back, but the odds that he outlasts Corral, Parrish Jr., and others for a majority of scores is unlikely again. Jerrion Ealy ($7,000) may return Saturday as well. There are several paths to failure in this crowded backfield.

Zach Evans ($9,500) is not only questionable for Saturday's date with Oklahoma, but his workload continues to not match his salary in friendly matchups. He has just a 38.5% rush share -- the 14th-worst mark amongst qualifiers on the slate -- at a premium salary. Kendre Miller ($6,300) saw 12 carries in an exclusively positive game script against Texas Tech, but his 17.7% rush share is not exactly enticing, either. We want to attack a Sooners' defense that Bijan Robinson ($11,200) destroyed last week, but unless Evans is out, there may not be a sensible path to do so.

Wide Recievers

Player TEAM
NAME
WEEK
6
TGT
WEEK
6
TGT
SHARE
TGT/G 2021
TGT
SHARE
2021
REC
YDS
SHARE
Josh Downs UNC 15 50.0% 11.8 40.3% 42.6%
Tyquan Thornton BAY 13 43.3% 7.7 32.4% 32.4%
Ryan O'Keefe UCF 13 39.4% 7.6 23.6% 25.2%
John Metchie III ALA 12 27.3% 7.5 23.8% 19.5%
Jameson Williams ALA 12 27.3% 6.7 21.2% 27.4%
Ainias Smith TXAM 11 36.7% 7.0 23.2% 21.4%
Jack Bech LSU 10 27.0% 5.8 16.4% 15.4%
Xavier Worthy TEX 10 33.3% 6.0 25.7% 36.5%
Demetris Robertson AUB 10 27.0% 7.0 17.4% 15.7%
Treylon Burks ARK 9 26.5% 7.5 34.4% 40.1%
Wan'Dale Robinson UK 9 56.3% 8.8 39.3% 44.4%
Alec Pierce CIN 8 25.8% 6.0 20.8% 28.4%
Warren Thompson ARK 8 23.5% 3.2 12.2% 13.9%
Kayshon Boutte LSU 8 21.6% 8.3 23.5% 28.4%
Neil Pau'u BYU 8 22.9% 6.7 23.8% 23.2%
Cedric Tillman TENN 7 31.8% 4.3 16.8% 15.8%
Jacob Copeland UF 7 26.9% 5.0 17.4% 26.9%
Jadon Haselwood OU 7 18.9% 5.3 15.6% 10.8%
Nico Ragaini IOWA 7 26.9% 3.8 14.8% 17.7%
Velus Jones Jr. TENN 7 31.8% 4.8 18.7% 25.8%
Joshua Moore TEX 7 23.3% 4.0 17.1% 10.4%
Trey Knox ARK 6 17.6% 6.0 4.6% 2.9%
Amari Johnson UCF 6 18.2% 3.4 10.6% 7.8%
Brandon Johnson UCF 6 18.2% 6.0 18.6% 17.0%
Ladd McConkey UGA 6 30.0% 3.0 13.1% 19.9%
Jalen Wydermyer TXAM 6 20.0% 6.3 21.0% 18.8%
Gunner Romney BYU 6 17.1% 5.3 19.0% 26.0%
Drew Estrada BAY 6 20.0% 4.0 11.3% 14.8%
Jahleel Billingsley ALA 5 11.4% 3.8 10.1% 9.5%
Marvin Mims OU 5 13.5% 3.7 10.7% 23.5%
Tauskie Dove MIZZ 5 16.1% 4.8 12.5% 14.7%
Mookie Cooper MIZZ 5 16.1% 3.4 7.3% 7.0%
Puka Nacua BYU 5 14.3% 4.4 13.1% 19.4%
Michael Young Jr. CIN 5 16.1% 4.6 16.0% 12.7%
Tre Tucker CIN 5 16.1% 3.0 10.4% 11.7%
Brian Thomas Jr. LSU 5 13.5% 3.3 9.4% 10.6%
Kobe Hudson AUB 5 13.5% 5.3 15.9% 18.2%
Michael Woods II OU 5 13.5% 5.0 14.6% 12.9%
Keke Chism MIZZ 5 16.1% 7.0 18.1% 16.2%
Braylon Sanders MISS 5 25.0% 5.2 17.4% 19.3%


It is starting to feel like Josh Downs ($10,500) is just a free square worth getting to. Downs saw 15 of 30 North Carolina targets in Saturday's loss to Florida State, and that negative script allowed him to go bananas with 121 yards and a score. Downs' game script may not be as solid as 7.5-point favorites over Miami (FL), but numberFire's model thinks the Hurricanes can keep it close. If Downs can get a full day's work against the Miami pass defense (94th in passing yards per game allowed), it should be another monster day.

Because his production was not wild, John Metchie III ($7,600) is under-salaried again. He tied for the lead in Alabama targets last week (12), but he also continues to pace the Crimson Tide in overall target share (23.8%). Metchie's pair of scores on a whopping 45 targets this year still indicates regression is coming in an efficient Alabama offense that holds a massive 42.5 projected total.

Xavier Worthy ($8,800) should command a massive workload for Texas now that Jordan Whittington is out with a broken collarbone. Worthy had a team-high 10 targets against Oklahoma, and the Longhorns were also trying to sit on their large lead a majority of the afternoon. Worthy's talent was evident in Week 6 with an insane 26.1 yards per target that included two deep touchdown catches. Without Wittington, he is the clear top option in a game that should be fun for daily fantasy. Texas is a 5.5-point favorite over Oklahoma State in the contest with a healthy, 60.5-point total. It makes it easier to roster Worthy knowing Jaylen Warren ($10,000) has a heavy workload to easily stack with from the Pokes' side.