4 Best FanDuel NFL DFS Stud Picks for Week 4

Hitting on high-salary players is the first step to having success in NFL DFS on FanDuel.

These players take up the biggest chunk of your salary cap, and they need to deliver quality performances for your lineup to reach its ceiling.

With some help from our NFL DFS projections, here are four studs to target on this week's main slate, which starts at 1 p.m. ET.

All betting odds come from the NFL odds at FanDuel Sportsbook and may change after this article is published.

NFL DFS Stud Plays for Week 4

Lamar Jackson, QB, Baltimore Ravens

FanDuel Salary: $8,700

Quarterback is deep on the FanDuel NFL DFS main slate this week, with Josh Allen, Lamar Jackson, Jayden Daniels, and Jalen Hurts all suiting up in the early or afternoon windows.

Those four have the rushing ability to put up some truly bonkers FanDuel point (FDP) totals, and that lessens the appeal of some of the lower-salary quarterbacks.

But you can only roster one of those high-salary QBs, and Lamar Jackson is the one I'm prioritizing. Lamar has put up 29.4, 26.3, and 27 FDP over his first three games, and he's done that despite accounting for a combined 4.8 rushing FDP the past two weeks.

He's more than made up for that lack of rushing production through the air, however. Entering Week 4, Jackson ranks third in EPA per drop back and leads the league in yards per attempt. And with Derrick Henry showing signs of mortality in his age-31 season and the Baltimore Ravens sitting at 1-2, Jackson's likely to continue airing it out early and often.

That's especially true this week with Baltimore headed to Arrowhead to take on the Kansas City Chiefs. KC is just 19th in numberFire's schedule-adjusted defense, and they've been a plus matchup for quarterbacks early on. They're middle of the pack in FDP per drop back allowed despite having faced a below-average passing touchdown rate.

Jackson leads the league with a 12% passing touchdown rate through three weeks. While that's unlikely to hold over the full season, he led the league in that metric last season, too. That gives him such a high ceiling on a week-to-week basis, and we shouldn't have much risk of Baltimore taking their foot off the pedal in such a big game.

Our NFL DFS projections peg Lamar for 21.8 FDP -- second only to Josh Allen. But Allen's Buffalo Bills are massive favorites this week, giving Lamar the edge in what should be a more back-and-forth game.

Christian McCaffrey, RB, San Francisco 49ers

FanDuel Salary: $9,300

If I only have room for one high-salary player in NFL DFS this week, it's going to be Christian McCaffrey.

McCaffrey has scored between 18.7 and 19.7 FDP in each of the San Francisco 49ers first three games. That's the floor for someone who averages 38.7 adjusted opportunities (carries plus 2x targets) per game.

We've yet to see the ceiling in 2025, but that should change soon. CMC enters Week 4 as the biggest touchdown regression candidate in football according to Brandon Gdula's expected touchdown (xTD) numbers. He's only scored once despite leading the league with 3.7 xTDs -- a product of ranking fourth in both red zone rush attempts (4.3 per game) and red zone targets (2.0). That's fourth among all players -- wide receivers included.

Home against the Jacksonville Jaguars wouldn't be a bad time for CMC to finally hit on the red zone opportunities.

Jacksonville has looked better on defense early on, but they're still just 13th schedule-adjusted run defense. Though they've yet to face a running back of CMC's caliber, the Jags are right at league-average in FDP per target allowed to running backs.

At worst, this looks like a neutral matchup for CMC. But given his monster workload and lack of touchdown luck early on, I see no reason to fade him in Week 4. The potential for positive touchdown regression is just too good to pass up, even at a $9,300 salary.

Our NFL DFS projections peg Christina McCaffrey for 22.7 FDP, second most among all players (including quarterbacks).

Puka Nacua, WR, Los Angeles Rams

FanDuel Salary: $9,400

Puka Nacua's salary is tough to swallow with several other high-salary QBs and RBs to consider, but his workload makes him worth getting to in a home date with the zone-heavy Indianapolis Colts.

Entering Week 4, Puka ranks third in the NFL with a 37.6% target share. He's seen 11, 9, and 15 targets through three games, helping him clear 20 FDP in every game this season.

Yet, Nacua has yet to record a receiving touchdown -- though he did scamper for a 45-yard rushing score in Week 2. Granted, Puka's iffy red zone role (5.9% red zone target share) hasn't made him as big of a touchdown regression candidate as CMC, but it's hard to imagine a player of his caliber not busting one of his many targets for six sooner or later.

But even if Puka continues to be held out of the end zone, he's still getting enough downfield work (3.3 downfield targets per game) to have a ceiling in DFS. It helps that he's far-and-away the most efficient pass catcher on a per-route basis. After leading the league in yards per route run (3.46) and target per route rate (38.5%) in 2024, Nacua is second in yards per route run (4.11) and first in target per route rate (43.2%) three weeks into 2025.

Those are video game-like numbers, but there's not much reason to believe they'll change against the Colts. Entering Week 4, Indy has permitted an above-average target rate to the wide receiver position. They've certainly improved on that end relative to 2024, but we also have yet to see them face a passing attack quite like the Los Angeles Rams.

In a game featuring the main slate's highest over/under (49.5), Puka Nacua is worth getting to if you can hit on some of the top Week 4 NFL DFS values elsewhere.

Brock Bowers, TE, Las Vegas Raiders

FanDuel Salary: $6,700

Brock Bowers hasn't had the hottest start to the season. He's been held under 10 FDP in each of his last two games, and that's a tough pill to swallow in DFS when choosing to allocate major salary to a tight end.

But Bowers' lack of early production needs some context. He went for 103 yards on 8 targets in Week 1 but picked up a knee injury in that game. Despite the triple-digit yardage total, Bowers only played 50% of the Las Vegas Raiders offensive snaps. His snap rate has ticked up the past two weeks, but the production hasn't been there.

That said, Bowers practiced in full this week for the first time since before the season opener. And with fellow tight end Michael Mayer dealing with a concussion, I'd expect last week's 88% route participation to stick in Week 4.

If that's the case, Bowers could be in for his first true ceiling game of 2025. That's both thanks to his role -- he leads the team in target per route rate (24%) -- but also this week's opponent: the Chicago Bears.

Chicago's secondary and linebacking unit has been ravaged by injuries this season, and that's shown up in their defensive metrics. They're 24th in adjusted pass defense and have given up the sixth most passing yards per game.

Their marks against tight ends are, somehow, even worse. No team has allowed a higher target rate to the position (29%), and they've let up the sixth most yards per route run to tight ends (1.73).

With his salary down and a healthy week of practice under his belt, Brock Bowers could be a true difference-maker at tight end this week.

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The above author is a FanDuel employee and is not eligible to compete in public daily fantasy contests or place sports betting wagers on FanDuel. The advice provided by the author does not necessarily represent the views of FanDuel. Taking the author's advice will not guarantee a successful outcome. You should use your own judgment when participating in daily fantasy contests or placing sports wagers.