4 FanDuel NFL Studs to Target in Week 14

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4 FanDuel NFL Studs to Target in Week 14

Hitting on high-salary players is the first step to having success in daily fantasy football 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.

Here are four studs to target on this week's main slate.

All betting odds come from the NFL odds at FanDuel Sportsbook.

Lamar Jackson, QB, Baltimore Ravens

FanDuel Salary: ($8,000)

It hasn't been the easiest season fantasy-wise for Lamar Jackson, but after the bye, we're rolling with him as the stud quarterback of the week.

Jackson has averaged 18.93 FanDuel points per game this season, putting together three games of 24 or more points and six games of 15 or fewer. The inconsistency, however, hasn't been on his part but rather the domination of the Baltimore Ravens for much of the year.

The reason we will be going with him this week is that the matchup is the best of the slate for the studs, giving us hope that coming off a bye week, he can put it all back together for a big performance.

Baltimore will take on the Los Angeles Rams, providing Jackson the tools to have a strong week.

The Rams are allowing 17.7 FanDuel points per game to the opposing quarterback -- right around Jackson's average this season. We will see what the new-look offense of the Ravens is, as the break should have given them a chance to work on replacing Mark Andrews' production.

Considering that the Rams just allowed Joe Flacco to come off the practice squad and record 17.16 FanDuel points, we're feeling good about Jackson.

numberFire feels the same. Their model is projecting Jackson to finish with 21.0 FanDuel points, the most among all quarterbacks on Sunday's main slate.

Christian McCaffrey, RB, San Francisco 49ers

FanDuel Salary: ($10,500)

At a position that hasn't been consistent this year, Christian McCaffrey has become all the more valuable.

The San Francisco 49ers' superstar is averaging 20.8 FanDuel points per game this season, the best among all running backs. In 2023, his usage has been nearly unmatchable. McCaffrey is getting the ball over 20 times a game, averaging 17.5 rush attempts and 4.3 receptions.

Those touches have equaled 86.0 rushing yards and 35.8 receiving yards per game. There's no matchup to make you fade away from McCaffrey -- and his 17 touchdowns certainly help that.

For the second time in three weeks, the 49ers will face the Seattle Seahawks. That's great news for McCaffrey, as the NFC West rivals are allowing 22.8 FanDuel points to opposing running backs per game, the fifth-most in the NFL.

McCaffrey has already done the damage you're looking for heading into this matchup. On Thanksgiving night, CMC finished with 19 rushes, 114 rushing yards, and 2 rushing touchdowns along with 5 receptions and 25 receiving yards. It ended up totaling 28.4 FanDuel points, his second-best output of the entire campaign.

numberFire's model projects McCaffrey to be the top scorer of all players on Sunday, expecting him to finish with 21.3 FanDuel points.

Ja'Marr Chase, WR, Cincinnati Bengals

FanDuel Salary: ($7,900)

Well, the concerns of no Joe Burrow limiting Ja'Marr Chase were put to rest in Week 13.

Chase finished with 11 receptions on 12 targets, good for 149 receiving yards and a touchdown. It was easily the second-best game of his 2023, only following his three-touchdown performance in Week 5.

Overall, Chase has put together 15.9 FanDuel points per game over 12 games with a 29.0% target market share and 39.3% air yards market share. He's unsurprisingly the top option, and the numbers have remained similar with Jake Browning at quarterback, earning a 29.0% target market share and 44.4% air yards market share.

The Indianapolis Colts are coming to town to take on the Cincinnati Bengals, setting Chase up for another big game in what is a crucial one as both teams fight for a spot in the playoffs.

Indianapolis has allowed big days for wideouts in the past, including 5 receptions, 75 yards, and a touchdown from DeAndre Hopkins just last week. They're allowing 26.2 FanDuel points per game to receivers, so Chase should do plenty of damage.

Heading into the weekend, Chase is projected to finish with 15.0 FanDuel points, per numberFire.

Travis Kelce, TE, Kansas City Chiefs

FanDuel Salary: ($8,000)

At this stage, it's really Travis Kelce then everyone else -- especially with T.J. Hockenson's workload likely to take a scale back this week.

Kelce, like the Kansas City Chiefs, hasn't dominated to the levels that we've become used to. Yet he's still the top fantasy tight end and the stud you want coming off a tough loss in Week 13.

The Chiefs' top pass catcher is averaging 13.5 FanDuel points while owning a 23.9% target market share and 25.5% air yards market share. It's surprising that Patrick Mahomes doesn't lean on him more with how his other receivers have been, but it's still a big enough share to make him the stud needed in DFS lineups.

The Buffalo Bills are coming into Arrowhead Stadium for a game that should be full of points.

Buffalo hasn't allowed much to the tight end position, giving up just 7.9 FanDuel points per game. But they also haven't faced any of the premier tight ends this year to give us a true guess of how the top of the position would play against them.

Kelce's projections are set to 12.4 FanDuel points, per numberFire's model. He's the top tight end of the weekend.

Interested in playing NFL DFS? Head over to FanDuel’s daily fantasy football lobby to see all the offerings for this week's slates.

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.