Spending your available salary in any DFS lineup on a stud can make or break your lineup. These high salary players will take up the majority of your budget, so it’s critical to carefully consider which ones you’ll want for each slate. Whether it’s trying to capture a safe floor in a cash game or chasing a huge game to help you win a tournament, nailing the expensive players is one of the keys to making winning NFL lineups on FanDuel.
We are coming down the home stretch of this crazy NFL season that has seen things that no football fan will soon forget. Let’s make the most of what we have left, and roster some of the best studs this week.
Russell Wilson, QB, Seattle Seahawks
FanDuel Salary: $9,000
Projected Points: 22.5
We've seen Russell Wilson have big games for most of this season. Lately, though, he's slowed down a bit from what he was doing in the early parts of the season. He still ranks as the QB3 in overall fantasy points. With other star fantasy quarterbacks like Patrick Mahomes and Josh Allen off the main slate and Kyler Murray in a tough spot, the consistency of Russ may be worth spending your salary on. Wilson has had more than 20 FanDuel points in nine of 11 games. He's also averaging 34.45 yards on the ground, which boosts his floor and upside.
The Seattle Seahawks are at home against the New York Giants in Week 13. Taking a look at our daily fantasy matchup heat map, we can see that the Seahawks are 9.5-point favorites and have an implied team total of 29.00 points. That's the third highest on the Sunday main slate. The Giants' defense has performed better than expected, allowing the fourth fewest fantasy points to quarterbacks, according to Pro Football Reference. However, they rank 23rd against the pass by numberFire's schedule-adjusted metrics, so they can still be exploited in the air. Wilson will be the best quarterback they've faced all year, and he has a chance of denting the Giants good record against passers.
Russ tops our projections across all positions on this slate. People might be a bit afraid of the recent comments from coach Pete Carroll about not wanting to run it more, but even with only 34 passing attempts projected by our model, Wilson is still the top quarterback. If fantasy players are going to look away and keep his popularity down, it gives us even more reason to go back to Wilson in tournaments.
Derrick Henry, RB, Tennessee Titans
FanDuel Salary: $10,000
Projected Points: 21.7
Derrick Henry is known for closing out seasons strongly, especially over the last two years. A theory that some people hold is that with the weather getting colder and the defensive players being worn down, the freight train that is Henry can be more impactful. Well, that runaway train has left the station early this season. Henry has three straight games with more than 100 yards rushing and has four touchdowns in that span. He should be able to keep chugging along this week.
The Tennessee Titans will play the Cleveland Browns at home this week in the game with the slate's highest total (54.5). The game script sets up well for Henry to run, as the Titans are 5.5-point favorites. The Browns have not been good against the run this season, ranking 26th in stopping the ground game, according to our schedule-adjusted numbers. Tennessee leads the league in rush attempts, and they will likely go after that weakness in Cleveland's defense.
Henry is our second highest projected running back this Sunday. With his ability to rip off long runs, he can break any slate with the massive games he has. He had a slate-breaking game last week -- well, he and Tyreek Hill did -- and is capable of doing the same thing this week. His salary is way up there, but Henry could be worth paying for in tournaments.
Davante Adams, WR, Green Bay Packers
FanDuel Salary: $9,500
Projected Points: 15.9
Davante Adams has been a receiver we can rely upon all season. He's put himself in a top tier at the position, with only Tyreek Hill being close to matching Adams' production on a per-game basis. Adams is the only player in the NFL who owns a target share higher than 30%, and his is up to 33%. With Hill off the slate, it makes Adams the clear guy to spend up on at the position. He's been pretty matchup-proof and should be able to work well in his game on Sunday.
The Green Bay Packers face the Philadelphia Eagles at Lambeau Field. The Packers' passing game has been one of the best in the league, sitting second by numberFire's metrics. The Eagles' pass defense is in the middle of the pack, but the individual matchup could suit Adams. We saw D.K. Metcalf beat Eagles cornerback Darius Slay multiple times on Monday night, and Adams can follow suit. With Green Bay implied to score 28.25 points, Adams should have a big game given his large role in the offense.
Adams is our highest projected wide receiver on the main slate. He has scored a touchdown in six straight games and is worth his lofty salary.
Darren Waller, TE, Las Vegas Raiders
FanDuel Salary: $7,000
Projected Points: 12.3
This season, the tight end position usually consists of one high-salaried star and then a bunch of players who you cannot count on to do much of anything. Even the stud on this slate, Darren Waller, has down games, including last week, when he scored just 4.3 FanDuel points. That can be chalked up to his offense going off the rails in that game, and Waller should still be a solid fantasy tight end. He leads the position in target share and has scored the second most half-PPR points for tight ends. This week, he should get back on track.
The Las Vegas Raiders get to face the league's worst team, the winless New York Jets. Even on the road, the Raiders have a healthy implied total of 27.25 points. The Jets have been brutal in most aspects of football, and defending tight ends is no exception. They've allowed nine touchdowns to the position, tied for the most in the league. This suits Waller really well, as he leads all tight ends in red zone targets, according to NFLsavant.com.
Waller is way out in front at the tight end position in the projections, forecasted for slightly more than three points more than any other player at the position. Despite having the highest salary, Waller rates out as the top point-per-dollar play. If you want some level of reliability at the position, spending up for Waller makes sense.
Nicholas Vazquez is not a FanDuel employee. In addition to providing DFS gameplay advice, Nicholas Vazquez also participates in DFS contests on FanDuel using his personal account, username hbyanksman. While the strategies and player selections recommended in his articles are his/her personal views, he/she may deploy different strategies and player selections when entering contests with his/her personal account. The views expressed in his/her articles are the author’s alone and do not necessarily reflect the views of FanDuel.