4 FanDuel NFL Studs to Target in Week 16

Spending your available salary in any DFS lineup on a stud can make or break your lineup. These high-salaried 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.

Week 15 saw many players let fantasy managers down, so let's hope for better performances this week. Here's a stud from each of the skill positions who we should be able to rely on for fantasy production.

Justin Herbert, QB, Los Angeles Chargers

FanDuel Salary: $8,400
Projected Points: 21.8

After this year's rookie quarterback class has disappointed, it puts what Justin Herbert has done over his first two seasons in the league in context. Herbert had 31 touchdown passes last season, while, so far this season, only Mac Jones and Davis Mills have even hit double digits. Herbert has taken his game to another level this season and has a great matchup to do it again this week.

Herbert has already surpassed his 31 touchdown passes in his rookie year for a solid sophomore campaign. His 32 TD passes and three rushing touchdowns have led him all the way up to the QB2 this season. He's been consistent of late, which has been hard to say for a lot of players in the league; he has recorded over 21 FanDuel points in each of his last five games.

The Los Angeles Chargers play the Houston Texans in a great spot in Week 16. The Texans are a team to target with most players at any position, but quarterback might be the best one. They've allowed the second-most adjusted fantasy points per drop back to signal-callers this season.

The Chargers are one of the most fantasy-friendly teams in the league. They like to play fast, as their pace is the second-fastest in the league. They also like to pass at an above-average rate; they rank seventh in pass rate when games are still a contest.

This game sets up very well for the Chargers. They are 9.5-point favorites and have the highest implied team total on the main slate. With how fast they play, and how often they like to pass, Herbert will likely be able to score fantasy points in any game script.

He tops our projections at QB and has a great floor/ceiling combination this week.

Dalvin Cook, RB, Minnesota Vikings

FanDuel Salary: $8,800
Projected Points: 16.5

There are few teams that rely on their running back more than the Minnesota Vikings rely on Dalvin Cook. He's fifth in the league in carries despite missing three games. He's up over 1000 yards rushing on the season now (third in the league).

Cook is the RB6 in half-PPR scoring despite his touchdowns being down from 17 last season to just 6 this season. He has seen 15 carries inside the five-yard line and scored on just 20% of them -- well below his career average of 39.6%. That number should regress closer to his career average, and he should see some touchdowns come his way.

Cook has had decent volume in the passing game as well, seeing at least three targets in six-straight games. He won't get scripted out of game even as the Vikings face a tough opponent this week.

Minnesota plays the Los Angeles Rams at home this week. It will be tough for Cook to have an efficient game; the Rams rank ninth in adjusted fantasy points per carry allowed to running backs. They do allow a bit more in the passing game to running backs and are traveling on an extra-short week, though. With the Vikings offensive game plan, Cook will certainly be involved no matter how this game is playing out.

Cook leads our running back projections for the week and makes for a nice game stack option in the game with the highest total on the Week 16 main slate.

Cooper Kupp, WR, Los Angeles Rams

FanDuel Salary: $9,800
Projected Points: 19.9

The way this crazy season is ending, there are very few constants in fantasy football. One of those constants is Cooper Kupp delivering for all of his fantasy managers. Coming off Tuesday night's performance -- his fifth two-touchdown game and his ninth game over 100 yards on the season -- he continues to carry people in fantasy football this season.

Kupp's volume has been remarkable all season. He leads all receivers in targets and has 20 more than Tyreek Hill in second place. There was only one game all season in which he saw less than 10 targets, and it was in Week 8 against Houston (nine). He also sees high-value targets. His 31 targets in the red zone lead the league.

We know that Kupp is in a good game environment to target. The Rams' matchup against the Vikings has a total 3.5 points higher than any other game on the main slate. It's also a great matchup individually for Kupp; Minnesota is 30th in adjusted fantasy points allowed per target to wide receivers this season.

Kupp is projected for more than four points than any other wide receiver, and over three points more than any running back. Most weeks on FanDuel, we want to prioritize using our available salary at running back and play value wide receivers.

This week, Kupp offers more reliability than any running back and also has more upside than any other player on the slate. He's the priority this week in all formats.

Mark Andrews, TE, Baltimore Ravens

FanDuel Salary: $8,000
Projected Points: 11.6

Last week saw a lot of strong tight end performances for a change. Mark Andrews was certainly included in that. He had 10 catches, 136 yards, and a pair of touchdowns. It was his second game this season above 30 FanDuel points.

That game pushed him up to the best fantasy tight end of the season in half-PPR scoring. At a position that often lacks reliable volume, Andrews doesn't fall into that category. He's seen at least eight targets in seven straight games -- regardless if the quarterback has been Lamar Jackson or Tyler Huntley. Andrews is fifth in red-zone targets among tight ends this season as well.

The Baltimore Ravens play in a crucial divisional matchup this week against the Cincinnati Bengals. The Bengals have not been particularly good at defending the tight end this season; they rank 22nd in adjusted fantasy points per target allowed to the position. They also allowed George Kittle to go nuclear against them just two weeks ago (27.6 points in Week 14).

Andrews has proven to be a force even if Jackson isn't able to play again this week. $8,000 is a lot of salary to allocate on a tight end, but not many tight ends have the ceiling that Andrews has demonstrated. He's a solid option for tournaments again this week.

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.