4 NFL FanDuel Studs to Target in Week 10

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.

The season seems to be flying by, and we are already at Week 10. Let's look at a star from each skill position that we can roster on the main slate.

Patrick Mahomes, QB, Kansas City Chiefs

FanDuel Salary: $8,500
Projected Points: 25.0

We've seen Patrick Mahomes thriving with his new group of wide receivers. He's had to adjust his game to throw shorter passes, but it hasn't hurt him in fantasy. He's actually averaging more points per game than any other season in his career, and he's been really picking things up lately.

Mahomes has back-to-back games with over 400 yards passing. He leads the league in both passing yards and passing touchdowns despite already having a bye in Week 8.

This past week, he ran for 63 yards and a touchdown, too. He's not as consistent of a runner as some other quarterbacks but having that ability in his game increases his ceiling on a week-to-week basis.

The Kansas City Chiefs are at home against the Jacksonville Jaguars this week. The Jags' defense was showing some promise to start the season, but they've regressed a lot recently. They rank 25th against the pass, per numberFire's metrics, and against quarterbacks specifically, they are 24th in adjusted fantasy points per drop back.

The Chiefs have an implied team total of 30 points, four more than any other team on the slate. With Josh Allen banged up with an elbow injury, going down $700 to a healthy Mahomes in a good spot makes a lot of sense in all formats.

Saquon Barkley, RB, New York Giants

FanDuel Salary: $9,500
Projected Points: 19.6

The New York Giants probably wouldn't be 6-2 without Saquon Barkley. That's a rare thing to say about a running back, but with the state of the Giants' receiving corps, it's hard to imagine them moving the ball without Barkley. Fresh off the bye week, he has an incredible matchup this week.

Barkley has one of the best workloads in the league right now. He's averaging 23.9 touches per game, with many of those being in the passing game. He has 28 catches on the season, seeing 16.6% of the team's targets. With the volume in the passing game and his 23 red-zone rushing attempts, he has a floor/ceiling combination that we look for when rostering a running back.

The Giants get a home game against the Houston Texans this week. The Texans are 31st in schedule-adjusted rush defense and 32nd in adjusted fantasy points per carry against running backs. They've allowed monster performances to Josh Jacobs and Derrick Henry in recent weeks, and they don't look like they can stop elite backs. It wouldn't be surprising to see the Giants have the game plan of just getting the ball to Barkley as much as possible.

Barkley makes for a great cash game play this week while also having the upside needed in tournaments.

Tyreek Hill, WR, Miami Dolphins

FanDuel Salary: $9,000
Projected Points: 18.5

We've seen wide receivers struggle when changing teams in the past. It can be especially difficult when the receiver gets a downgrade at quarterback and offensive line. Thanks in large part to coaching, Tyreek Hill is actually having his best season ever.

It's hard to overstate just how good Hill has been so far. He has 1,104 yards this season, and no one else in the NFL has more than 900. He has four games with more than 150 yards, already besting his career high in a season. He's seeing massive usage, with 32.3% of the team targets and 41.5% of the air yards.

The only thing we can ask for is more touchdowns, as he only has three. That should positively regress if he keeps seeing this kind of volume.

The Miami Dolphins are taking on the Cleveland Browns as home favorites this week. One of the more surprising things in the NFL this season is just how bad the Cleveland defense has been, given their talent. They are 27th overall in our numbers, and against wide receivers, they are 31st in adjusted fantasy points per target.

The Dolphins have the second-highest team total on the week. With how heavily they've leaned on Tyreek this season, it's hard not to see him having another huge game. He's certainly the best high-salaried wide receiver on the slate.

Travis Kelce, TE, Kansas City Chiefs

FanDuel Salary: $8,500
Projected Points: 15.5

The state of the tight end position is such that, if only one of Mark Andrews or Travis Kelce is on the main slate, they are the best play in the high salary range. The only other tight end who is projected for even half the points of Kelce is Darren Waller, whose status is still up in the air. Kelce clearly has the most upside on the slate and could be worth spending up to get in tournaments.

Kelce's underlying metrics are nearly unmatched at the tight end position. He sees 24.1% of the team's targets and 25.1% of the air yards for the Chiefs. He leads the league in red-zone targets and touchdowns from inside the red zone. Seeing these targets from a quarterback like Mahomes makes the opportunity even more valuable than it would be from most other quarterbacks.

We obviously want to play Kelce and Mahomes together, but it will be difficult to fit both into lineups. Kelce is fine to play on his own, though, because his range of outcomes is just so much better than any other tight end.

The Jaguars aren't terrible against the position, ranking 15th in adjusted fantasy points per target to tight ends. However, they have yet to face any tight end who's even close to Kelce's role and ability.

If you have the extra salary, Kelce is worth playing this week in tournaments to capture the upside that will be hard to match at the position.

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.