NFL

4 NFL FanDuel Studs to Target in Week 16

There are only two weeks left as the NFL regular season is nearing its end. But, there's no time for sadness -- it's time to get those buckies in DFS play.

As is the case when playing any sport on FanDuel, it’s imperative to hit on the high-priced players in your lineup. They require a big chunk of your salary, and when paying up for a player, you shouldn’t have to worry about him letting down your lineup.

Here are four studs who should prove to be worth their high price tag.

Russell Wilson, QB, Seattle Seahawks

FanDuel Price: $8,200
Projected Points: 22.7

As the Seattle Seahawks now have a very clear path to winning the NFC West, the storyline will reside with Russell Wilson, and he looks primed for a monster day.

Projected as our second-highest quarterback on the main slate, Wilson is in a perfect spot to absolutely roast a porous Arizona Cardinals secondary. Arizona ranks 31st against the pass, and they've allowed a league-high 23.9 FanDuel points-per-game (PPG) to opposing signal-callers.

In peeking at Passing Net Expected Points (NEP) per drop back, Wilson ranks eleventh with a mark of 0.19, well above the NFL average of 0.08, and he ranks ninth in Passing Success Rate with a mark of 50.92%.

When we look at our heat map, the 'Hawks are actually projected for the highest score on the main slate, so invest with confidence.

Saquon Barkley, RB, New York Giants

FanDuel Price: $8,800
Projected Points: 17.9

It may have taken 15 weeks, but Saquon Barkley finally went ham as we all expected, and Week 16 could be more of the same.

Barkley posted a 143 all-purpose yard, 2-touchdown day last week. The Washington Redskins, Barkley's opponent this week, could provide the potential for more upside. They rank 25th against the pass and 24th against the rush, and Miles Sanders went for 172 all-purpose yards and 2 scores a week ago against this squad. The week before that, Aaron Jones dominated the 'Skins for 182 all-purpose yards.

It hasn't been a great 2019 season, but Barkley could be closing things with a flurry against a weak opponent.

Devonta Freeman, RB, Atlanta Falcons

FanDuel Price: $6,200
Projected Points: 13.8

Put this one in the studs category, but with the asterisk of it also being a value play. Devonta Freeman looks primed for a monster value opportunity, and we have him ranked as our third-best running back value play this week.

The Jacksonville Jaguars have been absolutely dreadful as of late against the run -- truly horrific. Over the past few weeks, they've allowed 195 rushing yards to the Los Angeles Chargers, 220 rushing yards to the Tennessee Titans, and 266 yards to the Indianapolis Colts. Wowza. It's no surprise that the Jags rank third-worst in the league against the run.

Only Christian McCaffrey ($10,800), Todd Gurley ($7,400), Leonard Fournette ($7,400), and Le'Veon Bell ($7,100) played a higher percentage of their team's snaps in Week 14 -- and yet Freeman is significantly cheaper than all of them, in a far better matchup. Freeman should see a workhorse type of load this week -- and it could lead to a big DFS scoring day.

Keenan Allen, WR, Los Angeles Chargers

FanDuel Price: $6,700
Projected Points: 12.3

Keenan Allen is currently projected as WR9 while ranking as the 12th costliest wide receiver. If we peek at the defense he is stacked up against and a few other factors, WR9 could be a bit light.

Oakland rank 31st in Adjusted Defensive Passing NEP per play, and it's not hard to see why -- they've allowed a 300-yard-plus passer in four of the last eight games, and three of those were greater than 375 yards.

While he hasn't always performed like a stud, Allen is still fifth in the league in targets and is part of a Los Angeles Chargers offense that sports the sixth-highest implied team total (26.25 points). Assuming Philip Rivers performs up to expectations, Allen is in a smash-worthy spot.


Matt Kupferle is not a FanDuel employee. In addition to providing DFS gameplay advice, Matt Kupferle also participates in DFS contests on FanDuel using his personal account, username MKupferle. While the strategies and player selections recommended in his articles are his personal views, he may deploy different strategies and player selections when entering contests with his personal account. The views expressed in his articles are the author's alone and do not necessarily reflect the views of FanDuel.