3 Best FanDuel NFL DFS Stud Picks for Week 5

Hitting on high-salary players is the first step to having success in NFL DFS 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.

With some help from our NFL DFS projections, here are four studs to target on this week's main slate, which starts at 1 p.m. ET.

All betting odds come from the NFL odds at FanDuel Sportsbook and may change after this article is published.

NFL DFS Stud Plays for Week 5

Jayden Daniels, QB, Washington Commanders

FanDuel Salary: $8,300

After missing the past two games with knee injury, Jayden Daniels enters Week 5 without an injury designation following a full week of practice. The reigning Offensive Rookie of the Year has a (relatively) tough matchup on the road against the Los Angeles Chargers, but he remains the high-salary quarterback to roster on FanDuel's Week 5 NFL DFS main slate.

In Weeks 1 and 2, Daniels picked up right where he left off in his rookie season. He posted 20.1 and 19.7 FanDuel points (FDP) before the two-game absence despite both games coming outdoors against teams which now rank top 10 in FDP per drop back allowed. Those solid fantasy marks happened despite Daniels throwing just 3 total touchdowns and topping out at 233 yards through the air.

Now, Daniels won't return to the best matchup; LA has allowed the 10th fewest FDP per drop back and ranks third in numberFire's schedule-adjusted pass defense. But the Chargers haven't exactly faced a gauntlet of premier passers, and both Patrick Mahomes (26 FDP) and Jaxson Dart (19.8 FDP) both delivered strong fantasy performances against this secondary.

Much of that production came on the ground, actually, as LA enters Week 5 having allowed the most rush attempts and yards to opposing QBs. They're bottom 10 in Rushing Success Rate allowed to the position, providing the speedy Daniels a rock-solid floor in this matchup.

You aren't allocating this much salary for Daniels' floor, however. Thankfully, this is a compelling spot for upside. Not only does this game have a high total (47.5) and a tight spread (Chargers -2.5), but it's also projected to be the third-fastest matchup by adjusted pace.

It doesn't hurt that Daniels fried in a limited sample of indoor games. In four indoor games last season (including the playoffs), Daniels completed a staggering 76% of his passes and averaged 7.7 yards per attempt. He was just as effective on the ground, amassing 191 yards on 39 rush attempts.

There's a lot to like about Jayden Daniels' DFS outlook this week -- a sentiment our NFL DFS projections agree with. We project Daniels for 20.4 FDP in Week 5, second most on the main slate.

Jonathan Taylor, RB, Indianapolis Colts

FanDuel Salary: $9,500

Through four games, Jonathan Taylor has delivered a pair of 30-plus FDP performances, sandwiched between two middling showings (12.1 and 11.3 FDP). Even so, JT has seen between 24 and 29 adjusted opportunities (carries plus 2x targets) in each game, so the volume remains uber-consistent.

His scoring, however, has not -- three of Taylor's four touchdowns came in his Week 3 blow-up despite him seeing an opportunity on a third of his red zone snaps the other three games. But the Indianapolis Colts boast the main slate's second highest implied total in Week 5, allowing Jonathan Taylor has multi-touchdown upside yet again. With Bijan Robinson and Christian McCaffrey off the main slate this week, JT sits comfortably ahead of the pack as the top high-salary running back to target in FanDuel NFL DFS.

Now, the salary is sky-high, and there's not a ton of glaring value if you want to load up on multiple studs. But the volume, production, and touchdown upside should all there for Jonathan Taylor in a home date with the Las Vegas Raiders. Granted, Vegas is 1st in numberFire's schedule-adjusted run defense and just 27th against the pass, but this still isn't as spot we should fade Taylor with the Colts welcoming them as touchdown favorites.

Our NFL DFS projections peg JT for 19.8 FDP -- most among all flex players (and behind just two quarterbacks).

Amon-Ra St. Brown, WR, Detroit Lions

FanDuel Salary: $9,300

Amon-Ra St. Brown -- the second highest scoring wide receiver in fantasy -- is matched up with the Cincinnati Bengals -- the league's 10th worst pass defense by numberFire's metrics. With the Detroit Lions sporting the week's highest implied total (29.5 points), we don't need to overthink this; ARSB is the top high-salary wide receiver on the Week 5 FanDuel NFL DFS slate.

Amon-Ra enters Week 5 with the 10th highest target share (27.4%) among healthy pass catchers. If we remove Week 1 (when St. Brown only managed 6.5 FDP on 6 targets), that target share rises to 32.9%. He's tied for third in red zone targets (2.7 per game) over the past three weeks, and that's resulted in six touchdowns.

Now, St. Brown won't average multiple touchdowns per game the rest of the season, but he's far-and-away Detroit's top target inside the 20. He's also seen more downfield work this season, averaging 3.3 downfield targets (10+ yards) per game. That's the kind of profile we want to chase when looking for upside in DFS., particularly in such a good matchup.

The Bengals have been better-than-expected on a per-target basis against wide receivers this season, but they have yet to face an offense as prolific as Detroit's. Even with that, Cincinnati has let up the third most downfield targets and the most end zone targets to opposing wideouts. Yet, they've only given up 3 receiving touchdowns to the position.

That could change in Week 5 against the best quarterback they've seen all year. And while there is certainly some blowout potential here, that shouldn't matter much for St. Brown's production. His two best games of the year came in lopsided Detroit wins, and he's averaged 18.2 FDP in Detroit's 16 double-digit wins the past three seasons.

Our NFL DFS projections peg St. Brown for 15.5 FDP -- more than a full point higher than the next-closest wide receiver.

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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.