4 Best FanDuel NFL DFS Stud Picks for Week 7

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 7

Dak Prescott, QB, Dallas Cowboys

FanDuel Salary: $8,300

Dak Prescott is playing like one of the best quarterbacks in football right now. He enters Week 7 ranked second in FanDuel points (22.1 FDP), third in passing yards (269.5), and seventh in EPA per dropback (0.20).

Prescott's shown real upside of late, too, totaling 34.0, 28.3, and 22.3 FDP across his last three games while tossing 10 touchdowns.

Even so, Prescott has the third-highest salary among main slate quarterbacks despite playing in far and away the best game environment in Week 7. The Dallas Cowboys are slight home underdogs against the Washington Commanders while the total is set at as sky-high 54.5.

That total speaks not only to how strong the Dallas offense has been but also how lackluster Washington's defense has performed. The Commanders are just 19th in schedule-adjusted pass defense, and they've let up the eighth-most FDP per dropback to opposing quarterbacks. They're the second-best fantasy matchup for quarterbacks based on player-level adjusted FDP per game.

Oh, and -- as if Dak didn't enough appeal -- the Cowboys could get CeeDee Lamb back this week.

At home, in a soft matchup with a tight spread and high total, and with his top pass catcher potentially returning, this feels like the perfect storm for Prescott to deliver in DFS. Even at a high salary, he's my QB1 for the Week 7 FanDuel NFL DFS main slate.

Jonathan Taylor, RB, Indianapolis Colts

FanDuel Salary: $10,200

Between their talent and current workloads, Jonathan Taylor and Josh Jacobs represent a pretty clear Tier 1 at running back on the Week 7 NFL DFS slate.

But if I can fit only one of these high-salary backs into my lineup, it's got to be Taylor.

JT has looked like the running back to roster in fantasy this season. He's in the top five at the position in adjusted opportunities (26.5 carries plus 2x targets) and scrimmage yards (125) per game while tying for the league lead in red zone rush attempts (5.2). He's been uber-efficient on that volume, averaging 5.2 yards per carry and ranking seventh in yards after contact per attempt (2.7).

That's come on an Indianapolis Colts offense that leads the league in scoring (32.3 points per game) and schedule-adjusted offensive efficiency. With how well Indy's offense has moved the ball this season, Taylor's averaged the most red zone snaps per game (11.3).

Taylor's volume and efficiency in this offense makes him a weekly consideration regardless of game environment or opponent, but he checks both boxes in Week 7 as the Colts head west to take on the Los Angeles Chargers. Indoors, this game has the main slate's second highest over/under (48.5), and LA has been a plus matchup for opposing backs. They're down to 26th in adjusted run defense and have permitted the fifth-most yards per carry to running backs. On top of that, the Chargers have allowed the sixth-highest explosive run rate (runs of 10-plus yards) to the position.

Our NFL DFS projections peg Jonathan Taylor for 19.5 FDP -- 3.5 more than the next-closest running back and higher than all but four quarterbacks. Even at a five-figure salary, JT is the top running back on the Week 7 FanDuel NFL DFS main slate.

CeeDee Lamb, WR, Dallas Cowboys

FanDuel Salary: $8,600

CeeDee Lamb has been back at practice this week, suggesting he's in line to play for the first time since Week 3. Lamb put up 17.5 and 18.7 FDP across his two healthy games this season, and we've seen how well the Dallas offense has played without him.

Assuming he's back on the field this week, CeeDee has plenty of appeal in DFS on a slate lacking some of the usual top fantasy options.

Lamb was the clear top target in this Dallas offense when he was active earlier this season, leading the team in target share (28.2%) and air yards share (42.2%) while seeing a target on a team-best 29.3% of his routes run.

George Pickens and Jake Ferguson have played extremely well in Lamb's absence, so it's fair to assume his targets dip upon returning.

But Dallas has been very pass-heavy in his absence, jumping to sixth in raw pass rate and eighth in pass rate over expectation over their last four games. They're third in adjusted pace over that stretch, so I'm bullish there's enough volume to go around where all three pass catchers can eat in this matchup. Even so, Lamb should be the top target here -- we project Lamb for 10.0 targets, Pickens for 7.9, and Ferguson for 7.0. That's a byproduct of Dak projecting for 36.8 pass attempts, the most on the main slate.

Now, we aren't getting much of a discount on Lamb at this salary. But this game environment is hard to ignore, and the Commanders haven't done much to stop opposing wide receivers this season. Entering Week 7, Washington has been the sixth-best wide receiver matchup based on player-level adjusted FDP allowed, and the surface-level numbers back that up. In addition to ranking a pedestrian 19th in adjusted pass defense, the Commanders have let up the 12th-most FDP per target to wide receivers.

Lamb is the highest-projected wide receiver based on our NFL DFS projections. In the main slate's best game environment, he's the clear WR1 and an easy stack with my QB1.

Trey McBride, TE, Arizona Cardinals

FanDuel Salary: $6,900

The high-salary tight ends haven't panned out very often this season, but Trey McBride is fresh off a season-best 17.2-FDP performance.

That came via a season-high 8 receptions, and McBride's 11 targets tied the most he's seen all season. He also caught his second touchdown of the year (though he remains one of the biggest touchdown underperformers based on expected touchdowns).

Granted, that came with Marvin Harrison Jr. leaving early with a concussion -- and the wideout has already been upgraded to a limited participant in practice. It also came with Jacoby Brissett under center in lieu of Kyler Murray, who's also practiced in limited capacity this week.

But regardless of Marv and Kyler's statuses, McBride's workload should be strong. He's seen at least 7 targets in every game this season and enters Week 7 ranked first among tight ends in target share (26.9%) and air yards share (28.4%). He's second at the position in receiving yards (57.8 per game) and third in red zone target share (33.3%).

That kind of a profile is hard to pass up, especially with McBride still due for positive touchdown regression.

This week's home date with the Green Bay Packers is a compelling spot for McBride to deliver a ceiling performance, too. The Packers are just 13th in adjusted pass defense overall, and they've let up the seventh-highest target rate to tight ends on the year. But Green Bay is also favored 6.5 points here, so we could see Arizona forced to throw more in a negative game script.

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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.