4 FanDuel NFL Studs to Target in Divisional Round

Hitting on high-salary players is the first step to having success in daily fantasy football 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.

Here are four studs to target on this week's main slate.

All betting odds come from the NFL odds at FanDuel Sportsbook.

NFL DFS Studs to Target for Divisional Round

Lamar Jackson, QB, Baltimore Ravens

FanDuel Salary: ($8,700)

After a week off, Lamar Jackson and the Baltimore Ravens will kick off their playoff journey against the Houston Texans.

Jackson is on his way to winning his second MVP award after a season where he threw for 3,678 yards, 24 touchdowns, and 7 interceptions while also adding 821 rushing yards and 5 more touchdowns on the ground. Overall, Jackson averaged 21.8 FanDuel points per game this season, and that sets him up as the quarterback stud to run with this weekend.

Taking on the Texans should lead to success for Jackson and the Ravens -- even after Houston's performance against the Cleveland Browns in the Wild Card Round. The Texans held Joe Flacco to 15.6 FanDuel points, which gives credit to what Flacco was still able to accomplish considering all the turnovers he committed.

Jackson is obviously a better option than Flacco, as is the Ravens offense compared to the Browns'. The Texans' defense allowed 18.2 FanDuel points to opposing quarterbacks in the regular season, which was good for the 10th-most in the NFL. Houston is still a very young team that is prone to make mistakes -- especially when they're going on the road this time around.

The mix of Jackson's legs, home field advantage, and a young Texans team should make for a good outing for the star quarterback.

numberFire's model is all in on Jackson this weekend, as he leads the entire slate with a projected 23.5 FanDuel points.

Christian McCaffrey, RB, San Francisco 49ers

FanDuel Salary: ($10,800)

Christian McCaffrey was a full participant in practice to open the week, providing us with all the confidence that he will be himself come Saturday night.

For the majority of the season, McCaffrey was the guy to lock in at this position if you were looking for a stud to deliver week in and week out. No other running back came close to his totals, scoring 22.6 FanDuel points per game thanks to having 17.0 rushing attempts per game and an 18.6% target market share.

The San Francisco 49ers' offense runs through McCaffrey, so expect him to be heavily leaned on as they face a Green Bay Packers team that is coming off a one-sided destruction of the Dallas Cowboys. The Packers still managed to let up 32 points to the Cowboys in their comeback attempt -- aiding what should be some major offensive numbers at Levi's Stadium.

Green Bay allowed 95.6 rushing yards a game in the regular season along with 19.6 FanDuel points. If the 49ers can get out to any sort of lead or this game is a back-and-forth affair, McCaffrey is locked into an important role -- the best role for any rusher this weekend.

CMC is projected for 20.0 FanDuel points, per numberFire, the most of any non-quarterback.

Amon-Ra St. Brown, WR, Detroit Lions

FanDuel Salary: ($9,200)

The Detroit Lions earned their first playoff win in 32 years this past weekend, and now they'll take on the Tampa Bay Buccaneers.

In the 24-23 victory against the Los Angeles Rams, Amon-Ra St. Brown unsurprisingly played a massive role by delivering in his playoff debut. The former fourth-round selection finished with 7 receptions, 110 receiving yards, and a 34.6% target market share to lead the team. As a result, he totaled 14.5 FanDuel points. St. Brown had an average of 17.1 FanDuel points in the regular season, making his projection of 16.2 FanDuel points a reasonable total.

A matchup with the Buccaneers is an inviting one. Despite Tampa Bay's easy win over the Philadelphia Eagles, it's safe to say that team wasn't performing like a playoff team in any fashion. The Buccaneers will have a real test against Detroit. Going off their defensive stats in the regular season, this sets up a potentially huge day for the Lions' wideout.

Tampa Bay gave up the ninth-most points per game to wide receivers (29.6). Even if his target market share is down to his regular season average of 30.4%, he shouldn't have a problem scoring for DFS lineups.

numberFire's model has St. Brown as the top projected wide receiver of the Divisional Round slate.

Travis Kelce, TE, Kansas City Chiefs

FanDuel Salary: ($7,100)

It's been a tough season for Travis Kelce based on expectations, but he's still the top tight end of the weekend.

Kelce has always been a major playoff performer. While the 2023 season was filled with ups and downs, and it was his first non-1,000-yard season since 2015, he's still the number-one option for Patrick Mahomes.

Mahomes found Kelce for 7 receptions and 71 yards last week -- but the tight end could have had a lot more. While he finished with just 10.6 FanDuel points, he had an expected total of 14.5 FanDuel points. Kelce had 10 targets and a 29.4% target market share in the game, but it featured a big drop. If he can hold onto the ball a bit more in this huge game against the Buffalo Bills, he should provide even better fantasy results.

The Bills are riding a high with six straight wins to show for it. But as we know with these games between Buffalo and Kansas City, it will come down to the big plays and those who make them. That's always been Kelce.

Buffalo allowed only 8.0 FanDuel points per game to tight ends, so it won't be an easy game by any means, but it's one the Chiefs will need him for.

At 10.8 projected FanDuel points, Kelce is expected to be the top tight end of the weekend, per numberFire.

Interested in playing NFL DFS? Head over to FanDuel’s daily fantasy football lobby to see all the offerings for this week's slates.

Sign up for FanDuel Sportsbook and FanDuel Daily Fantasy today!

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.