4 FanDuel NFL Studs to Target in Week 12

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.

Josh Allen, QB, Buffalo Bills

FanDuel Salary: ($9,200)

In the premier matchup of Sunday's slate, Josh Allen should be the quarterback you're targeting as the stud.

Allen and the Buffalo Bills will take on the Philadelphia Eagles in a battle between the two top-scoring quarterbacks of daily fantasy. We're siding with Allen over Jalen Hurts, and it simply comes down to the matchup over the performance.

Allen is averaging the most points per game of any quarterback at 23.6 FanDuel points -- 0.3 over the second-place average of Hurts. The Bills star has had his ups and downs, especially with turnovers, but he's still putting together 260.2 passing yards, 2.0 passing touchdowns, and 23.7 rushing yards along with 7 rushing touchdowns on the year.

Taking on the Eagles and their defense, he should have all the opportunities to put up big numbers in a competitive game. Philadelphia's defense has been unexpectedly susceptible to opposing passers. They're allowing 268.8 passing yards and 2.10 touchdowns -- good for 20.2 FanDuel points per game, the fourth-most.

This is the ideal matchup for Allen. Add in that this could very well become a shootout, and it makes Allen all the more intriguing as a top option.

numberFire's model is projecting Allen to finish with 20.5 FanDuel points.

Travis Etienne, RB, Jacksonville Jaguars

FanDuel Salary: ($8,600)

Travis Etienne has been the force behind the Jacksonville Jaguars offense.

After questions regarding his role coming into the season, Etienne has been every bit a three-down back as there is in the NFL. He's shown that he is what makes the Jaguars tick with Trevor Lawrence and the passing game struggling for much of the season.

Etienne is averaging 15.9 FanDuel points per game after rushing for 670 yards and 7 touchdowns while also earning 32 receptions, 282 receiving yards, and another score through the air. His overall numbers could be better, but when you're scoring that much, it is going to make up for the 3.9 yards per attempt and so on. He's also been able to get the majority of the red zone touches as the season's gone on, possessing a 53.7% red zone rushing market share.

The Jaguars will be facing off with the Houston Texans on Sunday, marking a fine enough matchup for Etienne and company.

Houston allows 18.8 FanDuel points per game to running backs. The Texans give up some success through the air, with running backs averaging 4.70 receptions and 35.3 yards. It may not seem like much, but those are good additions to any rushing numbers. Etienne is averaging 3.2 receptions and 28.2 receiving yards, helping make him a strong RB1 option this weekend.

With rushers like Christian McCaffrey, Jahmyr Gibbs, and others off the main slate due to Thanksgiving games, Etienne has all the more value on Sunday. The Jaguars running back is projected for 16.8 FanDuel points, per numberFire.

A.J. Brown, WR, Philadelphia Eagles

FanDuel Salary: ($8,800)

It's bounce-back time for A.J. Brown.

In the Eagles' win on Monday Night Football over the Kansas City Chiefs, Brown was completely shut down.

The Eagles wideout finished with one reception for eight yards on four targets. It was a complete letdown after having six of his last seven games with 120 yards or more and 6 touchdowns over that timespan.

As we saw at the start of the year, Jalen Hurts will make an effort to get Brown the ball after a game or two of struggles. After his 4-reception, 29-yard performance in Week 2, Brown roared to 9 receptions and 131 receiving yards in Week 3.

As the Buffalo Bills come to town, they should be afraid of what Brown will be capable of on Sunday.

The reason to have little concern is that even with the rough game, he's the top guy in the Eagles' offense. Brown is averaging 6.7 receptions, 9.5 targets, and 100.1 yards per game. These are what have made him the fourth-best wideout with 17.1 FanDuel points per game.

To take one step further, Brown also has a 31.3% target market share, 48.4% air yards market share, and a 34.5% red zone market share. In a likely high-scoring matchup against the Bills this weekend, he's going to have to be big for the Eagles.

Buffalo has been able to limit receiving corps to 23.9 FanDuel points per game, but it's not something we're all too concerned about. In a big game, Brown should do what he's done all season long.

numberFire's model has him projected for 15.7 FanDuel points, which is the most of any wide receiver on the slate.

Travis Kelce, TE, Kansas City Chiefs

FanDuel Salary: ($8,300)

It should come as no surprise that Travis Kelce is the stud we're starting at tight end.

Kelce leads all tight ends in FanDuel points per game at a 14.0 clip. He's coming off a week when he had 7 receptions, 44 receiving yards, and a touchdown. That sounds all great, but if you watched the Monday night duel between the Chiefs and the Eagles, he should have had more.

As Patrick Mahomes continues to deal with wide receivers around him who continuously drop wide-open passes, it should only lead to Kelce being leaned on more. Considering his 24.8% target market share easily leads the Chiefs, that could be a scary scene for opposing defenses.

The Chiefs will be playing the Las Vegas Raiders this week. Since Antonio Pierce took over as interim head coach, the Raiders have been playing inspired football. Unfortunately for the Raiders, inspired football doesn't always mean winning football.

Tyreek Hill just carved up the Raiders for 10 receptions, 146 receiving yards, and a touchdown. Kelce isn't Hill, but it's apparent that they can't shut down a top-receiving option.

Kelce scored four touchdowns against the Raiders in a single game last season. While it may be a different year, he has a history of owning them, and that shouldn't slow down now. Las Vegas has allowed only 8.3 FanDuel points to opposing tight ends, but the last time they played a tight end to Kelce's level of play, they allowed 8 receptions, 57 receiving yards, and a touchdown to Sam LaPorta.

Kelce is numberFire's top tight end this week, projecting him to finish with 14.5 FanDuel points -- 4.4 more than the next best at the position.

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

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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.