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 Week 17

Jalen Hurts, QB, Philadelphia Eagles

FanDuel Salary: ($9,200)

When the an elite player has a matchup like this, you take them. That's what we should be doing with Jalen Hurts this weekend against the Arizona Cardinals.

Hurts has been a machine -- even despite his struggles throwing the football. While his TD-to-INT ratio sits at 20 to 13, he's added a whopping 15 rushing scores thanks to the Brotherly Shove. There's no reason to think that he can't get another this week and also finally find some success through the air.

The Philadelphia Eagles' quarterback is averaging 24.0 FanDuel points per game -- second behind only Josh Allen's 24.2 average. Facing a team like the Cardinals raises Hurts' already considerable ceiling.

Arizona doesn't stop quarterbacks all too well. After all, they're coming off a game against the Chicago Bears where Justin Fields had his way against them. Fields finished with 25.5 FanDuel points -- the second-most among quarterbacks in Week 16. On average, the Cardinals are giving up 19.4 FanDuel points to opposing passers, making this the best of best games to run with Hurts as your QB.

numberFire's model has Hurts projected for the most points of any player on the main slate, coming in at 25.0 FanDuel points.

Christian McCaffrey, RB, San Francisco 49ers

FanDuel Salary: ($11,000)

At this stage, it feels wrong to recommend any other high-salary running back than Christian McCaffrey.

In a week when the San Francisco 49ers were completely outclassed by the Baltimore Ravens, McCaffrey still produced. The star running back finished with 103 yards and a touchdown on just 14 carries. He also added 6 receptions on 10 targets for 28 receiving yards for good measure. That added up to 22.1 FanDuel points against a Ravens team allowing only 15.8 FanDuel points per game to running backs. He has not been stopped this season and should have no problem this weekend.

The 49ers will have a great chance to get back in the win column on Sunday when they take on the sputtering Washington Commanders.

Washington has the worst losing streak in the NFL, dropping six straight games and showing no signs of changing that against what is likely to be an angry San Francisco squad. Much of Washington's problems have stemmed from their terrible defense. The Commanders have allowed 410.7 yards per game in their last three contests. Pretty much every 49ers player is exciting in this game, but considering what Breece Hall did against Washington last week, it's going to be the CMC show.

Hall had 37.1 FanDuel points against the Commanders on Christmas Eve. Imagine what McCaffrey could do? Washington is allowing an average of 23.1 FanDuel points per game to running backs.

It shouldn't be a shock that numberFire is projecting success for McCaffrey, expecting him to finish with 21.7 FanDuel points.

Tyreek Hill, WR, Miami Dolphins

FanDuel Salary: ($8,500)

After missing a week of action, Tyreek Hill returned in Week 16 and showed that he's good to go.

The Miami Dolphins' wideout finished with 9 receptions for 99 receiving yards in his return. Through 14 games, Hill has generated an average of 20.8 FanDuel points and is still receiving all the attention from Tua Tagovailoa.

The road to 2,000 receiving yards is likely to come up short, but that doesn't mean we're not going to keep riding with Hill. After all, it's tough to beat his 31.7% target share and 43.3% air yards share -- both of which have a real chance to rise this week seeing that Jaylen Waddle is dealing with a high-ankle sprain and could miss Week 17.

Baltimore presents a tough matchup for Hill and the Dolphins, but nothing has stopped Hill this season. Plus, when Hill played Baltimore last year, he went for 11 catches, 190 yards and 2 scores.

Hill is projected to finish with 19.1 FanDuel points, per numberFire's model, the most for any wide receiver.

George Kittle, TE, San Francisco 49ers

FanDuel Salary: ($6,700)

There's no easy way to pick a 49ers pass-catcher this week with how great of a matchup it is on Sunday, but I'm going with George Kittle instead of picking between Brandon Aiyuk and Deebo Samuel.

Kittle has been his usual self this season, but more importantly, he's been healthy. In Week 16, he had 7 receptions on 10 targets for 126 yards -- including 56-yard catch-and-run on the first drive against the Ravens. It not only marked his third game of having at least 100 yards, but it was a reminder of how important he is to this team.

He's now had four straight games of 50-plus yards, making him as close to a sure thing as we can get from a tight end this season.

Considering all the options on the 49ers' offense, Kittle has a healthy 20.5% target share and 24.2% air yards share, giving him room to make noise against the Washington Commanders.

The Commanders haven't given up big points to tight ends this year (8.3 FanDuel points per game), but even so, they're allowing heaps of yards and points overall. With San Fran boasting a 31.0-point implied total, there should be some chances for Kittle to get into the end zone.

numberFire projects Kittle to finish with 11.4 FanDuel points, and there's upside for a lot more.

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.