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.

Patrick Mahomes, QB, Kansas City Chiefs

FanDuel Salary: ($9,200)

Is it possible for a quarterback to have a quiet start to the season and still be top-five at the position? For Patrick Mahomes, it absolutely is possible, as we've seen through the first two weeks.

Mahomes' Week 1 woes against the Detroit Lions on opening night are pretty well-documented by now. Kadarius Toney couldn't catch, Skyy Moore was non-existent, and his favorite target, Travis Kelce, didn't play. Yet Mahomes still finished with 20.5 FanDuel points as the QB7 on the week. Everything that could have gone wrong did.

Fast forward to Week 2 as the Kansas City Chiefs faced the Jacksonville Jaguars. This was a game set to be one of the highest-scoring of the weekend -- that didn't happen.

Instead, the final score was 17-9 as scoring came at a premium, but the good news was that Mahomes still finished with 22.2 FanDuel points. Perhaps the best news was that Kelce was able to make it onto the field and score -- even if he didn't look 100% like himself. It was the big Mahomes start we're accustomed to, though.

That's why in many ways this feels like an official "get right" week for the reigning MVP.

The Chicago Bears are a mess, and it's likely that isn't changing against the Chiefs. In Week 1, the Bears allowed Jordan Love to throw for 245 yards and 3 touchdowns. Then, in Week 2, Chicago was wrecked by Baker Mayfield for 317 yards and a touchdown.

For a secondary that was ranked as the 20th-best heading into the season, they look even worse. It shouldn't be pretty when they have to play against Mahomes in Kansas City.

If the Bears' failures in the first two weeks weren't enough, safety Eddie Jackson is currently dealing with a foot injury and didn't practice on Wednesday or Thursday -- not great for Chicago. Oh, and defensive coordinator Alan Williams resigned from his position on Wednesday.

Mahomes may be the QB4, but by the end of the week, there's a good chance he's back to being the top guy.

numberFire's model has Mahomes projected for the most points among any quarterback this week at 24.9 FanDuel points. Roll him out there with confidence.

Tony Pollard, RB, Dallas Cowboys

FanDuel Salary: ($9,400)

The Dallas Cowboys have been a wagon so far, and that's very unlikely to change in Week 3 against the 0-2 Arizona Cardinals.

For Dallas, the majority of the story has been the dominance of their defense. However, the offense has been as advertised, with Tony Pollard leading the way as its lead back.

Pollard has fit into the role well thus far -- in case anyone thought he wouldn't. In his first two games, Pollard has 39 rushes for 142 rushing yards and 2 rushing touchdowns. Nothing flashy, but for fantasy, it's strong.

And it's even stronger when you include his 9 receptions for 49 yards. They're not booming numbers, but they're what set apart RB1s from RB2s. Those receiving looks should work well against the Cardinals.

Believe it or not, Arizona has been strong against opposing runners. Running backs are averaging -0.18 NEP per carry against the Cardinals, sixth-best in the league defensively. This has led to 0.46 rushing FanDuel points per carry -- the fourth lowest in football through two weeks.

However, where running backs do shine against Arizona is through the air, as they allow 1.45 adjusted FanDuel points per target. With Pollard's 17.7% target market share, that should mean that he's putting up points even if there are problems on the ground.

The stud running back is averaging 18.8 FanDuel points per game and should be part of a game script that sees him running the ball a ton as we've seen in the first two weeks.

Pollard is the highest-projected running back this week, per numberFire. He's expected to finish with 19.1 FanDuel points -- 3.8 more than the next-best runner.

Justin Jefferson, WR, Minnesota Vikings

FanDuel Salary: ($9,700)

Justin Jefferson is the best wide receiver in football. In Week 3, JJettas and the Minnesota Vikings have the best matchup for wide receivers in football.

This is all to say he's going to feast.

The Los Angeles Chargers have shown through the first two weeks of the season that they can't stop much of anything through the air, and that's great news for Jefferson. Los Angeles is allowing 1.84 adjusted FanDuel points per target -- the most in the league. This shouldn't come as too much of a surprise after Tyreek Hill cooked them for 11 receptions, 215 yards, and 2 touchdowns in Week 1.

The Chargers didn't allow such gaudy numbers to anyone on the Tennessee Titans in Week 2, but Treylon Burks had a 70-yard reception that again exposed the Bolts' secondary. It shouldn't be a problem for Jefferson to do something of the same -- again and again.

Jefferson is averaging 20.5 FanDuel points per game and has yet to score a touchdown -- he's due. To the surprise of no one, Kirk Cousins has made Jefferson his favorite target again this season, as the star wideout has a 28.2% target market share. His share is even more impressive when looking at air yards (38.2%).

numberFire believes in the big day for JJettas, as he's projected for 17.9 FanDuel points.

Travis Kelce, TE, Kansas City Chiefs

FanDuel Salary: ($8,000)

Rust? Maybe some, but Travis Kelce was able to shake it off in his first week active and showed why he is the best tight end in football.

After having to miss Week 1 due to a hyperextended knee in practice, Kelce made his season debut to the delight of Mahomes and the Chiefs, and he showed why they missed him so badly in their opening loss to the Lions.

The 33-year-old returned in style, recording 4 receptions for 26 yards and a touchdown. That was good enough for 10.6 FanDuel points. He also earned himself a 23.1% target share while being on a snap count, playing on only 64.1% of snaps.

As written above when discussing Mahomes, the matchup against the Bears is a great one all around due to their many problems on (and off) the field. Chicago ranks 23rd when it comes to allowing points to tight ends, allowing 1.34 adjusted FanDuel points per target to the position. Considering that the tight ends that they had to stop in Weeks 1 and 2 were Luke Musgrave and Cade Otton, this week should spell big trouble for them.

The Mahomes-Kelce stack is one we know all too well at this stage in their careers. He should be able to find plenty of blank space to pile up points for both of them.

Kelce is projected for 16.6 FanDuel points this week per numberFire -- 5.9 more than Mark Andrews in second.

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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.