4 FanDuel NFL Studs to Target in Week 5

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)

Admittedly, it's been an odd start to the season for Patrick Mahomes. But much like we said in Week 3, we have another "get right" kind of game for the two-time NFL MVP.

The game against the New York Jets feels more like an outlier than anything else, as the New York defense managed to lock down Travis Kelce and forced Mahomes to make mistakes he doesn't usually make. Despite the two-interception performance, Mahomes was still able to finish with 15.2 FanDuel points on Sunday Night Football.

That's not the stud-level showing that we've grown used to with Mahomes in daily fantasy. It's more so a credit to the Jets' defense, as they remain elite even with all the doubt surrounding their offense.

Great days are ahead for Mahomes and the Chiefs, however. This is a similar start to what Mahomes had last year, with two games under 20 points in the first four weeks. He'd then go on to be the QB1, having just as many games under 20 points from Week 5 through Week 17. They're going to figure things out.

It's best to move on to Week 5 because Mahomes has one of the best matchups for quarterbacks so far this season -- the Minnesota Vikings.

Through four weeks this season, the Vikings have allowed an average of 19.7 points per game to the position. If you take out Bryce Young's 7.2 Week 4, the Vikings are up to averaging 23.83 FanDuel points allowed per game. Justin Herbert finished as the QB1 in Week 3 with a high of 29.3 against the Vikings. If all goes as expected, this game could be a shootout in Minnesota.

numberFire has Mahomes projected for the most FanDuel points of anyone this week, coming in at 23.4. He's going to come out throwing with a bounce back in mind.

Bijan Robinson, RB, Atlanta Falcons

FanDuel Salary: ($8,200)

The Atlanta Falcons have been struggling on offense, but that hasn't stopped Bijan Robinson from dominating any time he touches the ball. Robinson was drafted to be a difference-maker.

While the Arthur Smith-led Falcons continue to struggle as they did last year, running the ball hasn't been a problem. Pro Football Focus has given the running game of Atlanta a 76.2 grade, the 11th-best in football so far this year. A lot of that is due to Robinson, averaging a gaudy 6.0 yards per carry and coming off his second 100-yard game.

The most impressive aspect of Robinson's season has been the points he's been able to put up while only scoring one touchdown. In the first four games of his career, Robinson is averaging 16.2 FanDuel points per game. He's seen at least five targets per game, making him all the more valuable.

Week 3 was a game to learn from for the Falcons. They scored a whopping six points against the Detroit Lions, and it's the lone game Robinson had fewer than 15 touches.

Atlanta has to feed the rookie, and they did last week -- as seen by his 14 carries for 105 rushing yards and another 32 yards on 5 receptions.

Robinson has 24.3 adjusted opportunities per game and a 73.8% snap share, so worries about Tyler Allgeier are non-existent at this point. Those opportunities are going to turn into scores sooner rather than later. He moves the ball for them unlike anyone else on their team (sorry Kyle Pitts).

A matchup against the Houston Texans is about as good as it gets for Robinson. The Texans have a rushing defense that has a 34.6 grade by PFF, the worst in football. Houston has held teams to only 466 rushing yards, but they've allowed 7 touchdowns on the ground, as well. Robinson can get his first RB1 week if all goes right.

numberFire's model projects Robinson for 17.8 FanDuel points -- the most on the slate and 1.6 more than the next-best runner.

Tyreek Hill, WR, Miami Dolphins

FanDuel Salary: ($9,400)

The record-setting, game-changing, story-making Miami Dolphins were stunted in Week 4 when the Buffalo Bills rolled over them. Good news for the Dolphins, it's time to move forward. The offense should be able to get back on track against a weak New York Giants team.

De'Von Achane has been the talk of the Dolphins offense the past two weeks, but they're going at their best when Tyreek Hill is the one leading them offensively.

Hill has exceeded expectations this year. He has been averaging 16.2 expected FanDuel points per game, turning that into an actual 21.6 average through the first four weeks of the season.

The unmatchable speed and home run prowess he possesses is unlike any in football. That has led to his ridiculous 46.8% air yards market share with a 29.6% target market share. Hill is the alpha of the offense and should eat against the Giants.

The Giants have not been good on offense or defense this season. New York has allowed 30 points in three of four games -- thanks to both the offense's and defense's failures -- with the high-octane offense of Miami on the doorstep.

PFF has the Giants at a 52.7 pass coverage grade, ranking 29th in the NFL. Deebo Samuel's Week 3 against the Giants could be a sign of things to come for Hill -- 6 receptions, 129 receiving yards, and 1 TD.

Hill is on track for a bounce-back performance. The Dolphins wideout is numberFire's top projected skill position player for this weekend's main slate at 19.4 FanDuel points.

Travis Kelce, TE, Kansas City Chiefs

FanDuel Salary: ($8,789)

The tight end position has been rough this year. Shocker, I know.

Thankfully, Travis Kelce is looking more and more like himself every week. This feels like the one he finally goes full Kelce.

So far, it's been pretty ordinary for the star tight end. He's scored 10.6, 16.4, and 9.0 FanDuel points thus far. It's nothing spectacular, but he's still the sixth-best at the position in points despite playing one fewer game than everyone else.

What aids him despite the slow start is that he has a 25.6% weighted target market share, the second-best this season behind Zach Ertz. Mahomes is pelting him with targets (8.7 per game). Eventually, that's going to turn into touchdowns and big points -- he's got a 66.7% end zone target market share to prove it.

Taking on the lowly Vikings defense, it should be the breakout week he's been looking for. And even if it's not a monster game like we've seen from him, anything more than 10 points is still better than the majority of the field this season at the position.

Two weeks ago, the Vikings allowed two touchdowns to Donald Parham Jr.. They've kept most of the other tight ends in line that they've faced, but they haven't faced someone at the level of Kelce or an offense like an Andy Reid-led one.

Stacking Mahomes and Kelce is a deadly combination at any time -- but coming off a week when Mahomes struggled? It has all the makings to be the huge performance that we've been waiting for out of Kansas City.

As always, numberFire's model has Kelce far ahead of the rest of the field. He's projected for 16.3 FanDuel points, 5.7 ahead of the second-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.