4 NFL DFS Stud Picks for Week 16

Hitting on high-salary players is the first step to having success in NFL DFS 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.

With some help from our NFL DFS projections, here are four studs to target on this week's main slate, which starts at 1 p.m. ET.

All betting odds come from the NFL odds at FanDuel Sportsbook and may change after this article is published.

NFL DFS Stud Plays for Week 16

Josh Allen, QB, Buffalo Bills

FanDuel Salary: $9,400

With some value opening up elsewhere on the slate, we should have leeway to get to Josh Allen. Even if the allure isn't as high as previous weeks, he's still worth his salary.

Allen and the Buffalo Bills are whopping 14.5-point favorites against the New England Patriots at FanDuel. This means we're probably not getting four quarters of pedal-to-the-metal, hair-on-fire play from Allen, lowering his ceiling from what he showed the past two weeks.

Still, Allen is projected for 26.0 FanDuel points, a full 5.1 points clear of anybody else. Thus, Allen's still the top high-salaried quarterback even if they can eventually put it on cruise control late.

Jahmyr Gibbs, RB, Detroit Lions

FanDuel Salary: $8,300

Even above Allen, Jahmyr Gibbs is the top priority on the slate, and I don't think it's particularly close.

David Montgomery is going to miss this game due to a knee injury. You could have justified Gibbs at $8,300 even if Montgomery were active. But in three games without Montgomery last year -- when Gibbs was still learning the ropes of the NFL -- he averaged 132.3 yards from scrimmage per game.

Yowza.

As a result, Gibbs actually leads FanDuel Research's projections among all running backs, regardless of salary, and you can understand why. Gibbs is the key building block on the slate and someone we should roster aggressively.

Chase Brown, RB, Cincinnati Bengals

FanDuel Salary: $8,200

If not for Gibbs, it's possible Chase Brown would be the top priority across all positions this week.

We now have a six-game sample on Brown without Zack Moss. In those games, Brown is averaging 121.7 yards from scrimmage per game on 18.8 carries and 6.2 targets. This has allowed him to score 20-plus FanDuel points three times while hitting 24 twice.

This week, the Cincinnati Bengals face the Cleveland Browns. The Browns' defense has taken a step back overall this year -- they're 18th in numberFire's schedule-adjusted defensive rankings -- and they're lacking two key defenders in Jeremiah Owusu-Koramoah and Greg Newsome. Thus, it makes sense that Brown is the third highest-projected running back, trailing just Gibbs and Bijan Robinson.

Ja'Marr Chase, WR, Cincinnati Bengals

FanDuel Salary: $9,500

The gap between Ja'Marr Chase and the field isn't as large as what Allen has at quarterback. It is significant, though, making Chase the clear top target when forking over salary at receiver.

Chase is projected at 17.1 FanDuel points, 1.9 clear of Puka Nacua in second. Nacua is the only other player to even top 15.

More impressively, as of Thursday, Chase led the slate in points per $1,000 of salary, which is typically not possible for someone whose salary is so high. You don't need to provide as many points per $1,000 of salary when your raw point total is so high, but Chase is still the top value on the slate.

This lofty projection makes sense. In games with Tee Higgins active, Chase has 27.9% of the overall targets with 41.3% of the throws more than 15 yards downfield and 29.8% in the red zone. When you combine that with his ability to turn a dumpoff into six points, he's not human.

The hope is that value pops up throughout the week so that we can roster Chase without ignoring the immense ceilings provided by Gibbs and Brown at running back.

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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.