The Detroit Lions entered Week 10 ranked first in our power rankings and continue to look like one of the NFL's top contenders this season. They'll look to notch their seventh straight win as 3.5-point road favorites over the Houston Texans on tonight's edition of Sunday Night Football.

For those unfamiliar, single-game slates feature five flex spots with identical scoring to the main slate. However, kickers are included in these contests, and there is an "MVP" roster slot. The MVP receives 1.5 times his total fantasy points, making this spot crucial.

FanDuel Research's Brandon Gdula has done a deep dive on single-game strategy, and FanDuel Research has NFL DFS projections if you select the game from the slate tab. It's worth checking out both before making your lineups.

All NFL projections via our numbers at FanDuel Research, and NFL odds references are to FanDuel Sportsbook.

Lions at Texans NFL DFS Picks

MVP Candidates

Excluding an injury-marred Week 2, Joe Mixon ($14,500) has otherwise scored 28.3, 29.2, 28.4, 24.4, and 19.6 FanDuel points this season while averaging 29.4 adjusted opportunities (carries plus 2x targets) and 134.8 scrimmage yards per game. Combining both carries and targets in the red zone, Mixon also boasts an elite 53.7% RZ opportunity share. Detroit's high-powered offense has often forced opposing teams to abandon the run in negative game scripts, but if Houston can keep things close, Mixon can take advantage of the 24th-ranked schedule-adjusted rush defense. He's easy to slot in at MVP tonight.

C.J. Stroud ($13,000) actually just barely edges out Mixon for the top spot in our NFL DFS projections, but his 15.5 FanDuel points per game is disappointing for a quarterback, and he hasn't flashed a high ceiling very often in 2024. Among QBs with at least 100 drop backs, Stroud ranks 20th in expected points added per drop back and 25th in passing success rate, per NFL Next Gen Stats. I'm hesitant to roster him at MVP against the second-best adjusted pass defense.

Jared Goff ($13,500) also projects well, but unlike Stroud, he's been hyper efficient at the helm, ranking fourth in expected points added per drop back and fifth in passing success rate. The trouble for DFS is that the Lions are just 23rd in pass rate over expectation and are more than happy to rely on their dynamic running game, often leaving Goff with limited pass attempts. This matchup's 48.5 over/under hints at some shootout potential, which could help elevate Goff's volume, but he'll have to contend with a defense that's second in pressure rate (42.0%), per NFL Next Gen Stats.

And speaking of that run game, Jahmyr Gibbs ($12,000) and David Montgomery ($11,000) split work pretty much down the middle, which isn't ideal, but both have demonstrated multi-touchdown upside when things break right. Gibbs averages 19.1 adjusted opportunities per game while Montgomery averages 18.3. While their usage fluctuates from game to game, Jahmyr has the overall edge in snap rate (51.0% to 43.6%) and scrimmage yards per game (102.6 to 81.1). Houston hasn't allowed a ton of fantasy production to running backs, but numberFire pegs them as just an average adjusted rush D.

Amon-Ra St. Brown ($15,000) is the obvious No. 1 option in Detroit's passing game, logging a 28.1% target share, 32.2% air yards share, and 44.4% end zone target share. The Texans have allowed the sixth-most FanDuel points per game to WRs, too. However, much like Goff, passing volume can cap his ceiling, as he's gone over 100 yards just twice.

Nico Collins ($12,500) finally returned to practice on Friday, which is great news for the Texans, but it's unclear if he'll be active. In four healthy games from Weeks 1-4, Collins averaged 3.33 yards per route run with a fantastic 29.3% target share, 47.9% air yards share, and 77.8% end zone target share. If he plays and there aren't any specific reports of a snap restriction, he's worth rolling the dice on as a contrarian MVP.

If Collins remains out, Tank Dell ($10,500) could have another big game. As the last man standing sans Collins and Stefon Diggs in Week 9, Dell hauled in 6 catches for 126 receiving yards through a 31.0% target share and 28.3% air yards share. Despite rating well defensively, the Lions end up in their share of high-scoring contests, which has led to giving up the third-most FanDuel points per game to wideouts.

Flex Targets

Jameson Williams ($10,000) -- Williams returns from a two-game suspension. In his six games, he's posted a 17.4% target share, 32.4% air yards share, and 50.0% end zone target share. Detroit's lack of consistent passing volume has left Williams as a boom-or-bust play as he's scored 15-plus points three times but has nearly scored zero twice.

Dalton Schultz ($9,500) -- Schultz has a 14.8% target share this year, and that's ticked up to 18.7% while Nico Collins has been out. Even if Collins is back, Schultz will effectively be the No. 3 option with Stefon Diggs lost for the season.

Sam LaPorta ($9,500) -- LaPorta's recorded an underwhelming 12.4% target share, and if we remove the two games Jameson Williams missed, that mark drops to 9.9%. Unfortunately, he's pretty much touchdown or bust in 2024, and the Texans have allowed the fewest FanDuel points per game to TEs.

Ka'imi Fairbairn ($9,000) and Jake Bates ($8,500) -- If this game turns into a track meet, it will be tough for the kickers to keep up. Still, Fairbairn has the league's second-most FG attempts and has scored 16+ points three times. Bates could be an intriguing option if you think Detroit runs away with this one.

Xavier Hutchinson ($8,000), John Metchie III ($7,500), and Robert Woods ($7,500) -- It's probably only worth dipping your toes in these waters if Collins is inactive, and even then, this is still dart-throw territory. Our model projects all three to be in the 3-4 target range if Nico is out.

Opt-in to the Gronk Profit Spike and apply a 30% Profit Boost to an Anytime Touchdown Scorer wager on any NFL game happening November 10th! See here for full terms and conditions. Learn about today’s other offers at FanDuel Sportsbook Promos.

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

Sign up for FanDuel Sportsbook and FanDuel Daily Fantasy today!

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.