4 NFL FanDuel Studs to Target in Week 6

Spending your available salary in any DFS lineup on a stud can make or break your lineup. These high-salaried plays will take up the majority of your salary cap, so it’s critical to carefully consider which ones you’ll want for each slate. Whether it’s trying to capture a safe floor in a cash game or chasing a huge game to help you win a tournament, nailing the expensive players is one of the keys to making winning NFL lineups on FanDuel.

The NFL season keeps chugging along, even with games getting postponed and the schedule being moved around. We still have some of the best star players on this slate that we can rely on to help us to a winning week, so let's take a look at one from each of the four offensive positions.

Deshaun Watson, QB, Houston Texans

FanDuel Salary: $8,200
Projected Points: 21.0

The schedule to start the season held Deshaun Watson back from being the quarterback we know he can be. In each of the last two games, with the opponents getting easier, he has thrown for over 300 yards and multiple touchdowns. We know that Watson has been an elite fantasy quarterback in the past, finishing in the top five for quarterbacks each of the last two seasons. This season, he has his best adjusted yards per attempt of his career, even with the tough start to the season.

Watson and the Houston Texans are on the road against divisional opponents in the Tennessee Titans in Week 6. This game has a 54.5 over/under and the Texans are implied to score 24.75 points, according to our daily fantasy matchup heat map. Houston will likely be throwing the ball to get that implied point total, ranking fifth in pass-to-run ratio as their running game has largely been ineffective. The Titans pass defense has been hit or miss, as they ranked tenth in schedule-adjusted pass defense but also have allowed three touchdown games to the likes of Gardner Minshew and Kirk Cousins.

One of the reasons Watson was such a good fantasy quarterback the past few seasons was his rushing ability, averaging 33.2 yards per game with 12 rushing touchdowns in the last two years. That has been down much of this season, with just 16.6 yards per game and 1 touchdown. In his last game, he was up to 25 yards per game, so hopefully, that trending up will continue, adding lots of value to Watson's fantasy outlook.

Watson has shown the upside to be the QB1 on any given week, especially if he starts running again. He is a great tournament play and can be stacked with Will Fuller and/or Brandin Cooks to help elevate your lineups to the top of leaderboards.

Derrick Henry, RB, Tennessee Titans

FanDuel Salary: $9,000
Projected Points: 20.6

Forget about the big dog at your own peril. Derrick Henry was the stud running back for Week 2 in this space and was largely disappointing. However, since then, he has been doing his thing, rushing for 176 yards and 4 touchdowns in his last two games. With the Titans having a postponed game and then a game on a Tuesday, Henry might have slipped the minds of daily fantasy players but shouldn't go overlooked this week.

The Titans, of course, are on the other side of that game against the Texans that has one of the highest totals on the week. Tennessee themselves has an implied point total of 28.75, which should mean lots of opportunities to score for Henry. The Titans have the third-highest rushing rate in the league, with Henry averaging just over 25 attempts per game. Houston has allowed the sixth-most FanDuel points to running backs this season.

Henry leads all running backs in red zone rushing attempts, giving him lots of opportunities for touchdowns. He is our highest projected running back on the week, and it's by nearly three points. The big dog is projected for a whopping 104 yards and a touchdown, making him a great play at the running back position in all formats.

Adam Thielen, WR, Minnesota Vikings

FanDuel Salary: $7,400
Projected Points: 15.0

$7,400 is perhaps slightly below the stud tier, but with some injury question marks at the top of the position and the way Adam Thielen has performed this season, he is warranted as the stud wide receiver this week. Thielen, somewhat quietly, is tied for the league lead with six receiving touchdowns. He also has the highest target share in the league at 32%, leads the league in weighted opportunity rating, and has the second-highest market share of air yards. With the matchup he has this week, there's nothing to suggest that he will slow down.

The Minnesota Vikings will face the disaster that is the Atlanta Falcons this week. The Falcons fired their head coach and general manager after a terrible start to the season, especially on the defensive side of the ball. They rank 30th in numberFire's schedule-adjusted pass defense metrics. This is surely one of the reasons that the Vikings have a 29 implied point total, which is tied for the highest of the week.

Some people think of Thielen as a boring possession receiver, but that hasn't been the case in 2020. His upside this season has shown with his touchdown scoring. Thielen is our third-highest projected wide receiver and comes in second in the value column, despite being on the expensive side. His salary is simply too low for someone who has performed this well and is in this matchup, meaning he is one of the best wide receiver plays this week.

Mark Andrews, TE, Baltimore Ravens

FanDuel Salary: $7,600
Projected Points: 11.5

It's slim pickings at the top of the tight end position this week, as Mark Andrews is $1,400 more than any other player at the position. The player directly below him is Robert Tonyan, who many fantasy players might not have even heard of before his breakout performance on Monday Night Football in Week 4. Andrews has performed well since his Monday Night Football dud against the Kansas City Chiefs, scoring three touchdowns. This week could see him continue that recent stretch of success.

The Baltimore Ravens are playing the 1-3-1 Philadelphia Eagles this week, which sets up well for them and Andrews. The Ravens have an implied team total of 27.75, which means they should be in the red zone a lot. Andrews leads the team in red zone target share, seeing over 40% of the targets in the area where we want to see our tight end getting the ball. The matchup against the Eagles is a good one for Andrews, as Philly has given up the fifth-most FanDuel points to tight ends this season.

Andrews leads tight ends on this slate in target share, air yards share, and weighted opportunity rating, while being tied for the lead with five touchdowns. Paying all the way up for him might not be a popular strategy this week, as some players may use tight end to save some salary. Take advantage of that, and roster the highest ceiling player at the position in Mark Andrews.

Nicholas Vazquez is not a FanDuel employee. In addition to providing DFS gameplay advice, Nicholas Vazquez also participates in DFS contests on FanDuel using his personal account, username hbyanksman. While the strategies and player selections recommended in his articles are his/her personal views, he/she may deploy different strategies and player selections when entering contests with his/her personal account. The views expressed in his/her articles are the author’s alone and do not necessarily reflect the views of FanDuel.